2019 local body election results

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, October 12th, 2019 - 79 comments
Categories: democratic participation, local body elections, local government - Tags:

Live coverage at

The Herald’s full list of Mayors and Councillors

ElectionNZ results page

List of council websites and maps

When will election results be available?

Votes are processed, but not counted, as they come in. The announcement of the preliminary results will depend on the flow of the returned voting documents to electoral officers. Electoral officers have the discretion to announce progress results (i.e. votes counted to date), and some do so very soon after midday on polling day for FPP. This tends to happen more in larger areas, where there are many votes to count. The preliminary results (i.e. the count of all ordinary votes, and validated special votes) for smaller councils using FPP might be available within a few hours of the close of voting on polling day.

Under FPP, candidates’ vote tallies increase progressively as more and more votes are counted. It is possible to predict whether the uncounted votes could alter the outcome after a progress result, based on the margins between the candidates and how many votes there are left to count.

However, the nature of STV voting means that a very few votes can alter the result of an election by changing the order in which candidates are excluded and their votes transferred. As a result, it is less clear how a relatively small number of votes will affect the final result under STV. This is why progress results are generally not made in STV elections.

The Society of Local Government Managers’ electoral working party has recommended that electoral officers release preliminary results (as distinct from progress results) for STV elections as soon as practicable. If electoral officers cannot release a preliminary result by midday on the Sunday after polling day, because they have not received all the votes to process and put through the calculator for an announcement by that time, then they should consider releasing progress results sometime after midday on Sunday.

LGNZ turnout stats:

The Vote 2019 campaign has been designed to encourage more Kiwis to get involved in the Local Authority Elections. Local Authority Election turnout has been declining in many areas of New Zealand since the 1980s. This ten-month Vote 2019 campaign, which ran until the 12 October polling date, aimed to lift voter numbers above 50 per cent nationally for the first time since 1989.

View the tables below for the preliminary voter turnout statistics from the 2019 local authority elections as provided by the councils. The figures are broken into metro, rural, provincial and regional areas.  These tables will be updated with final results, including Special Votes, once all votes have been counted.

79 comments on “2019 local body election results ”

  1. Dukeofurl 1

    The postal votes are 'processed' when they come in , but as that involves digital scanning, the counting is a computer process after midday. They probably know clear winners by now ( 2pm) but there are various checks to be done and adding the last votes that arrived this morning.

    Stuff is saying Goff has 155,000 or so votes. He got 187k last time and nearest challenger was Crone with 111K. With lower turnout looks like Goff still miles ahead of ‘all the rest’

  2. Prickles 2

    Tim King has flown in for Tasman. Don’t expect any great changes here then – same backers just with a different front man.
    It will be interesting to see the breakdown of the different wards. Apparently Golden Bay has gone for a complete change – wise folks. But Richmond ward with the biggest population have voted for the status quo.

    • Cinny 2.1

      Unconfirmed… but this is what I know so far…Edit https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-body-elections/116510317/tim-king-wins-tasman-district-council-mayoralty

      Motueka Ward (in order)
      David Oglivie
      Trindi Walker
      Barry Dowler

      Motueka Community Board (in no particular order)
      Brent Maru
      Trindi Walker (as Trindi will relinquish this for council, the next highest polling candidate will get it, Joni Tomsett)
      Richard Horrell
      David Armstrong

      Richmond Ward (in no particular order)
      Dana Wensley
      Kit Mailing
      Mark Greening
      Trevor Tuffnell

      Moutere-Waimea Ward
      Dean McNamara
      Anne Turley
      Christeen McKenzie

      Golden Bay (in no particular order)
      Chris Hill
      Celia Butler

      Golden Bay Community Board
      Dave Gowland (1071),
      Averill Grant (1312),
      Grant Knowles (1174)
      Abbie Langford (1287)

  3. observer 3

    Some good results so far in Auckland, Hutt, Napier.

  4. millsy 4

    According to Stuff:

    Neil Brown has taken Ashburton

    Sandra Hazelhurst has kept Hastings

    Tim Shadbolt, tired old Trot he is, has kept Invercargill

    Hutt City has been taken by Campbell Barry

  5. Craig H 5

    Liane Dalziel returned as mayor in Christchurch. Full results:

    https://ccc.govt.nz/news-and-events/newsline/show/3960

  6. Sacha 6

    Dunedin gets NZ's first openly Green Party aligned Mayor. Aaron Hawkins is a worthy leader.

  7. observer 7

    Still waiting on Wellington (STV) but so far the Right candidates for mayor have lost in the major cities – Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch, Dunedin.

    And a few smaller ones too.

  8. Macro 8

    Commiserations to Micky on his electoral bid. However from a purely selfish point of view on my part I guess that means he will still have time to continue posting here. Good to hear that another sometime poster here Dennis Tegg has been successful in his bid for selection as Coromandel representative on the Waikato regional Council.

    • weka 8.1

      Bummer about Micky 🙁

      Dennis is saying he ran on a climate platform, so doubly awesome he is in.

      • Macro 8.1.1

        Yes very pleased for Dennis.t was a very close contest with only a few hundred votes separating all of the candidates. Dennis of course is well known in these parts having been the first Green party Candidate in the Coromandel Electorate before Jeanette. He has been an active contributor to the climate change discussion here – where unfortunately we have just re-elected a well known denier Sandra Goudie as Mayor. Not unsurprising tho as she is a very good canvaser and well known. She does drive a Leaf, so I suppose that is something in her benefit, but really the council in Thames needs some serious new blood. The best candidate for the Thames Ward for Council Robyn Sinclair (PDF)

        was just pipped by about 80 votes into 4th 🙁 .

        • weka 8.1.1.1

          Did Sinclair get elected?

          (fixed the link).

          • Macro 8.1.1.1.1

            Nope – only 3 spots available – she was 4th highest polling candidate. This was her first run for selection so overall a creditable run. Might have been better to run for local community board first. There were mostly new candidates there, and we need strong voices there as well. But from close second hand knowledge I know it can be a very wearying task, with a council made up primarily of grey beards.
            BTW thanks for fixing the link – I used to be able to do it under the old system but this new linky thing is a bit perplexing 🙂

        • Sacha 8.1.1.2

          So Goudie is like Bridges in thinking that swapping their personal vehicles to electric ones makes up for doing nothing significant about climate change. Guess it plays well enough with their base. Slow clap.

          • Macro 8.1.1.2.1

            Actually she is a thorough going climate denier. Like Bridges the driving of a Leaf is all personal savings – nothing to do with saving the planet.

  9. weka 9

    Robert Guyton is back with the Southland regional council (inappropriately named Environment Southland).

  10. chris tremain got beaten by over 8.000 votes..

    how sweet it is..!

    good news about the first mayor to have run on a green ticket..

    the local govt door is wide open for the greens..there are ripe pickings there for them..

    many who may not vote green in national electoons – will do for an effective local green candidate..

    and local gummint is going to become more and more important in the upcoming battles against the effects of/from climate-change..

    so the greens have to be there..

  11. Dukeofurl 11

    Lester behind so far in Wellington

    "Under the STV voting system, Lester was ahead on all iterations until the final one when many of Diane Calvert's votes went to Foster. "

    Lester may yet gain on the 'specials' and other candidates 2nd votes- 5500 to come

    • 'Lester may yet gain on the 'specials' and other candidates 2nd votes- 5500 to come'..

      doubt it..!

    • RedBaronCV 11.2

      isn;t there about 5000 votes to be counted? and there was a heaving crowd down at the council drop off this morning waiting to vote and a lot of drop offs – not a lot looked like natural andy supporters – as far as I can see Peter seems to think his is the only opinion matters or is it just the stuff coverage??? who knows – not a favourite of mine

  12. so..peter jackson bought himself a mayor…

    that's an uncomfortable precedent set..

    • Anne 12.1

      Didn't Jackson have some sort of run-in with mayor, Lester and his council a year or two ago? If so, then I guess financing an opponent was his way to seek revenge.

      Never liked the arrogant, nasty bastard.

      • phillip ure 12.1.1

        jackson is doing a nimby in island bay…

        doesn't want poorer people/a residential development in the area..

        it lowers the tone – didn'tyaknow…

        gonna be interesting to see if the new mayor does his bidding…

        • Agora 12.1.1.1

          What does Jackson want from Foster that he could not get from Lester? Should that be Lyall Bay ?

        • Hooch 12.1.1.2

          If you knew much about the development I don’t think you’d be saying this. The cheapest houses/apartments will be over $800k and there is huge controversy over the iwi ownership – as in they feel they’ve been shafted. Also the destruction of the environment, extra vehicles etc. So no I don’t think he’s being a nimby about it.

          • Agora 12.1.1.2.1

            Can you be more precise about the development location?

          • phillip ure 12.1.1.2.2

            i would have thought that buying a mayor sets a whole new benchmark in nimbyisim in action..

            surely..?

            • William 12.1.1.2.2.1

              Jackson's upset about Shelly Bay.

            • Incognito 12.1.1.2.2.2

              AFAIK, he donated to a mayoral candidate and it was up to the voters to elect the candidate. Are you suggesting that the new mayor, if he gets confirmed, is somehow ‘owned’ by the campaign donor and will do “his bidding” (@ 12.1.1)? You may want to choose your words more wisely.

              • some may say that – i couldn't possibly comment…

              • aom

                Lester was financed by the Shelley Bay developer last election! Not this time though as the developer didn't want his man having to disqualify himself from voting on any decisions with regard to the development and the handing over of Council land as part of the deal. Lester was also an executive member of the Property Council (the 'union' of the big project developers) and last time around, had a large election poster on a Wellington Airport site (not too unsubtle support from the CEO?) when a significant slice of the left-leaning voters were opposing the still proposed runway extension. The Shelley Bay development is probably not the only issue to get up Sir Peter's nose. He was used and abused by Council on another Lester favoured developer project, the Conference Centre. It is now going to be a milestone around the ratepayers neck with the departure of Jackson's movie museum that was going to partly finance the project. A number of Wellingtonians who are not much in awe of Peter Jackson are not unhappy that he gave Andy Foster's campaign a boost to get rid of a Mayor who has not served the locals well.

                • aom

                  Oops – millstone!

                • Dukeofurl

                  Do you even know how 'large billboard sites' work. If it was on Airport land , the Airport doesnt decide, as they only get lease payments from a billboard company, not operational control. As for your claim Lester was an 'executive member' of the (Wellington) Property Council , Im calling that a load of bollocks, yes hes a commercial lawyer who worked in commercial real estate world but hes been a Councillor since 2010 before Mayor

                  • Incognito

                    My current and past work and general experience includes:

                    • Executive member of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Property Council

                    https://nz.linkedin.com/in/justin-lester-ab613623

                  • aom

                    Incognito sorted one of your issues with fact – not assertion. As for the billboard issue – bullshit! Of course the entity paying for the billboard and the facility providing the site would have had some say. Do you really think a billboard opposing the airports interests would have found its way to the same site? Also, was it a co-incidence that the billboard was taken down immediately after the issue was raised on this site in response to a posting that supported his candidacy?

                    • Sacha

                      was it a co-incidence that the billboard was taken down immediately after the issue was raised on this site

                      Yes. Who do you think reads this? 🙂

    • Cinny 12.2

      Andy Foster was my fourth form teacher. Crikey he has come a long way.

  13. and out of the omni-shambles – stumbles tim shadbolt…

    arms raised in victory – 'i'm back!' – he croaked…

    • millsy 13.1

      2 things that would survive a global thermonuclear war.

      1) Cockroaches

      2) Tim Shadbolt.

      • phillip ure 13.1.1

        do the locals come out and mill about him..

        like the rajneesh used to do for the bhagwan..?

        does anyone know..?

        are they still impressed that he is from auckland..?

        that usually wow!'s southlanders..

        meeting someone from the big city..

        • Stuart Munro. 13.1.1.1

          You have to look pretty hard to find a Southlander that hasn't had a blunt with Mayor Tim – I did a couple of months on the mussel farms back in 2007 – pretty much everyone had met him.

  14. it's a shame sue bradford didn't get in in northland..

    she is very competent..

    and would have been very effective in that role..

  15. RedBaronCV 15

    Isn't Micheal laws back in – return of the what..

  16. RedBaronCV 16

    looks like wellington city council largely women

    [Corrected typo in e-mail address]

  17. observer 17

    One truism of news is that local councillors do make national headlines when they say stupid or nasty things, but otherwise don't.

    So I'll just copy this from the Spinoff, on the fate of several Hamilton councillors you might remember …

    "Hamilton has spent three years writhing in the grip of some of New Zealand’s most embarrassing councillors. James Casson infamously said the Christchurch terrorist wins with “each tear shed” for his victims. Garry Mallett used homophobic slurs in a council meeting, and has consistently opposed Māori representation on council. Both are climate deniers. So is Leo Tooman. Meanwhile, Siggi Henry wore an anti-vax t-shirt to an autism fundraiser.

    All four of those candidates were voted out on Saturday. Their replacements include Sarah Thomson, a lawyer who sued the government for failing to meet its climate change targets, and Kesh Naidoo-Rauf, a local pharmacist who went to Christchurch to volunteer in the aftermath of the March 15 massacre."

    (Well done Hamilton voters!)