By-elections to the Wellington City Council occur to fill vacant seats in the City Council. The death, resignation, bankruptcy or expulsion of a sitting councillor can cause a by-election to occur. By-elections were particularly frequent in the 1980s and 1990s but have become a rarity in recent years with only three occurring since 2000.
Background Local by-elections normally have lower turnouts than full local body elections. A noted case occurred in 1960 when a vacancy triggered a by-election which had a turnout of only 7.7% of voters, prompting Mayor Frank Kitts to label the light turnout a "deplorable state of affairs" as "...there were responsible and worthwhile citizens who were prepared to devote their time and money in service to the people". By-elections on the city council were on occasion deferred if a substantial majority of the council agreed to fill the vacancy by appointment, resulting in the highest polling unsuccessful candidate at the previous election being appointed to the council unless there is a public demand for a poll to be held (known as extraordinary vacancies). This arrangement has happened several times such as in 1973 when Olive Smuts-Kennedy resigned her seat and Seton Nossiter was appointed to replace her, in 1979 when Irvine Yardley resigned and was replaced with Tala Cleverley after several higher polling candidates declined the appointment, and in 1985 when Leone Harkness resigned and her council seat which was taken by Bruce Harris.
Two mayors first entered the Council via by-elections; John Luke (in 1905) and Celia Wade-Brown (in 1994).
Summary Between 1901 and 1986 municipal elections in Wellington were conducted at-large. Since 1986 municipal elections in Wellington have been held via a Wards system of local electoral districts. The following is a summary of by-elections held to fill vacancies on the Wellington City Council:
Key
Ward Date Incumbent Cause WinnerAt-large15 August 1904David NathanResignationFolk CohenAt-large31 August 1905George WiltshireDeathJohn LukeAt-large27 April 1906Arthur GibbsResignationJohn Smith At-large 8 September 1910James Devine DeathWilliam BarberThomas BallingerResignationWilliam ThompsonAt-large17 May 1912David McLarenElected as MayorEdward TregearAt-large17 September 1920George FrostDeathWilliam GaudinAt-large18 July 1922Sydney UnderwoodDeathAlexander PartonAt-large22 July 1926Alec MonteithResignationJohn GloverAt-large30 November 1927John CaughleyResignationCharlton MorpethAt-large29 June 1933Frank MeadowcroftDeathPeter FraserAt-large9 May 1936Peter FraserResignationAndrew ParlaneAt-large4 November 1936William BennettDeathJohn ReadAt-large2 November 1949Frederick FurkertDeathBerkeley DallardAt-large3 February 1955Stewart HardyResignationAllan HighetAt-large10 September 1960Mervyn CastleDeathBob Archibald At-large 15 November 1969William Scollay ResignationLes ChapmanJohn TurkHollis ReedOtari9 May 1987Rosemary Young-RouseResignationLes StephensKarori11 July 1987Gavin WilsonResignationArthur KinsellaSouthern11 March 1989Neville TaylorResignationRod MurphySouthern27 April 1991John BlincoeResignationMargaret BonnerOnslow 30 April 1994David BullResignationJudy SiersSouthernMerrin DowningResignationCelia Wade-BrownSouthern2 November 1996John GilberthorpeResignationBryan PepperellNorthern22 March 1997Sally BaberResignationJack RubenEastern29 April 2000Sue KedgleyResignationRay Ahipene-MercerSouthern22 December 2017Paul EagleResignationFleur FitzsimonsPukehīnau/Lambton17 February 2024Tamatha PaulResignationGeordie RogersTakapū/Northern1 October 2026Tony RandleDeathGreg O'Connor
List of by-elections 1904 by-election
1905 by-election
1906 by-election
1910 by-election
1912 by-election
1920 by-election
1922 by-election
1926 by-election
1927 by-election
1933 by-election
May 1936 by-election
November 1936 by-election
1949 by-election
1955 by-election
1960 by-election
1969 by-election
1987 by-election, Otari Ward
1987 by-election, Karori Ward
1989 by-election, Southern Ward
1991 by-election, Southern Ward
1994 by-election, Onslow Ward
1994 by-election, Southern Ward
1996 by-election, Southern Ward
1997 by-election, Northern Ward
2000 by-election, Eastern Ward
2017 by-election, Southern Ward
2024 by-election, Pukehīnau / Lambton general ward
2026 by-election, Takapū/Northern general ward Following the death of incumbent Takapū/Northern general ward councillor Tony Randle, a by-election was set to be held on 11 December 2026 to elect a new councillor for the ward to serve the remainder of Randle's 2025–2028 term. Nominations for candidates opened on 3 September 2026 and closed at midday on 1 October 2026. Greg O'Connor, retiring MP for Ōhāriu, confirmed that he would run in the by-election as an independent candidate, receiving support from Mayor Andrew Little. Former councillor John Apanowicz had also suggested he was considering running.Hunt, Tom (20 August 2026). "Labour MP Greg O'Connor, John Apanowicz considering a run in Wellington by-election", The Post. Accessed 6 September 2026.
At the close of nominations on 1 October 2026, O'Connor was the only candidate. As such, he was elected unopposed.
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