MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18936, 4 May 1933, Page 7

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

FORMER MAYOR RETURNS. DR. PINFOLD DECISIVELY BEATEN. MR FOW’S SWEEPING MAJORITY. * \ FOUR new members of council. GREAT PUBLIC INTEREST IN POLL. Another change of municipal administration in Hamilton was brought about by the electors of the borough yesterday. As a result the town will have a former Mayor returned to office after a two years interval and four new councillors. There were several surprises in the election for councillors and two sitting ones were defeated, although the position of one remains in doubt until the declaration and Informal votes are gone through. The new councillors include some of Hamilton’s best-known business men and these together with the remain ng members of last year’s council should make for a governing body which will work to Hamilton’s benefit. THE MAYORALTY. J. R. FOW 2229 * *F. D. PINFOLD 1881 C. LAFFERTY 480 Majority for Fow 678 The following are details of the polling: —

THE NEW COUNCIL. i

Mr R. T. Reid easily retained his seat on the Auckland Harbour Board. Details of the polling:— D.H. H.E. Fktn. Whitl. Glds. Mae. Camb. TeA. Nga. Tot. R. T. Reid* . 943 450 875 243 375 81 324 529 330 4150 C. H. Priestley 407 160 220 137 210 53 439 256 121 2003 Majority for R. T. Reid 2147 Informal .* 191

LABT MAYORAL ELECTION. At the last Mayoral election the following was the result:— F. D. Pinfold 2276 J .R. Fow 2004 Majority for Pinfold . 272 BEVERAL CHANGES MADE. THE MAYORAL CONTEST. GREAT INTEREST EVIDENCED. Despite the inclement weather a , heavy poll was recorded yesterday at the Hamilton Municipal elections. Of 8652 on the roll 4287 voted. 'This is only 28 less than the last election, when 4315 out of 7046 on the roll registered their, votes, making a record poll. The heavy vote may he accounted for by the keen Interest in the Mayoral contest. ]n the morning the booths had a comparatively slack time, but in the afternoon and evening the percentage of votes increased greatly. The greatest interest was taken in the three-cornered contest for the Mayoralty, for which Mr .1. It. tow, a former Mayor, Mr G. LalTerty, a councillor of 10 years' experience and Dr. F. D. Pinfold, the sitting'Mayor, stood. Mr Fow was defeated at the last election. Dr. Pinfold gaining -a majority of 2<2. The heaviest polling was at the Drill Hall with l-’rankton second on the list- - u ll,c lonnei ' booth Mr few's majority over Dr. Pinfold was 92. Hamilton East gave Mr Fow a majoritv ot 28a, there being also a clear majority in bis favour at the other booths. Of last years council of twelve, ten members sought re-election. The remaining two. Mr Garrick Nisbet and Mr C. Lafferty, did not stand again. Two' of the old councillors were detested, Mr F. J. Farrell and Mr 6. V. v/Tvler. ' ' .Mr Tyler's position is stilt in doubt. Oniv 15 votes separate him from Mr \v. Bourne and 19 from Mr W. A. Curteis. There are 170 declaration votes to go through, 30 of which may be allowed,

and some of the informal votes may be In order. The Result of the re-count, whicty should be finished to-morrow evening, together with an allowance for errors at the booths, may materially change the position at the bottom of the list of successful candidates. Four new councillors were returned —Messrs F. Best, A. M. Bisley, E. G. Day and F. Findlay. Of these Mr Day has had previous experience on the Hamilton council. The Deputy-Mayor. Mr H. D. Caro, whose figure In lopping the poll at the last election, 2591, constituted a record for any councillor in the town’s history, broke his own record by topping the list with 3279 votes. Mr Findlay followed closely with 324 9. Mr Caro has been appointed DeputyMayor by the Mayor. CANDIDATES RETURN THANKS. SPEECHES IN THE RAIN. Drizzling rain was falling when Hamilton's new Mayor, Mr J. R. Fow, and Dr. F. I). Pinfold stepped on to Hie Waikato Times verandah last night to address the electors assembled below. Both candidates were given a great reception. Mr Fow was first to speak, and offered his sincere thanks to the ratepayers l'or their conttdencc in Ids candidature. “You remember that when 1 was defeated two years ago I took it as the will of the people, and said I did not regard myself as a spent force, but would come forward again if I was called upon,” he said. “1 assure you that 1 will do my utmost to merit your confidence. We realise that we arc living in dilllcult, times, and with the best brains in the world '.liable to solve our problems we cannot expect to work miracles, but I will use my best endeavours to relieve the position existing to-day, and will throw in my lot with anyone who is working for the good of Hamilton.” (Applause). In thanking all who had supported him. Mr Fow made special reference to the work of Mr H. Veats, as chairman of his committee. He paid a

tribute to the manner in which the mayoralty had been contested and in concluding his remarks, called for cheers for Dr. Pinfold, a request which met with a hearty response. Dr. Pinfold thanked the electors for their support,- and said that while lie could not say he was pleased to be defeated, he was leaving the mayoral chair without regret. He congratulated Mr Fow on his success, and caller] for cheers for him, which were heartily given. Mr C. Lafferty, the third candidate for the mayoral chair, did not speak. Heavy rain had set in by the time the result of the council election was known, and those councillors who addressed the electors were very brief in their remarks. Councillors H. D. Caro, F. Findlay, F. H. Clapham, F. Best, W. W. Dfillcar, W. A. Curteis, A. M. Bisley, A. J. Denz, and Mr R. T. Reid, the successful Board candidate, expressed their thanks, and stated their Intention to do their best in the interests of the ratepayers.

placed beyond doubt. When the final returns for the Mayoralty were announced the crowd became highly demonstrative. Despite the weeping heavens about 150 people advanced from under cover to the middle of the road to hear the speeches of candidates In the Mayoral election. Unquestionably the 'bright display of the community ligliling system was a strong factor in relieving the drabness of a wet evening and it is worthy of note that this splendid method of illuminating the town at night was introduced during the new Mayor’s previous term of office. Most of the crowd remained to witness the results of the council election. f Whereas on fine evenings people have remained till a late hour they quickly melted away last evening when the final returns were posted up. THE ELECTION STAFF. GOOD WORK DONE. The manner in which the Returning Officer, Mr W. L. Waddel and his staff carried out their duties is worthy of great praise. The whole conduct of, the election went without hitch, everything working smoothly through the excellent organisation and the efforts of those responsible. IN OTHER CENTRES. ELECTIONS AT CAMBRIDGE, KEEN VOTING REPORTED. (Special to Times.) CAMBRIDGE, Thursday. Keen interest was taken in the elections in Cambridge, though the weather affected the voting somewhat. Mayoralty. There was no election for the Mayoralty, Mr. C. H. Priestley being returned unopposed. Borough Council. With the reduction of the council to six this year extra interest was created in the election. Results of the poll were as follows, with sitting members marked with an asterisk: —

MAYOR FOR MANY YEARS. RECORD OF CONSPICUOUS SERVICE VARIED ACTIVITIES. Few public men in the Dominion have such a record of long and faithful service as Mr J. R. Fow, the new Mayor of Hamilton. A native of Louth, Lincolnshire, although he has been in New Zealand for 56 years, Mr Fow has had a wide and varied career. He lived at Waimate South for some years, ■ but the Waikato can claim him among Its earlier settlers. After leaving school the Mayor was successively a sawmiller, a farrier and blacksmith, a car-riage-maker and finally an auctioneer. His first association with municipal government was in 1907, when he was elected a councillor of Hamilton, being retui cd at the top of the poll. Except for one year, he had until the last election, sat continuously on the council. In 1916 he was elected Mayor and remained the town’s chief magistrate until May 7, 1931, when he was defeated by Dr. F. D. Pinfold, except for one year after the influenza epidemic, when he rested from office, and one year when the boroughs of Hamilt'on and Franlcton were amalgamated. Now, after a retirement from public life of two years, he has returned to enter his fourteenth year as Mayor. Under Mr Fow’s guardianship the town made remarkable progress and few provincial towns of the size in the Dominion .possess the amenities m the way of fine streets, drainage, sewerage, lighting and scenic beauties (that Hamilton has. Mr Fow has Interested himself in the Waikato Winter Show since its inception and is a past president. He has been an indefatigable worker for the Beautifying Society and the Domain Board since their Inception. Various organisations in the town have claimed him as patron, and holder of other high offices, while he has ever been a staunch supporter of the Methodist Church. Mr Fow is also a member of The local licensing bench and a member of the Justices of the Peace * Association. Installation Ceremony. The Installation of Mr Fow as Mayor of ’Hamilton will take place at the Municipal Chambers, Alma Street, on the evening of Wednesday, May 10. A DISMAL EVENING. BCENES IN THE BTREET. l RAIN DAMPENS ENTHUSIASM. Not for some years has there been such a dismal scene in Victoria Street on election night. Drizzling rain, which fell intermittently all day yesterday, developed into a' steady downpour and continued throughout the evening. Under the circumstances it was not surprising that the usual dense crowds packing the ■ entire street and footpaths wore conspicuous by their absence.

Unsuccessful: A. Wilkinson* 413, C. W. Clark* 391, 11. A. Bell* 266. Informal 28. Power Board. The sitting members of the Cambridge Electric Power Board were returned as follows: Mervyn Wells 450 Walter Moore 371 Unsuccessful: S. R. James 368, S. L. Vale 262. Informal-4. j Harbour Board. Local polling for the Harbour Board election was as follows: C. H, Priestley 437 R. T. Reid ........ 324 NGARUAWAHIA. Mr W. Eyre was re-elected Mayor unopposed.

As has been the custom in the past the results were posted up as they came to hand on a large illuminated hoard in front of Hie Waikato Times building. Complete arrangements had been made for the speedy communication of the progress returns to Ihe office and their transmission to the board for public perusal. As early as 7.30 p.m. a group of "die-hards” established themselves in I lie “dress circle” beneath the' Commercial Hotel verandah and whiled away the lime discussing prospects. Within half-an-liour Hie crowd had swelled visibly and a few of the hardier, souls, unable to find cover overhead, braved the pouring rain with coats anrl umbrellas. At various stages bursts of cheering arose when a popular candidate’s name was seen well up Ihe list, but the enthusiasm was restrained, the activities of Jupiter Pluvlus, no doubt, dampening its apOour. Owing to Ihe comparatively small crowd il was found unnecessary to close part of Victoria Street, to vehicular traffic.. Crowd Applauds Victory. Prolonged cheering followed the posting of the first progress returns in connection with die Mayoralty in which Mr Few's signal victory was

• Unsuccessful. —S. S. Saulbrey, 243; *F. I. Hickling, 224; T. E. Elliott, 220. Informal 5. 'Sitting member.

HUNTLY. Mr W. C. E. George was re-elected Mayor and representative on Central Electric Power Board.

TE AWAMUTU. Mayor: Mr C. G. Downes (unopposed). Te Awamutu Power Board (two seats): *J. North, 454; J. C. Monteflore, 425; *C, G. Downes, 411. Borough Council elections, May 17. Wednesday half-day was retained by a majority of two votes. * TE AROHA. Mayor: R. Coulter (re-elected unopposed). Borough Council: W. T. Dale, I. H. Grice, *V. G. Hamilton, *G. Hedge, *W. C. Kennedy, M. McMahon, 11. J. Pease, *W. E. Smith, returned unopposed. MORRINSVILLE. Mayor: W. T. Osborne (re-elected unopposed). Borough Council: B. Chapman, W. lletherington, W. Morrice, F. A. Pickett, A. J. Skinner and D. Wilson (elected unopposed. Chapman is a new member). NARROW VICTORY AT AUCKLAND. MU G. HUTCHISON RE-ELECTED. AIICKLANI), Thursday. The contest for llie Mayoralty resulted in the return of Hie present Mayor, Mr G. NV. Hutchison, the Citizens’ Association candidate, by a majority of 442 votes over his Labour opponent, Mr It. (_i.lt. Mason, M.P. The result was as follows: G. W. 1 lute bison .. 10,651 11. O. It. Mason '. . 10,209 Majority for Hutchison 442 Those successful in I lie City Council election were: E. ,). Phelan (L.), 10.286; G. Grey Campbell (C.) 10,082; A. .J. Entrican (G.), 9827: J. L. Coakley (C.), 9746; 11. P. Burton (G.), 9623; J. Donald (C.), 9263: J. A. Mason (L.), 92 41: .1. Sayegli (L.). 9217: At. J. Coyle (G.). 8937: T. Bloodworth, 8900; Alice Bn’sfen (C.). 8875 ; M. ,1. BdnmHt (C.), 8809: J. B. Paterson (G.)-. 8711; W. T. Anderlon ■ (L.), 8702: E. F. Andrews (L.). 86 14: C. Bailey (L.l. 8607; Ellen Melville (G.), 8492: S. Takle (C.). 8492: J. W. Yarns 11 (1,.). 8404: D. Donaldson (C.). 5330; A. Rosser CL.). 8312

Fow Pinfold Lafferty Prill Hall . 595 90 . 456 394 261 •174 33 389 178 28 43,6 151 57 66 59 11 ..... , 2229 1551 ■ 480 Informal, 27.

H. D. Caro* ...... P. Findlay E. C. Day ’ F. H. Clapham* A. M. Blsley .... H. M. Hammond* .1 C. J. W. Barton* ... A. J. Denz* F. Best W. W. Dllllcar* ' .. W. A. Curteis* ... W. Bourne* S. V. Tyler* B. H. Andrews \ F. J. Farrell* "S H. Beebe J. C. Tietjens .... Informal Drill Hall F’ton Whl’ora Cl’lands East 1008 802 293 ' ‘449 505 1085 702 308 489 490 993 .734 291 411 392 1025 , 709 275 406 419 895 720 278 413 375 959 640 263 413 377 853 662 217 391 398 870 650 211 357- 356 714 667 2.25 352 435 755 687 256 . 348 334 747 657 219 341 348 813 621 232‘ 328 340 DEFEATED CANDIDATES. . 869 567 235 321 322 658 654 188 • 284 281 638 558 160 266 254 485 668 149 243 246 425 518 '139 221 235 Maeroa 102 109 103 89 92 . 82 75 82 72 71 92 66 ! 71 54 48 77 52 Totals 3279 3249 2924 2923 2773 2734 2596 2526 2465 2451 2404 2400 ‘2385 2119 1924 1868 1590 188 •Members of last Council. HOSPITAL BOARD Four contestants competed for the two seats on the Waikato Hospital Board, Mr G. J. W. Barton, a sitting member and Mr F. Findlay being returned. Mr Findlay secured a wide majority. Mrs A. R. Sims, a member of the Board previously, was defeated. Details of the polling: — 1 % Drill Hall F’ton Cl’ds WhPora Maeroa East Totals F. Findlay ...... 927 608 403 246 79 400 2663 C. J. W. Barton* .. 717 515 312 190 71 335 2140 UNSUCCESSFUL. Mrs A. R. Sims* 549 361 246 170 ■ 38 254 1618 H. Beebe 298 531 152 107 50 123 1261 Informal .... 129 HARBOUR BOARD. t

A. II. Nicoli ... 577 Edgar James .. . ... 542 G. W. Boyce .... ... 474* M. Wells ... 453* G. Galvert ... 441* W. Moore ..... ... 437*

Borough Council (six members.) v *,T. Prenrlenrast 3iS7 *C. McGowan .... 282 *H. B. Sampson .. .. 280’ ' *K. M. Wright 273 *D. W. Thomas .,. . 261 P. D. Mills 257

Borough OounoU* (six members.) ‘Harrison 47.7 .. .. 468 ‘Sheeran 466 ‘Hall 448 419 Unsuccessful.—Meyer, ting member. 262. ‘Sit-