CITY MAYORALTY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1662, 31 January 1913, Page 6

CITY MAYORALTY.

SOME PROSPECTS. EFFORT TO AVOID SPLITTING OF VOTES. In view of what happened last year interesting possibilities attach to the contest for the Wellington Mayoralty which is to take place in April next. The only candidate as yet definitely announced is tho sitting Mayor (Mr. D. M'Larcn) who is the selected nominee of tho Labour party, but it is expected that thoro will be a contest and a keen one, before the occupancy of tho Mayor's chair for another year is determined. Yesterday a Dominion-reporter interviewed a number of possible candidates for the Mayoralty with a view to ascertaining what the position was at the moment.

Mr. T. M. Wilford, who was one oftho first approached, gently passed the question with a stock reply similar in nature to his well-known remark about "the soft pedal." "It looks as if it were going to rain," he \ said, "but it might not." .

It may be mentioned that as a matter of fact it did rain soon afterwards. . ■ Mr. A. S. Biss, who was a Mayoral candidate last year, stated when he was questioned that he had no present intention of standing in tho forthcoming election. - .

Mr R. A. Wright, another candidate of last year, also declined to commit himself definitely ono way or the other. __The Hon. T. Hislop, who was also questioned, said that he had no present idea of standing. . Tho position, it will be seen, is indefinite, but it is quite an open, possibility that two or more candidates may como forward to contest the Mayoralty against Mr. M'Laren. In spito of Mr. Wilford's reticence it is generally believed, in wall-informed quarters, that ho intends to offer himself for another term as Mayor, and there are several' possiblo candidates other than those mentioned. It may be worth while at this time recalling the leading facts of the last Mayoral contest. There \vcre four candidates:—Mr.- John accredited candidate of the Citizens' League), Mr. A. S. Biss, Mr. R. A, Wright, and Mr. D. M'Laren (Labour candidate).'' The polling resulted as under:—

•/' Mr. M'Laren 4235 . Mr. Biss 2634 Mr. Smith 1907 Mr. Wright 1557 Dividing tho votes Labour and antii Labour, Mr. M'Laren got 4235 and his opponents 6098. Another feature of the poll was that only a little over a\third of the electors on tho roll recorded their votes. Prior to tho election some atwere made to reduco the number of candidates other than the Labour nominee to one, so that there might lo a straight-out contest, but. in the 1 absence of any efficient organisation these attempts failed, and the inevitable followed.

A factor which may possibly exert a .big influence upon the fortunes of tho ponding Mayoral .contest is the, Greater Wellington Municipal Association which has just been formed. This body intends •to run a full ticket at all local elections, and will put forward an accredited candidate for tho Mayoralty. ;■ A- member of the association told a reporter yesterday that a determined attempt would bo made to avoid the disorganisation and lack of preparation which obtained last.year, and to conebntrate tho forces of all sections of citizens opposed to Labour, in support of a ( single candidate. It was absolutely necessary, the member of the association remarked, to impress upon intending candidates that they were not entitled to 6et, their own desires and interests, against those of the city, and that any useless splitting of votes would not bo forgotten. Backed by a powerful organisation, these views might command a respect which they failed to command in the disorganised state'of affairs that obtained last year.