Jump to content

1936 Christchurch mayoral by-election

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1936 Christchurch mayoral by-election
← 1935 11 March 1936 1938 →
Turnout30,167
 
Candidate John Beanland John Archer
Party Citizens' Labour
Popular vote 15,141 14,310
Percentage 50.60 47.82
Mayor before election

Dan Sullivan
Labour

Elected mayor

John Beanland
Citizens'

The Christchurch mayoral by-election in 1936 was triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, Dan Sullivan, who had been appointed cabinet minister after the Labour Party winning the general election in November 1935. The election was won by John Beanland of the Citizens' Association, who narrowly beat the Labour candidate.

Background

[edit]

Sullivan was first elected mayor of Christchurch in 1931, when he beat William Hayward.[1] The Labour Party won the November 1935 general election and Sullivan was appointed cabinet minister. Sullivan reluctantly resigned from the mayoralty in February 1936, as the heavy workload of a cabinet minister was incompatible with remaining mayor.[2][3] After a conference with the Citizens' Association, Sullivan's resignation date was agreed on to achieve a by-election date that suited all parties.[4] There was a desire to hold only one by-election, and not also another one necessary by one of the councillors contesting the mayoral election then causing a vacancy. This required councillors wishing to stand to resign at the same time as the mayor. The mayor's resignation would result in a mayoral by-election at a date set by statute, and the resignation would take immediate effect. The deputy-mayor, John Beanland of the Citizens' Association, was one of the contenders, and to avoid that the city was both without a mayor and deputy-mayor for a period of time, Beanland needed to resign as deputy-mayor before the mayor, so that a new deputy could be appointed by the city councillors before the mayor himself resigned.[5] Beanland resigned as deputy-mayor in early February, and Ernest Andrews was appointed in his place.[6] Councillor John Archer was confirmed as Labour's candidate; he had previously been mayor from 1925 to 1931.[7] The resignations of Sullivan as mayor, and Beanland (Citizens' Association) and Archer (Labour) as city councillors, were handed in on 14 February, triggering a by-election for 11 March.[8] Councillor Charles Edward Jones also resigned due to illness, thus creating a third vacancy amongst the city councillors.[8]

Candidates

[edit]
John Beanland

John Beanland was a building contractor. Born and raised in Victoria, Australia, he moved to Christchurch with his wife and children in the early 1890s. Active in many clubs and on various committees, he was first elected as a Christchurch city councillor in 1914 for the conservative Citizens' Association.[9] He first stood for mayor in 1921 when he was defeated by the incumbent, Henry Thacker.[10] His next mayoral campaign in 1925 caused a serious rift within the Citizens' Association, and he ended up standing as an independent against three others, including the official candidate of the Citizens' Association and incumbent mayor, James Arthur Flesher.[11][12] This vote splitting in 1925 helped Labour's John Archer win the mayoralty.[13][14] Beanland stood for the Reform Party in the 1928 general election in Lyttelton but was unsuccessful against the incumbent.[15]

John Archer

Rev John Archer was a Baptist minister and Labour Party politician. He was the foundation president of the Invercargill WEA (Workers' Educational Association) in 1915 and president of the Baptist Union of New Zealand from 1916 to 1918. The Baptist Church transferred him to Christchurch in 1919.[16] He was active in the Labour Party from its beginnings and was vice-president for many years, and president in 1928–29. He had stood in various electorates for the general elections of 1919, 1922, 1928, and 1931. He was a Christchurch city councillor from 1921 and had previously served on the Invercargill Borough council.[16] He had first stood for mayor in the 1925 election mentioned above[13] and was successful due to vote splitting by the Citizens' Association candidates. He won the subsequent elections in 1927 and 1929 and retired in 1931 in favour of Sullivan.[16]

Edward Leslie Hills

Hills was an independent Labour candidate. He had not previously served as a Christchurch city councillor[17] but had stood in the Lyttelton electorate by-elections in 1933 and 1935, on both occasions polling just over 2% of the votes.[18][19]

City council candidates

In addition to the mayoral election, there were three vacancies amongst the Christchurch city councillors to be filled. Seven candidates came forward: three representing the Citizens' Association (Hugh Acland, James Maling, and James Carter), three representing the Labour Party (Robert Macfarlane, John Mathison, and George Manning), and one independent (Berthold Ahlfeld).[20]

Results

[edit]

The election was held on Wednesday, 11 March 1936, from 9am to 7pm. The first-past-the-post voting system was used. There were 17 polling booths in Christchurch Central, 17 polling booths across Linwood, Bromley, and Woolston, 19 polling booths across St Albans, Papanui, and Richmond, 23 polling booths across Sydenham and Spreydon, and 1 polling booth in Lyttelton.[21] Beanland narrowly won the mayoral election over Archer, with Hills receiving less than 2% of the votes.[22][23] This was the first time since the 1925 mayoral election that the mayoralty did not go to the Labour candidate.[21]

1936 Christchurch mayoral by-election[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' John Beanland 15,141 50.60
Labour John Archer 14,310 47.82
Independent Labour Edward Leslie Hills 472 1.58
Informal votes 244 0.80
Majority 831 2.78
Turnout 30,167

Councillor results

[edit]

In the by-election for vacant city council positions, Acland, Macfarlane and Manning were successful.[20] Beanland and the new councillors were sworn in on 16 March.[24]

1936 Christchurch city council by-election[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens' Hugh Acland 15,749 52.19
Labour Robert Macfarlane 14,800 49.05 +9.64
Labour George Manning 14,689 48.68 +6.53
Citizens' James Maling 13,896 46.05 +3.47
Labour John Mathison 13,465 44.62 +6.08
Citizens' James Carter 11,792 39.08 +0.94
Independent Berthold Ahlfeld 1,390 4.60
Informal votes 711 2.35
Majority 793 2.62
Turnout 30,173

Aftermath

[edit]

At the end of his mayoral term, Beanland failed to get the nomination from the Citizens' Association for the 1938 mayoral election, but Dr. John Guthrie was chosen instead.[26][27] Guthrie was beaten by Labour's Robert Macfarlane.[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Municipal Elections". The Press. Vol. LXXI, no. 21423. 15 March 1935. p. 19. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. ^ Watson, James. "Sullivan, Daniel Giles". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  3. ^ "By-Elections for Council". The Press. Vol. LXXI, no. 21647. 4 December 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Resignation in February". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21680. 14 January 1936. p. 8. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. ^ "No Deputy-Mayor". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21681. 15 January 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Deputy-Mayor of City". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21698. 4 February 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  7. ^ "City Council Election". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21701. 7 February 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Resignations handed in". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21708. 15 February 1936. p. 7. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  9. ^ Campbell, Hilaire (June 2010). "Honest John" (PDF). St Albans News: 8. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  10. ^ Greenaway, Richard L. N. (June 2007). "Bromley Cemetery Tour" (PDF). Christchurch City Libraries. p. 47. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  11. ^ "The Mayoralty". The Press. Vol. LXI, no. 18302. 9 February 1925. p. 8. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  12. ^ "The Mayoralty". The Press. Vol. LXI, no. 18307. 14 February 1925. p. 12. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Local Elections". The Press. Vol. LXI, no. 18369. 30 March 1925. p. 8. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  14. ^ "Local Elections". The Press. Vol. LXI, no. 18363. 22 March 1925. p. 15. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  15. ^ Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 3. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  16. ^ a b c Gustafson, Barry. "Archer, John Kendrick". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  17. ^ "Councillors of the City of Christchurch". Christchurch: Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  18. ^ "Lyttelton Seat". The Evening Post. Vol. CXVI, no. 70. 20 September 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  19. ^ "Labour Wins". The Evening Post. Vol. CXX, no. 22. 25 July 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  20. ^ a b "To Seats go to Labour". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21730. 12 March 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  21. ^ a b "The Municipal By-Elections". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21729. 11 March 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  22. ^ "The By-Election". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21730. 12 March 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  23. ^ a b "Mayor's Reduced Majority". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21732. 14 March 1936. p. 18. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  24. ^ "New Mayor's Wish". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21734. 17 March 1936. p. 6. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  25. ^ "Cost of city by-election". The Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21734. 17 March 1936. p. 16. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  26. ^ "The Municipal Elections". The Press. Vol. LXXIV, no. 22355. 19 March 1938. p. 16. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  27. ^ "General News". The Press. Vol. LXXIV, no. 22375. 12 April 1938. p. 10. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  28. ^ "Local Body Elections". The Press. Vol. LXXIV, no. 22399. 12 May 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1936_Christchurch_mayoral_by-election&oldid=1233899780"