# 1980 Porirua mayoral election

The 1980 Porirua mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. The elections were held for the role of Mayor of Porirua plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors, also elected triennially. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

## Background

Prior to the election there was a minor controversy on the council. In early 1980 Porirua's Town Clerk, Gordon Gandell, retired. The former deputy mayor of neighbouring Lower Hutt, John Seddon, was employed for the role. Allegations ensued that his appointment had been a "jack up" by the Labour majority on the city council and his friendship with deputy mayor John Burke. A group of senior Porirua City Council officers jointly signed a letter during the appointment row saying he wasn't the right man for the job. Seddon was not an accountant, the usual prior professional qualification of town clerks at that time, but he had been responsible for managing a company with three times the asset turnover of the Porirua City Council. Ombudsman Lester Castle was called in and eventually cleared the appointment process as being sufficiently objective. Labour lost their council majority at the election which was attributed to the employment controversy. Several Labour councillors were dumped from the party ticket prior to the election. One, Ivan Hardgrave, stood instead as an independent candidate and was successful.
The election also saw the introduction of a new party to contest control of the council with the emergence of the Rates Reform ticket. Founded in early 1979, the Rates Reform group accused local bodies of excessive spending and wanted a cessation to rates increases funded by cutting services and council staff.

## Mayoral results

1980 Porirua mayoral election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Whitford Brown | 8,250 | 71.49 | +29.88 |
| | Labour | Eric McKenzie | 3,174 | 27.50 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 116 | 1.00 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,076 | 43.98 | +31.87 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,540 | | |

## Councillor results

1980 Porirua City Council election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Porirua Ward (12 vacancies) ||||||
| | Independent | Maxine Arnold | 4,514 | 64.54 | +18.06 |
| | Labour | John Burke | 3,931 | 56.20 | +2.87 |
| | Labour | Margaret Brown | 3,791 | 54.20 | +2.83 |
| | Values | Helen Smith | 3,668 | 52.44 | −0.15 |
| | Labour | Eric McKenzie | 3,585 | 51.25 | +6.85 |
| | Independent | Bill Herewini | 3,550 | 50.75 | |
| | Independent | Rex Willing | 3,500 | 50.04 | +14.10 |
| | Independent | Alf Mexted | 3,453 | 49.37 | +17.41 |
| | Labour | Colin Beyer | 3,243 | 46.36 | |
| | Independent | Ivan Hardgrave | 3,227 | 46.13 | −0.82 |
| | Labour | Tom Janes | 2,999 | 42.87 | −1.98 |
| | Labour | Sandra Meredith | 2,954 | 42.23 | |
| | Independent | Kenneth Budge | 2,886 | 41.26 | |
| | Labour | James Clark | 2,883 | 41.22 | −0.44 |
| | Labour | Alan Sketchley | 2,838 | 40.57 | |
| | Labour | Phil O'Connell | 2,830 | 40.46 | −1.50 |
| | Labour | David Isaia | 2,805 | 40.10 | −6.85 |
| | Labour | David Stanley | 2,564 | 36.65 | |
| | Rates Reform | Estelle Brittain | 2,386 | 34.11 | |
| | Labour | Connie Mato | 2,385 | 34.10 | |
| | Independent | Edward Davis | 2,296 | 32.82 | |
| | Independent | Robert Hosking | 2,128 | 30.42 | |
| | Rates Reform | John Barnett | 2,113 | 30.21 | −1.34 |
| | Rates Reform | James Brittain | 1,924 | 27.50 | |
| | Independent | Lester Dobson | 1,792 | 25.62 | −3.46 |
| | Rates Reform | Clifford Chadwick | 1,674 | 23.93 | |
| | Independent | Pati Taulapapa | 1,549 | 22.14 | |
| | Rates Reform | Kaye Kerslake | 1,547 | 22.11 | |
| | Mana Motuhake | Mark Metekingi | 1,515 | 21.66 | |
| | Rates Reform | Leslie Furnell | 1,340 | 19.15 | |
| | Mana Motuhake | Sam Tekira | 794 | 11.35 | |
| | Mana Motuhake | Sarai Fano | 666 | 9.52 | |
| | Socialist Unity | John Van de Ven | 517 | 7.39 | |
| Taupo Ward (2 vacancies) ||||||
| | Independent | Jan Bennett | 1,472 | 63.66 | |
| | Independent | Murray Goodman | 1,061 | 45.89 | |
| | Independent | Neville Peach | 642 | 27.76 | |
| | Ind. Progressive | Kenneth Huntington | 548 | 23.70 | |
| | Independent | Keith Rolston | 542 | 23.44 | |
| | Independent | Robert Harper | 360 | 15.57 | |
| Pukerua Bay Ward (1 vacancy) ||||||
| | Independent | Wayne Marshall | unopposed | | |