DRAINAGE BOARD BY-ELECTION

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21961, 9 December 1936, Page 14

DRAINAGE BOARD BY-ELECTION

* DATE TO BE FIXED SOON ONLY ONE RESIGNATION SO FAR So far the resignation of only one of the two members of the Christchurch Drainage Board who have lost their residential qualification to membership of the board has been received by the secretary, Mr C. F. Champion. Mr T. H. Butterfield, who represented the Heathcote subdistrict, handed in his resignation on Monday afternoon, but in response to an enquiry, Mr Champion said yesterday that he had not heard from Mr G. H. W. Winter, representative of Christchurch southwest, who is also said to have lost his qualification to a seat on the board. The next meeting of the board, however, is not until December 22, and it is expected by that time that Mr Winter, if he has lost his qualification, will have resigned his seat. The board at this meeting will have to fix the date of the by-elections. Heavy statutory penalties are provided for a person boldine a seat without the necessary qualification. The by-election will be conducted under the Local Elections and Polls Act. and under the provisions of the board’s act it may, if it sees fit, close nominations 60 days before the date of the election. This extremely useful provision mav often save the cost of printing rolls where no more than one candidate is nominated for a sub-district. Messrs Butterfield and Winter are both Labour members, and their detection leaves the state of parlies on the board as follows:—Citizens, five: Labour, four; Independent, one.