LOCAL ELECTIONS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25346, 20 November 1947, Page 8

LOCAL ELECTIONS

Citizens Control Council FIVE LABOUR CANDIDATES SUCCESSFUL Although Mr E. H. Andrews had a clear majority over his Labour and Independent opponents for the mayoralty of Christchurch, Labour yesterday won five seats on the City Council. Since 1944, its representation has been one. By his win, Mr Andrews creates a new record in length of service as Mayor, and another in being elected for three consecutive terms. He had a majority, of 5579 over Mr D. Barnes (Labour), with Mr M. E. Lyons (Independent) another 10,586 votes behind. One sitting Citizens’ candidate for the City Council, Mr W. B. Owen, was defeated. The Citizens’ won 14 seats, the new councillors being Messrs W. I. Cowles, P. S. Turnbull, and W. S. Mac Gibbon, a former councillor. Three former Labour members of the council were returned. They were Mrs T. Green and Messrs R. M. Macfarlane, M.P., and T. H. Butterfield. The other new Labour councillor is Mr J. Mathison, M.P. Not half of the 90.000 electors voted. Mr J. L. Hay (Citizens) repeated his 1944 performance of topping the poll. He had a lead of 2251 early this morning from the second highest candidate, Mr G. Manning, who was Labour’s sole representative on the retiring council. At the head of the defeated candidates, Mr L. Christie (Labour) was only 39 votes behind Mr F. L. Brandt (Citizens) on the preliminary count.

Labour’s better fortune in the City Council election was not repeated in the elections for other local bodies. The Citizens’ Association retained three seats on the Lyttelton Harbour Board, Mr G. Manning winning the fourth seat for Labour. On the retiring board the Labour representative was Mr T. H. McCombs, M.P., who did not seek re-election. A decisive victory in the North Canterbury Catchment Board election was scored by the four Citizens’ nominees who were' members when the board was formed. Citizens won nine of the 10 city seats on the North Canterbury Hospital Board, Mrs T. Green being Labour’s only representative. Labour held two seats on the retiring board. The counting of votes was not completed at 1 a.m. to-day. Votes from 20 booths had still to come in. For 21 years a councillor, deputymayor for the last three years, and a leading figure throughout New Zealand in municipal affairs, Mr Lyons suffered Ihe usual fate of Independents in the mayoral polling

4790 against 20,955 for Mr Andrews, and 15,376 for the Labour candidate, Mr David Barnes. As Mr Lyons did not stand for the City Council, a new chairman of the finance committee will have to be found. His defeat means that he will not be eligible to continue as a member of the Central Milk Council, chairman of the Metropolitan Milk Board, and member of the Rural Reticulation Council and the Power Boards’ Association.