Wellington City Council
October 14th, 2007 at 10:57 am by David FarrarFinally have results for Wellington. As expected Kerry Prendergast was re-elected. What I find more interesting is the order in which people dropped off.
Now the vote totals don’t mean much, because of the way votes are redistributed, but it does look like a much larger victory for Kerry than last time – she avoided going into a final two person run-off, as in the 9th iteration she had more than Ahipene-Mercer and Pepperell combined.
John McGrath did very badly, being the first serious candidate to drop off. Rob Goulden also did far worse than last time.
The big winner, apart from Kerry, is Ray Ahipene-Mercer who came second. He will be a major contender next time and he also may become Deputy Mayor as Alick Shaw lost his seat.
On Council, the results are:
Northern – Hayley Wain will be delighted by topping the poll, with Helene Ritchie a distant second. Former Councillor Ngaire Best got re-elected, but at the expense of her former colleague Robert Armstrong.
Onslow-Western – I’m delighted Jo Coughlan got elected, and even better she replaced Jack Ruben. Andy Foster and John Morrison got re-elected, which is no surprise.
Lambton – The big news is that Deputy Mayor Alick Shaw lost his seat, and lost heavily. Fairly harsh for a hard working and dedicated guy, but I suspect what has happened is that despite being on the Labour ticket he was not supported by many on the left, while the Labour affiliation also turned off those on the right. He may have done better as an Independent. Iona Pannett won, and I am not really surprised. She did campaign very hard and even door knocked on my door. Her left wing vote will be somewhat balanced by Jo Coughlan replacing Jack Ruben, so overall balance on Council not changed much.
Eastern – The incumbents of Ray Ahipene-Mercer, Rob Goulden and Leonie Hill all returned as expected. Goulden was third which will concern him as he stood for Mayor also.
Southern – Again incumbents returned in Celia Wade-Brown and Bryan Pepperell. No-one else came close.
Overall the Council may be less divided than previously. The “disruptors” have not done very well, and lost one of their number. Also Alick could be a bit inflammatory himself, responding to them, so his departure may lessen temperatures. But on the other hand if this is Kerry’s last term expect some posturing as people seek profile so they can win next time.
Related posts:
- Full Results for Wellington City Council
- Full Wellington City Council results
- Wellington Region Mayoralty Contests
- WCC Results
October 14th, 2007 at 11:11 am
John McGrath did very badly, being the first serious candidate to drop off.
I guess that horny teenage boy demographic he pitched his campaign at didn’t come through for him.
Vote:October 14th, 2007 at 11:28 am
“I’m delighted Jo Coughlan got elected”
But TVNZ says Joe Coglin got elected
Vote:October 14th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Onslow-Western – I’m delighted Jo Coughlan got elected, and even better she replaced Jack Ruben. Andy Foster and John Morrison got re-elected, which is no surprise.
Results like this show that people are looking at who they are voting for. Ruben was the most disruptive member of the former council. Jo Coughlan was streets ahead of Pauline Scott… I’d vote for a mother of six over a party aparatichik almost any day.
I voted for Ray Ahipene Mercer for mayor as I couldn’t think of a single thing about Kerry that would make me want to vote for her, so I was glad to see Ray come second. Seeing him in the front row of the audience at The Hollow Men last Saturday night only confirmed my liking for him.
Vote:October 14th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
John McGrath lost any chance at my vote with that bloody promotional truck of his. I remember in particular seeing someone perform in Midland Park while his truck was stationary at the lights, blaring out soft-cock rock and drowning out the performance altogether.
Perhaps I’m alone in that reaction but I wonder whether that wasn’t a hugely counter-productive promotional strategy.
Vote:October 14th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
How did that Tane fella get on?
Vote:October 14th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Shaw for Pannett isn’t a great trade. I suspect this’ll just mean more noe votes around the council table against everything except more spending for public transport and social housing.
Great to see people ‘Put Jack Back’ – at home.
Vote:October 14th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Tane (not the same one who is a regular here) was a fair way back.
Vote:October 14th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Well, Pannett in should at least mean 1 more person not voting themselves a pay increase at every possible opportunity.
Vote: