1915 Wellington City mayoral election

1915 Wellington City mayoral election

8 May 1915
Turnout	18,644 (55.65%)
Candidate John Luke Robert Fletcher Charles Chapman Party Citizens League Independent Social Democrat Popular vote 9,987 7,525 1,132 Percentage 53.56 40.36 6.07
Mayor before election John Luke Elected mayor John Luke

The 1915 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1915, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors. John Luke, the incumbent Mayor, retained office tallying just ten votes fewer than he did two years earlier. The standard first-past-the-post electoral method was used to conduct polling.

Background

The election was held during World War I, which was the dominant news item of the day. The war was a topic in the election itself, with the current mayor John Luke being a strong supporter campaigning along a 'win the war' line. In stark contrast the Labour movement were opposed to the war, in particular conscription. In mid-1915 the war was still supported by the bulk of the population, thus the Labour mayoral candidate Charles Chapman performing much poorer than expected, when only three years earlier (before the war) Wellingtonians voted in the city's first Labour mayor. The Labour movement had restored some unity between the moderate and militant factions (helped by mutual opposition to conscription) and both factions agreed on a single candidate for the mayoralty, and a reduced but joint ticket for the council. However, the expected nadir in support in the face of jingoistic opponents came to fruition with none of the six Labour candidates elected to the council. This left Alfred Hindmarsh (who was elected to the Wellington Harbour Board) the sole elected Labour representative in Wellington.

Mayoralty results

1915 Wellington mayoral election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Citizens League	John Luke	9,987	53.56	+2.27
	Independent	Robert Fletcher	7,525	40.36
	Social Democrat	Charles Chapman	1,132	6.07
Majority			2,462	13.20	+21.02
Turnout			18,644	55.65	+5.46

Councillor results

1915 Wellington City Council election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Citizens League	John Fuller Jr.	10,986	58.92	+8.92
	Citizens League	George Frost	10,656	57.15	+9.68
	Citizens League	William Barber	10,609	56.90	+5.56
	Citizens League	Len McKenzie	10,314	55.32	+9.40
	Citizens League	Arthur Atkinson	10,006	53.66	+3.98
	Citizens League	Robert Wright	9,860	52.88	+5.19
	Independent	John Hutcheson	9,115	48.88
	Citizens League	James Godber	9,008	48.31	+4.99
	Citizens League	John Fitzgerald	8,605	46.15	+6.88
	Citizens League	Martin Luckie	7,895	42.34	+3.12
	Citizens League	William Bennett	7,702	41.31
	Citizens League	William Thompson	7,491	40.17	−0.42
	Citizens League	Alexander Veitch	7,355	39.44
	Independent	William Hildreth	6,584	35.31
	Citizens League	Thomas Bush	6,379	34.21
	Citizens League	John Swan	6,160	33.04
	Independent	Francis MacKenzie	5,594	30.00
	Social Democrat	Harry Holland	5,484	29.41
	Independent	John Jenkinson	5,393	28.92
	Citizens League	Charles Norwood	5,320	28.53
	Independent	Robert Hall	5,268	28.25
	United Labour	William Murdoch	5,169	27.72
	Social Democrat	John Glover	4,741	25.42
	United Labour	Tom Young	4,644	24.90	+2.71
	Independent	Daniel Moriarty	4,495	24.10	+7.45
	United Labour	Edward Kennedy	4,233	22.70	+3.34
	Independent	Andrew Hornblow	3,243	17.39
	Social Democrat	John Read	3,186	17.08
	Independent	William Edwards	3,060	16.41

References

• Betts, George (1970). Betts on Wellington:a city and its politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0 589 00469 7.
• Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.