| Election Name: | 1989 Wellington City mayoral election |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Flag Image: | Wellington Coat Of Arms.svg |
| Type: | Presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1986 Wellington City mayoral election |
| Previous Year: | 1986 |
| Next Election: | 1992 Wellington City mayoral election |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
| Election Date: | 14 October 1989 |
| Turnout: | 52,588 (49.94%) |
| Candidate1: | Jim Belich |
| Party1: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| Popular Vote1: | 15,198 |
| Percentage1: | 28.90 |
| Candidate2: | Helene Ritchie |
| Party2: | Independent politician |
| Popular Vote2: | 14,266 |
| Percentage2: | 27.12 |
| Candidate3: | Rex Nicholls |
| Party3: | Wellington Citizens' Association |
| Popular Vote3: | 14,183 |
| Percentage3: | 26.97 |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Jim Belich |
| Before Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| After Election: | Jim Belich |
| After Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
The 1989 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1989, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.
See also: 1989 local government reforms. The 1989 local elections were the first following a major overhaul of local government in New Zealand. The existing Wellington City Council remained in place but greatly expanded, absorbing several of the neighbouring authorities including the Tawa Borough Council and land on the waterfront formerly in the possession of the Wellington Harbour Board. This was the first local election in Wellington to allow postal voting, though polling booths were still available for use.[1]
The race for the mayoralty was bitterly fought with both sides of local politics in Wellington fighting internal divisions as well as each other. Mayor Jim Belich stood for a second term opposed by his former deputy Helene Ritchie who had left Labour after she was removed as deputy-mayor the previous year. The Citizens' Association also had rival candidates running against each other with Rex Nicholls running as the officially endorsed candidate with former Citizens' leader on the council David Bull and ex-councillor Roger Ridley-Smith running as an independent candidates after losing the nomination to Nicholls. As such, the race was characterised by vote splitting and provided a very closely spread result.[2] [3]
Actor Kevin Woodill, who played the role of William Hobson in Depot Theatre's production of Pigeon English, sought to stand for mayor as "William Hobson" in protest of local body amalgamation.[4] However he was unable to stand as an alias could not be used on a ballot paper, though they could campaign under whatever name they liked.[5]
The council vote was likewise indecisive with no one group having control of the council. The Labour Party had lost its majority from three years earlier with the Citizens' Association winning a plurality and becoming the largest group on the council. 1989 also saw the emergence of the Green Party which won a seat on the council, the first third party to do so since 1977. Stephen Rainbow won a seat in the Lambton Ward and became the country's first ever Green councillor.[6]
The following table gives the election results:
Rex Nicholls polled the highest in three of the seven of Wellington's electoral wards while Jim Belich and Helene Ritchie each polled the highest in two.
| Wards won by Belich | |
| Wards won by Ritchie | |
| Wards won by Nicholls |
| Jim Belich | Helene Ritchie | Rex Nicholls | Others | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward | % | % | % | % | |||||||
| Eastern | 3,290 | 30.3 | 2,944 | 27.1 | 3,122 | 28.8 | 1,500 | 13.9 | 10,856 | ||
| Lambton | 1,925 | 32.0 | 1,496 | 24.9 | 1,836 | 30.5 | 757 | 12.6 | 6,014 | ||
| Northern | 1,814 | 25.6 | 2,292 | 32.4 | 1,354 | 19.1 | 1,619 | 22.8 | 7,079 | ||
| Onslow | 1,658 | 28.8 | 1,137 | 19.8 | 1,786 | 31.1 | 1,186 | 20.6 | 5,747 | ||
| Tawa | 1,059 | 21.2 | 1,301 | 26.1 | 1,309 | 26.3 | 1,306 | 26.2 | 4,975 | ||
| Southern | 2,948 | 32.1 | 3,006 | 32.7 | 2,044 | 22.2 | 1,195 | 13.1 | 9,193 | ||
| Western | 2,504 | 28.7 | 2,090 | 24.0 | 2,732 | 31.4 | 1,378 | 15.8 | 8,704 | ||
| Total | data-sort-value="Z" | 15,198 | 28.9 | 14,266 | 27.1 | 14,183 | 26.9 | 7,550 | 14.3 | 52,588 |
See also: 1989 Wellington City local elections. Candidates were also elected from wards to the Wellington City Council.
| Party/ticket | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens' | 9 | ||
| Labour | 7 | ||
| Greens | 1 | ||
| Independent | 4 | ||