Complex sentence: First elected in a by-election in 1973 as a Values Party councillor, Smith stood as Values candidate for the Porirua electorate in the 1972,1975 and 1978 elections on all three occasions gaining the highest number of votes of any Values candidate in the country.
Split into simpler sentences: First elected in a by-election in 1973 as a Values Party councillor, Smith stood as Values candidate for the Porirua electorate in the 1972,1975 and 1978 elections. On all three occasions, she gained the highest number of votes of any Values candidate in the country.