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1968 Auckland City mayoral election

← 1965 12 October 1968 1971 →
Turnout	32,128 (45.14%)
Candidate Dove-Myer Robinson Roy McElroy Party Independent Citizens & Ratepayers Popular vote 18,484 12,512 Percentage 57.53 38.94
Mayor before election Roy McElroy Elected mayor Dove-Myer Robinson

The 1968 Auckland City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1968, elections were held for the Mayor of Auckland plus other local government positions including twenty-one city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

Incumbent Mayor Roy McElroy of the Citizens & Ratepayers ticket was defeated by his predecessor Dove-Myer Robinson. Labour Party councillor George Forsyth ran again for a second time, however he was refused official party endorsement as Labour officials preferred Robinson as Mayor to McElroy and thought fielding their own candidate would allow McElroy to be re-elected on a split vote. Robinson's promise of a "rapid rail" system to ease Auckland's mounting traffic problems was a major talking point. A new ticket, the Civic Action Party was set up as an anti-rapid rail group, some of whose members were former local body politicians. Facing bitter opposition to his independent candidature Forsyth received half a dozen threatening telephone calls (who did not reveal their names) and even members of his family were abused whilst travelling publicly in buses. Forsyth said he was not worried about the callers but thought it was a "pretty poor state of affairs" that he could not offer himself as a candidate for public office in without encountering "Chicago-style opposition."

Mayoralty results

Councillor results

References

• Edgar, John (2012). Urban Legend: Sir Dove-Meyer Robinson. Hodder Moa. ISBN 9781869712747.

Notes

1. Edgar 2012.
2. "Threats To Candidate". The Press. Vol. CVIII, no. 31788. 19 September 1968. p. 6.
3. "Massive Win for ex-Mayor of Auckland". The New Zealand Herald. 14 October 1968. p. 1.
4. "Declaration of Result of Election". The New Zealand Herald. 24 October 1968. p. 15.

v t e Mayors of Auckland City
Mayors	Philip Philips Henry Isaacs Frederick Prime Benjamin Tonks William Hurst Henry Brett Thomas Peacock James Clark William Waddel Albert Devore John Upton William Crowther James Job Holland Abraham Boardman Peter Dignan David Goldie John Logan Campbell Alfred Kidd Edwin Mitchelson Arthur Myers Charles Grey Lemuel Bagnall James Parr James Gunson George Baildon George Hutchison Ernest Davis John Allum John Luxford Tom Ashby Keith Buttle Dove-Myer Robinson Roy McElroy Dove-Myer Robinson Colin Kay Catherine Tizard Les Mills Christine Fletcher John Banks Dick Hubbard John Banks
Mayoral elections	Annual term 1871† 1872† 1873† 1874† 1875 1876 1877† 1878 1879† 1880† 1881† 1882† 1883† 1884† 1885† 1886† 1887† 1888† 1889† 1890† 1891† 1892† 1893† 1894† 1895† 1896† 1897† 1898 1899† 1900† 1901 1902† 1903 1904† 1905 1906 1907 1908† 1909† 1910 1911† 1912 1913† 1914† Biennial term 1915 1917 1919† 1921† 1923† 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 Triennial term 1938 1941 1944 1947 1950 1953 1956 1957‡ 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1990‡ 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007
Local elections	1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 by-elections
† Elected unopposed ‡ By-election

• Mayoral elections in Auckland
• 1968 elections in New Zealand
• Politics of the Auckland Region
• 1960s in Auckland
• October 1968 events in New Zealand