1874 Wellington City mayoral election

1874 Wellington mayoral election

17 December 1874
Turnout	1,516
File:William Sefton Moorhouse1.jpg File:Joseph Dransfield.jpg Candidate William Sefton Moorhouse Joe Dransfield Party Independent Independent Popular vote 1,009 507 Percentage 66.55 33.46
Mayor before election Charles Borlase Elected mayor William Sefton Moorhouse

The 1874 Wellington City mayoral election was the first election for the Mayor of Wellington to be conducted by public vote. The election was won by William Sefton Moorhouse, who defeated former mayor Joseph Dransfield.

Background

Prior conventions dictated that Wellington's mayors were chosen by the city councillors from amongst themselves. In December 1874 an election open to the voting public was held with the intention of ratepayers selecting who would occupy the office of mayor for the 1875 term. The election was held on 17 December and saw William Sefton Moorhouse defeat Joe Dransfield by a 2 to 1 vote margin.

Election results

The following table gives the election results:

1874 Wellington mayoral election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Sefton Moorhouse	1,009	66.55
	Independent	Joe Dransfield	507	33.46
Majority			502	33.11
Turnout			1,516

References

• Betts, George (1970). Betts on Wellington: A City and its Politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0-589-00469-7.