1935 Wellington City mayoral election

The 1935 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1935, 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.

1935 Wellington City mayoral election
7 May 1935
Turnout41,139 (60.49%)
 
Candidate Thomas Hislop Bob Semple
Party Citizens' Labour
Popular vote 21,583 19,249
Percentage 52.46 46.79
Mayor before election

Thomas Hislop

 Elected Mayor

Thomas Hislop

Background

Incumbent mayor Thomas Hislop stood for a third-term, the first mayor to do so since Sir John Luke in 1915. His opponent was Bob Semple, a Labour councillor and MP for Wellington East. During the campaign Semple received slanderous allegations of being an Atheist, which he denied stating "If the people of the world followed the philosophy of Jesus there would be no poverty...".[1]

For the second election in a row Labour won a majority of the vote, but could not win a majority of seats.[2] However Labour did win one more seat than in 1933 and then went on to win a by-election soon after increase their representation further.[3]

Mayoralty results
1935 Wellington mayoral election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Thomas Hislop 21,583 52.46
Labour Bob Semple 19,249 46.79
Informal votes 307 0.74
Majority 2,334 5.67
Turnout 41,139 60.49

Councillor results
1935 Wellington local election[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Fraser 28,215 69.64
Labour Charles Henry Chapman 25,847 63.79 -2.63
Labour Robert McKeen 25,482 62.89 -1.48
Citizens' Robert Wright 22,384 55.25
Labour Peter Butler 20,584 50.80 +6.94
Labour Tom Brindle 20,312 50.13 +4.24
Citizens' William Bennett 19,846 48.98 -3.56
Citizens' Will Appleton 19,100 47.14 -1.08
Citizens' John Burns 18,942 46.75 +2.30
Citizens' William Gaudin 18,816 46.44 -6.45
Citizens' Len McKenzie 18,551 45.78 -2.23
Citizens' Martin Luckie 18,529 45.73 -3.06
Labour Adam Black 18,504 45.67 +5.44
Citizens' Herbert Huggins 18,423 45.47 -1.68
Citizens' William Duncan 18,416 45.45 -1.48
Labour Andrew Parlane[nb 1] 18,320 45.21 +2.55
Labour Alexander Croskery 18,139 44.77
Labour Michael Reardon 18,054 44.56
Citizens' Thomas Forsyth 17,804 43.94 -2.55
Labour John Read 17,584 43.40
Labour Michael Walsh 16,930 41.78 +1.99
Labour John Tucker 16,878 41.65 +2.41
Citizens' Robert Macalister 16,857 41.60 -1.69
Labour Caryll Hay 16,387 40.44 +1.62
Labour Jim Collins 16,271 40.16 -0.48
Labour James Ranson 16,248 40.10 -0.35
Citizens' Paul Hoskins 15,482 38.21 +4.25
Communist Charlie Brooks 3,359 8.29
Communist John Joseph Robinson 3,069 7.57
Communist Connie Rawcliffe 2,750 6.78
Communist Albert Birchfield 2,695 6.65
Communist Miles Ormerod 2,182 5.38

Table footnotes:

  1. Parlane was appointed to fill the vacancy on the council in 1936 caused by Peter Fraser's resignation[6]

Notes
  1. Hickey, Carina (2010). From Coal Pit to Leather Pit: Life Stories of Robert Semple (PDF) (PhD). Massey University. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  2. Betts 1970, pp. 146.
  3. "Labour Victory". The Evening Post. CXXII (110). 5 November 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  4. "The Mayoral Issue". The Evening Post. CXIX (110). 11 May 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  5. "Polling in Wellington". The New Zealand Herald. LXXII (22105). 10 May 1935. p. 13. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  6. "No by-election". The Evening Post. CXXI (109). 9 May 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 29 June 2018.

References
  • Betts, G.M. (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0 589 00469 7.
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