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1953 Wellington City mayoral election

← 1950 31 October 1953 1956 →
Turnout	44,700 (65.19%)
Candidate Robert Macalister Frank Kitts Party Citizens' Labour Popular vote 21,809 20,094 Percentage 48.78 44.95
Mayor before election Robert Macalister Elected mayor Robert Macalister

The 1953 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1953, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Campaign

The mayoral contest was essentially a rematch from three years previously with incumbent mayor Robert Macalister opposed by councillor Frank Kitts of the Labour Party. A third candidate, Julius Hyde, stood as an independent campaigning on his opposition to the construction of an international airport in Wellington.

A major talking point in the lead up to the election was the potential of a clash with the 1953 Royal Tour. There were proposals to postpone local elections until early 1954 over fears of reduced turnout due to a conflicted schedule. The proposals were considered by the Minister of Internal Affairs William Bodkin, who ultimately decided against it.

Mayoralty results

Councillor results

Table footnotes:

1. Hickey had been co-opted to the council in April 1953 from the Johnsonville Town Board

References

1. "Move to Postpone Next Municipal Elections". The Evening Post. 18 October 1952.
2. "Local Elections Date Fixed". The Evening Post. 28 January 1953.
3. ^ Coppin, William Stanley (11 November 1953). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.
4. "Majority for Mr. Macalister increased by 303". The Evening Post. 12 November 1953.
5. "Details of Polling". The Evening Post. 2 November 1953.

v t e Mayors of Wellington
Mayors	elected by councillors George Hunter William Guyton Joe Dransfield Charles Borlase elected at large William Sefton Moorhouse William Hutchison Joe Dransfield George Allen William Hutchison George Fisher Arthur Winton Brown Sam Brown John Duthie Charles Johnston Arthur Winton Brown Francis Bell Alfred Brandon Charles Luke George Fisher Francis Bell John Blair John Aitken Thomas William Hislop Alfred Newman Thomas Wilford David McLaren John Luke Robert Wright Charles Norwood George Troup Thomas Hislop Will Appleton Rob Macalister Frank Kitts Michael Fowler Ian Lawrence Jim Belich Fran Wilde Mark Blumsky Kerry Prendergast Celia Wade-Brown Justin Lester Andy Foster Tory Whanau
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† Elected unopposed ‡ By-election

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