AT CHRISTCHURCH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 19 May 1941, Page 6

AT CHRISTCHURCH

CITIZENS’ CANDIDATE WINS MAYORALTY Christchurch, May 18. Labour was overwhelmingly beaten in the municipal elections in Christchurch yesterday. It lost the mayoralty and control of the city council, suffered a heavy reduction in its representation on the Christchurch Tramway Board, lost three of its four city seats for the Lyttelton Harbour Board and won only three of 10 city seats for the North Canterbury Hospital Board, on which/ previously its representation was six. In a small total Mr E. H. Andrews,! Citizens’ Association mayoral candidate, * had a comfdrtable lead of 1192 votes j from the Labour candidate, Mr E. Par-! lane. Mr J. K. Moloney, Independent, who headed what he called a “win-the-war group,” gained 4672 votes. Mr C. T. Rodda, Independent, lost his deposit. The extent of the Labour loss is best measured in the city council, where Labour has four seats out of 16, whereas in the last council it had 10. The j deciding votes at meetings of the tramway board may now rest with two independent members. Messrs W. J. Walter and A. A. McLachlan, as in yesterday’s election the six city seats were divided equally among Labour* and Citizens’ Association candidates. Another Labour member,’ Sergeant J. S. Barr, is serving overseas. In the previous board, seven of nine members were Labour supporters. Mr H. E. Denton, Labour, chairman, and Corporal R. M. Macfarlane, retiring mayor, deputy-chairman, lost their seats. This was the only seat Corporal Macfarlane contested. Mrs Macfarlane stood unsuccessfully for both the hospital board land city council.