THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21456, 24 April 1935, Page 13

THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

$ POLL WILL BE TAKEN IN FORTNIGHT INTENSIVE CAMPAIGNING IS EXPECTED Instead of settling down to the customary post-Easter calm, Christchurch people are going to find after the end of this year's Easter holiday that they will be expected to lake a very active interest in one of the most interesting municipal election campaigns in the history of the city. There seems every reason 1o believe that the interest Christchurch is going to take in the campaign will be unprecedented, and that the poll on May_ 8 will be a record.

The campaign proper will start on Friday, when all interested parties will be embarked at full strength on a final mass appeal to the 60,000 electors who will be asked to vote on May 8 and decide who shall control the various municipalities and city services during the next three years. Up to the present time it could be said that the Labour party organisation has had a fairly clear field in the present campaign: the Labour candidates, making an early start, have been addressing electors all over the city for some weeks. But on Friday the Citizens' Association, which has shown signs of a very complete revitalisation this year, will embark on a whirlwind campaign of the city and suburbs. With the continued activities of Labour. Independent, Socialist, and other parties, this should keep the 00,000 electors fully occupied.

; Apathy Disappearing i There is a new atmosphere about : the 1935 campaign which, while giv- • ing the affair added uncertainty, has silenced effectively those voices which in many previous contests complained bitterly about public apathy. There is a new and to some perhaps a strange awareness of political responsibility which ha;: unset the earlier calculations of many political prophets. All this has pleased party organisers and candidates: it Is much more satisfactory, they say, to make an appeal to a live mass of electors than to a generally apathetic mass, and these cir- ! curristances offer many possibilities to I the astute campaigner, i Figures indicate the extent to which this new interest in municipal politics has grown since the first pre-election stir among the parties. There are 10,000 more electors on the roll than for the last election in 1933. This is easily a record for the city, and the increase cannot be accounted for by growth of population alone. The in- . creased activity of the party organisations is well known, and no secret is made of the improvement effected in i the organisation of the Citizens' Association for the 1935 contest: the excellent organisation of the Labour party campaign machinery has, of course, always been an important factor in 1 city elections. There are other signs of determination on the part of candidates and electors to make this election more interesting than usually; there has been much newspaper correspondence on all aspects of civic administration, not only of the city, but the boroughs and counties; and city and municipal officials have been almost deluged with election enquiries , of all sorl.'v

Tlie Candidates | To scan the list of candidates for the many scats on municipal bodies whiyh will have to be filled gives another indication of the added importance which seems to be attached to the coming election. Each of the principal parties claims that there has never been a more imposing array of political talent selected to light the respective platforms. Certainly much more thought and time was spent in this selection than has been the case for recent past elections. The periodical announcement of these candidates has quickened interest considerably, and in the next few days, after the closing of nominations, the electors will be able to scan the full lists and make their preliminary selections. It seems likely that the list of candidates for the Christchurch City Council will be a record. The last, official information available about nominations showed that, before the Easter holidays began, there were 31 council candidates who had sent in their nominations. This list included the names of the men and women selected by the principal parties, but it is likely that the full list will hold at least n dozen more names. Thirteen more names, it., seems, will make a record list. Electors' Task Can the earnest elector, however anxious to make a decision bayed on merit, hope to cope with the election speeches of nearly 40 prospective councillors? The Citizens' Association plans to have speakers for every night of the campaign (with the exception of Sundays). The party is opening on Friday with the mayoral candidate, Sir Hugh Acland. and other speakers. The Labour party organisation, which has already made its initial plunge in the campaign, has probably planned to do likewise. It should be a "boom" time for the lessees of suitable halls. The elector, with his interest stirred to an unusual pitch, is most likely waiting with some impatience for this fortnight's verbal warfare. He probably places more . reliance on party speeches in municipal elections than he does in a general election campaign. Local body politics affect him closely; he usually takes more interest in the details of his rate demand than in those of his income tax form, for one reason because he is able to keep a closer watch on how his money is spent in the municipality in which he lives. Accordingly he relies less on party regimentation in making his decision, and more on actual merits of candidates as revealed in past services and present promises. And it is likely that in this respect the 1935 election campaign will give him an unusually heavy ration of food for thought. MAYORAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN •SIR Hl'Mi ACLAND TO SPEAK Sir Hugh Aciand wilt open his campaign for the Mayoralty in the Radiant Hall, Kilmore street, next Friday evening, at 8 o'clock. Others who will address electors at this meeting are Messrs M. E. Lyons, T. J. Maling. and J. S. Middleton. candidates for the City Council, and Messrs W. J. Sim, and D. W. Russexl, candidates for the Harbour Board and the Hospital Board respectively. AUCKLAND ELECTION FIFTY-THREE CANDIDATES FOR COUNCIL (i'KESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM^ AUCKLAND, April 23. Although nominations do not close till noon to-morrow, there are already 53 candidates for the 21 seals on the Auckland City Council. In 1929 the record number of 67 went to the poll In 1933 there were 43,