# 1974 Lower Hutt mayoral election

The 1974 Lower Hutt mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. The elections were held for the role of Mayor of Lower Hutt plus other local government positions including sixteen city councillors, also elected triennially. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

## Background

The incumbent Mayor, John Kennedy-Good, stood for a third term. The Citizens' Association had mended its relationship with Kennedy-Good in 1973 and his combined ticket from the previous election had merged back in to the Citizens' Association ticket. The renewed unity helped Kennedy-Good to win a much increased majority against his only challenger, deputy mayor John Seddon, and also for the Citizens' to win a large council majority, where Labour previously held a plurality of seats.
This was the first election in the city after the voting age had been lowered from 20 to 18. Few 18 and 19 year-olds actually voted in the election however and the few that did had come to polling stations together with a parent. According to the chief returning officer the average age of voters at the election was 50.

## Mayoral results

1974 Lower Hutt mayoral election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Citizens' | John Kennedy-Good | 11,136 | 57.22 | +20.06 |
| | Labour | John Seddon | 8,098 | 41.62 | +7.26 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 227 | 1.16 | +0.43 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,038 | 15.61 | +12.81 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,461 | 47.94 | +1.79 |

## Councillor results

1974 Lower Hutt City Council election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| City Ward (15 vacancies) ||||||
| | Citizens' | Chen Werry | 10,085 | 51.82 | +12.64 |
| | Labour | John Seddon | 10,061 | 51.69 | +5.00 |
| | Citizens' | Harold Turbott | 10,030 | 51.53 | +12.85 |
| | Citizens' | Don Lee | 9,969 | 51.22 | +10.65 |
| | Labour | Govind Bhula | 9,921 | 50.97 | +15.47 |
| | Citizens' | Teri Puketapu | 9,709 | 49.88 | |
| | Labour | Ernie Barry | 9,149 | 47.01 | +11.80 |
| | Citizens' | Lucy Cole | 9,087 | 46.69 | |
| | Labour | Kitty Mildendall | 9,066 | 46.58 | +2.41 |
| | Labour | Lawrie Woodley | 8,885 | 45.65 | +7.72 |
| | Citizens' | Ted Gibbs | 8,798 | 45.20 | +11.96 |
| | Citizens' | Stan Frost | 8,689 | 44.64 | +15.61 |
| | Citizens' | Jim Ross | 8,403 | 43.17 | +13.37 |
| | Citizens' | Gerald Bond | 8,317 | 42.73 | +10.85 |
| | Citizens' | Glen Evans | 8,098 | 41.61 | +12.40 |
| | Citizens' | Jan Heine | 8,020 | 41.21 | |
| | Labour | Les Duckworth | 7,893 | 40.55 | +7.85 |
| | Labour | Doris Anne Hayward | 7,800 | 40.08 | |
| | Labour | Margaret Werry | 7,790 | 40.02 | |
| | Labour | Laurie Sutton | 7,782 | 39.98 | +9.64 |
| | Labour | Francis O'Leary | 7,587 | 39.98 | |
| | Labour | Richard John Cummings | 7,232 | 37.16 | |
| | Labour | Errol Lynn Hardy | 7,224 | 37.12 | |
| | Citizens' | Digby Paape | 7,030 | 36.12 | |
| | Labour | Bernard Joseph Randall | 6,970 | 35.81 | |
| | Citizens' | Peter Albert Wanden | 6,894 | 35.42 | |
| | Citizens' | David James Smith | 6,746 | 34.66 | +10.12 |
| | Labour | Garry John Joseph Winthrop | 6,498 | 33.38 | |
| | Citizens' | Ken Saban | 6,158 | 33.38 | |
| | Labour | Anthony Rolf Feinson | 6,030 | 30.98 | |
| | Independent | Nick Ursin | 3,199 | 16.43 | +3.42 |
| | Independent | Martin Nestor | 1,749 | 8.98 | |
| Epuni Ward (1 vacancy) ||||||
| | Independent | Glyn Clayton | unopposed | | |