1897 Wellington City mayoral election

1897 Wellington City mayoral election

File:Wellington Coat Of Arms (1878-1951).svg
24 November 1897
Turnout	1,935
File:John Rutherford Blair.jpg File:George Fisher, ca 1890s.jpg Candidate John Rutherfurd Blair George Fisher Party Independent Independent Popular vote 1,359 576 Percentage 70.23 29.77
Mayor before election Francis Bell Elected mayor John Rutherfurd Blair

The 1897 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

In 1897 incumbent Mayor Francis Bell retired leading to the chairman of the Wellington Education Board John Rutherfurd Blair being elected to office as the new Mayor of Wellington, beating his sole opponent MP George Fisher (a former mayor).

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1897 Wellington mayoral election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Rutherfurd Blair	1,359	70.23
	Independent	George Fisher	576	29.77	−10.97
Majority			783	40.46
Turnout			1,935

References

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