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1968 Auckland City mayoral election

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1968 Auckland City mayoral election

← 1965 12 October 1968 1971 →
Turnout32,128 (45.14%)
 
Candidate Dove-Myer Robinson Roy McElroy
Party Independent Citizens & Ratepayers
Popular vote 18,484 12,512
Percentage 57.53 38.94

Mayor before election

Roy McElroy

Elected Mayor

Dove-Myer Robinson

The 1968 Auckland City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1968, elections were held for the Mayor of Auckland plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

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Incumbent Mayor Roy McElroy of the Citizens & Ratepayers ticket was defeated by his predecessor Dove-Myer Robinson. Labour Party councillor George Forsyth ran again for a second time, however he was refused official party endorsement as Labour officials preferred Robinson as Mayor to McElroy and thought fielding their own candidate would allow McElroy to be re-elected on a split vote. Robinson's promise of a "rapid rail" system to ease Auckland's mounting traffic problems was a major talking point. A new ticket, the Civic Action Party was set up as an anti-rapid rail group, some of whose members were former local body politicians.[1] Facing bitter opposition to his independent candidature Forsyth received half a dozen threatening telephone calls (who did not reveal their names) and even members of his family were abused whilst travelling publicly in buses. Forsyth said he was not worried about the callers but thought it was a "pretty poor state of affairs" that he could not offer himself as a candidate for public office in without encountering "Chicago-style opposition."[2]

Mayoralty results

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1968 Auckland mayoral election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Dove-Myer Robinson 18,484 57.53 +13.71
Citizens & Ratepayers Roy McElroy 12,512 38.94 −7.99
Independent George Forsyth 1,132 3.53 −5.72
Majority 5,972 18.58
Turnout 32,128 45.14 −2.09

Councillor results

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1968 Auckland City Council election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Citizens & Ratepayers Eric Armishaw 20,817 64.79 +22.62
Citizens & Ratepayers Arapeta Awatere 20,271 63.09 +2.08
Citizens & Ratepayers Sir Keith Park 20,218 62.92 +3.48
Citizens & Ratepayers Lincoln Laidlaw 19,208 59.78
Citizens & Ratepayers Winifred Delugar 19,071 59.35 +8.08
Citizens & Ratepayers Fred Glasse 18,443 57.40 +1.28
Citizens & Ratepayers Max Tongue 18,226 56.72 +5.61
Citizens & Ratepayers John Dale 17,678 55.02 −1.58
Citizens & Ratepayers Wint Holland 17,635 54.88
Citizens & Ratepayers Harold Watts 16,543 51.49 −0.97
Citizens & Ratepayers Ian McKinnon 16,497 51.34 −5.87
Citizens & Ratepayers Mel Tronson 15,652 48.71 −2.37
Citizens & Ratepayers Eric Salmon 15,427 48.01
Independent Fred Ambler 15,164 47.19 +0.94
Citizens & Ratepayers George Russell Tutt 14,583 45.39 −1.99
Citizens & Ratepayers Lindo Ferguson 14,446 44.96
Citizens & Ratepayers Jolyon Firth 14,357 44.68
Citizens & Ratepayers Alan Alcorn 14,337 44.62
Labour Alex Dreaver 13,772 42.86 +5.91
Citizens & Ratepayers Bill Clark 13,687 42.60 −6.13
Citizens & Ratepayers Thomas Roy Sussex 13,374 41.62 −0.11
Civic Action Allan Tattersfield 13,347 41.54
Citizens & Ratepayers Raymond George Watkins 12,778 39.77
Civic Action Ngapere Hopa 11,451 35.64
Citizens & Ratepayers Matt Te Hau 11,396 35.47
Civic Action Paul Cavanagh 11,393 35.46
Labour Graham Neil Caldwell 10,771 33.52
Labour Roy Turner 10,721 33.36
Civic Action Michael Hart 10,701 33.30
Independent George Forsyth 10,444 32.50
Civic Action Warwick Watts 10,302 32.06
Civic Action Charles Harris 10,002 31.13
Labour Thomas Price 9,479 29.50 +4.92
Civic Action Terrence Way 9,085 28.27
Labour Richard Northey 8,228 25.61
Labour Edward Arthur Scott 7,688 23.92
Independent Albert Edward Bailey 7,620 23.71
Civic Action Ante Mate Katavich 7,380 22.97
Civic Action Joseph Stanley 6,993 21.76
Labour Graeme Philip Peters 6,846 21.30
Civic Action Herbert Romaniuk 6,716 20.90
Civic Action Nonu Lelaulu 6,441 20.04
Socialist Unity Rita Smith 4,937 15.36
Socialist Unity Bill Andersen 4,596 14.30 +5.70
Socialist Unity George Jackson 4,443 13.82
Socialist Unity Alec Ostler 2,839 8.83 +4.23

References

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  • Edgar, John (2012). Urban Legend: Sir Dove-Meyer Robinson. Hodder Moa. ISBN 9781869712747.

Notes

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  1. ^ Edgar 2012.
  2. ^ "Threats To Candidate". The Press. Vol. CVIII, no. 31788. 19 September 1968. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Massive Win for ex-Mayor of Auckland". The New Zealand Herald. 14 October 1968. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Declaration of Result of Election". The New Zealand Herald. 24 October 1968. p. 15.