Citizens To Contest Mayoralty

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30741, 4 May 1965, Page 18

Citizens To Contest Mayoralty

The Christchurch Citizens and Ratepayers’ Association will contest the mayoralty. A likely candidate is Mr P. J. Skellerup, a prominent businessman and chairman of the City Council’s reserves committee.

After the association’s nominations committee had met for a second time last evening, Mr H. P. Smith, chairman of the general committee of the association, said the committee would definitely be making a i-ecommendation to the major committee. It was then up to the association to make an announcement.

“Other than that I can make no comment,” Mr Smith said. If Mr Skellerup is chosen, he will oppose the sitting Mayor (Mr G. Manning), who has held office since a byelection in 1959 and has been officially endorsed by the Labour Party as its candidate for the triennial election this year.

It is possible that Mr Skellerup will stand for the mayoralty only, and not be a candidate for the council. Two previous Citizens' mayoral candidates have stood for both offices.

Mr Skellerup, who is 45, is assistant managing-director of Skellerup Industries, Ltd., and managing-director of Dominion Salt, Ltd. He was elected to the council in 1958. He is a son of the founder of the firm bearing his name, and has worked in the group

of companies, except for overseas service during the Second World War, since leaving school. He is married, with four children. On the council, Mr Skellerup has served on the traffic, electricity, baths, and reserves

committees, and about four years and a half ago, when Cr. W. J. Cowles died, was elected chairman of the reserves committee. Mr Skellerup is Danish Consul for the South Island and a justic of the peace. If the general committee

endorses Mr Skellerup’s nomination, and it is expected to do so, it will end an argument in the association. This has been whether the association should put forward a candidate or let Mr Manning have the mayoralty unopposed.

Those who favoured leaving the field to Mr Manning did so partly because they recogise his value to the city as a mayor, but partly, too, because he has shown himself to be a vote-catcher. Their thoughts also ran along the line that in a small poll the Citizens’ Association candidates for local bodies tend to have an advantage: and without a mayoral election a smaller poll for councils seems inevitable. Pro-election members of the association have countered with arguments that Mr Manning is not invincible, that no-one can guage the effect of a small or large poll on the parties, and that if the association does not put up a candidate it invites the criticism that it offers the men and women it regards as being the best fitted to control the council but cannot find a man it regards as capable of the role of first citizen.

Cr. A. R. Guthrey, chairman of the council’s airport committee, and Dr. L. C. L. Averill, chairman of the North Canterbury Hospital Board, were both considered as nomfaess for the mayoralty recently; but both found they were too heavily committed to spare the time. The present Deputy-Mayor (Cr. H. P. Smith), who was the association’s candidate at the last two elections, advised earlier that he was not available for consideration. A date has not yet been fixed for the general committee’s meeting! It is possible that consideration will also be given to nominees for the City Council, but if so it is likely to be limited to those sitting councillors who will not be retiring.