1990 Auckland City mayoral by-election

1990 Auckland City mayoral by-election
File:Auckland COA.png
Turnout	123,456 (62.42%)
Mayor before election; Catherine Tizard;	Elected mayor ; Les Mills;

The 1990 Auckland City mayoral by-election was held to fill the vacant position of Mayor of Auckland. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting Mayor Catherine Tizard after she was appointed to the position of Governor-General. Twenty candidates came forward for the contest, with businessman and former athlete Les Mills the winner. It was the first Mayoral by-election in Auckland since the death of Thomas Ashby in 1957.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1990 Auckland mayoral by-election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Les Mills	32,839	26.59
	Independent	Barbara Goodman	19,663	15.92
	Community Ind.	Bruce Hucker	15,917	12.89
	Independent	Frank Ryan	11,422	9.25
	Independent	Marie Quinn	10,758	8.71
	Independent	Phil Warren	9,457	7.66
	Green	Hamish Keith	6,462	5.23
	Independent	Tim Shadbolt	5,609	4.54
	Independent	Pauline Kingi	2,630	2.13
	Independent	Rex Stanton	2,254	1.82
	Independent	Stan Lawson	1,976	1.60
	Independent	Allan Spence	1,177	0.95
	Independent	Laurence Watkins	862	0.69	−2.84
	Independent	Malcolm Moses	624	0.50	−8.86
	McGillicuddy Serious	Mark Servian	454	0.36	−1.46
	Blokes Liberation Front	Chris Brady	380	0.30	−1.99
	Independent	Phil Kozina	307	0.24
	Independent	Elizabeth Anderson	286	0.23
	Independent	Marie Rawnsley	190	0.15
	Communist League	Peter Bradley	189	0.15
Majority			13,176	10.67
Turnout			123,456	62.42	+21.51

Outcome

After Mills won the election it was revealed that he spent $50,000 on his campaign. At the time spending limits were not imposed on local government elections, however unprecedented levels of spending the 1989 and 1990 elections prompted Minister of Local Government Warren Cooper to launch an inquiry on the matter.^[2]

Notes

^ Graham, Jill (10 December 1990). "Mayor on the road back to basics". The New Zealand Herald. p. 1.
^ Drage 2003, pp. 29.

References

Drage, Jean (2003). Empowering Communities?: Representation and Participation in New Zealand's Local Government. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-0864734372.

[1] Graham, Jill (10 December 1990). "Mayor on the road back to basics". The New Zealand Herald. p. 1.

[FOOTNOTEDrage200329-2] Drage 2003, pp. 29.

[1]

[2]