2013 Christchurch East by-election

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Christchurch East by-election, 2013
← 2011 general 30 November 2013 (2013-11-30) 2014 general →
 
Candidate Poto Williams Matthew Doocey David Moorhouse
Party Labour National Green
 
Candidate Jenner Lichtwark Blair Anderson Adam Holland
Party Democrats Independent Independent
MP before election

Lianne Dalziel
Labour

Elected MP

TBD

A by-election will be held in the New Zealand electorate of Christchurch East on 30 November 2013.[1] The seat was vacated following the resignation of Lianne Dalziel of the Labour Party from parliament, who contested and won the Christchurch mayoralty in October 2013.

The electorate is regarded as a safe Labour seat; the party has, apart from the 50-year gap when the electorate was abolished, held the electorate since the 1922 election, although significant population changes since the 2011 Christchurch earthquake have made this allegiance to Labour less certain.

Background and candidates

Following months of speculation, The Press reported on 20 April 2013 that Lianne Dalziel will challenge Bob Parker for the Christchurch mayoralty.[2] On 19 June, Dalziel formally confirmed that she would contest the mayoralty, also announcing that she would resign from Parliament, which would cause a by-election in the Christchurch East electorate.[3] Dalziel's resignation would take effect before the result of the 13 October mayoralty election is announced, but would leave her resignation until the last moment, so that the by-election campaign does not interfere with the local body election.[4]

The Labour Party nominated Poto Williams for the by-election.[5] In a surprise move, the now former Labour leader David Shearer appointed former MP Jim Anderton as the party's by-election campaign manager.[6] Anderton, who was first elected to Parliament in 1984 for Labour in Sydenham,[7] left the party in 1989 over policy differences and, until his retirement as MP in 2011, led his own parties (the NewLabour Party and Jim Anderton's Progressive Party).[6][8] The Labour Party nomination process started in August and Deon Swiggs was the first person to declare his candidacy. Swiggs, a 26-year-old who developed a profile following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, has been a Labour supporter since age 15.[9] A day later, James Caygill confirmed his candidacy to represent the Labour Party. He is the son of former Minister of Finance David Caygill.[10] The third person to join the Labour candidacy race was Tina Lomax, who is the principal of Kingslea School and who, from 2004 to 2010, was a Burwood-Pegasus Community Board member.[11] Karen Hayes is a registered nurse and midwife, Christina Laalaai-Tausa is a PhD candidate at the University of Canterbury, and the sixth candidate was Poto Williams, the regional manager of St John of God Hauora Trust.[12]

The National Party nominated political newcomer Matthew Doocey for the by-election, who is a manager for the Canterbury District Health Board.[13] The party's Canterbury Westland Regional Chair, Roger Bridge, noted that a sitting government has never won a by-election in an electorate that it did not already hold.[14]

The Green Party nominated software developer David Moorhouse for the by-election.[15][16] He stood for the party in Christchurch Central electorate at the 2011 general election.

The Democrats for Social Credit nominated Jenner Lichtwark, a novelist.[17]

Two people have indicated an intent to contest the by-election as independent candidates. One, Blair Anderson, is a former deputy leader of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party,[18] and has also stood unsuccessfully for the mayoralty on several occasions.[19][20][21][22][23][24] The other, Adam Holland, previously contested the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election, and says that he will be running on "a platform of donating the entirety of my parliamentary salary to the region".[25]

References

  1. ^ Wong, Simon (30 September 2013). "Date set for Christchurch East by-election". 3 News NZ. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Dalziel invites Johnson to join mayoral race". The Press. Christchurch. 20 April 2013. p. A1. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  3. ^ Cairns, Lois (19 June 2013). "Heavyweights fight for city". The Press. p. A1. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. ^ Cairns, Lois (19 July 2013). "Dalziel formally enters mayoralty race". The Press. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Labour selects Christchurch East candidate". 3 News. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  6. ^ a b Conway, Glenn (28 August 2013). "Anderton back in politics". The Press. Christchurch. p. A5.
  7. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 180. OCLC 154283103.
  8. ^ "Today in politics: Thursday, August 22". The Dominion Post. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  9. ^ Young, Rachel (26 August 2013). "Deon Swiggs to challenge Dalziel seat". The Press. p. A5. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  10. ^ Conway, Glenn (27 August 2013). "Caygill Jr aiming for Beehive". The Press. p. A2. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  11. ^ Stylianou, Georgina (2 September 2013). "Principal eyes up Dalziel's seat". The Press. p. A3. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  12. ^ Rutherford, Hamish (8 September 2013). "Six seek Lianne Dalziel's Labour spot". The Press. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  13. ^ "National's Christchurch East candidate named". The Press. 12 September 2013. p. A3. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  14. ^ "National opens nominations for Christchurch East By-election". New Zealand National Party. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  15. ^ "David Moorhouse". Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  16. ^ Conway, Glenn (1 October 2013). "Greens name Christchurch East candidate". The Press. p. A4. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  17. ^ "DSC selects Lichtwark for Christchurch East" (Press release). New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Bring on the challengers, says Dalziel". The Press. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Green's candidate says he'll help locals". MSN NZ. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  20. ^ "Writer contests Chch East by-election". The Press. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  21. ^ Robertson, Max (20 October 2004). "Declaration of Results of Elections" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  22. ^ Robertson, Max (17 October 2007). "2007 Local Government Elections" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  23. ^ Sullivan, Clare (14 October 2010). "2010 Triennial Elections" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  24. ^ "Your 2013 Nominations". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  25. ^ "Christchurch East By Election Candidacy Announcement" (Press release). Adam Holland. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
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