SOME INDEPENDENTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 194, 15 May 1944, Page 4

SOME INDEPENDENTS

Local Body Nominations Closed

UNUSUAL POSITION OF ONE Closing time for the Wellington local bodies election nominations at noon on Saturday found three .council candidates and one hospital board candidate outside the “tickets.” In oiie instance, the position is unusual. Miss Amy Kane, a Citizens’ ticket candidate for the hospital board but not for the city council, is also nominated for the latter. Thus she has ticket ’nomination for one body but independent standing in her candidature for the other. The Citizens’ ticket organization is unlikely to take any action concerning this, though the effect may be to distribute Citizens’ voting between 16 candidates instead of 15, the total on the council ticket. Miss Kane’s intention to contest both elections was announced by advertisement some days ago. Mr. A. H. Carman is another independent candidate for the city council. He was once prominent in Labour circles, but broke with the official party on matters of political principle. He is a former member of the hospital board and has stood for Parliament.

A Communist, Dr. H. Silverstone, is also nominated for -the city council. This party has attached itself to the Labour cause in this election, though Labour has full tickets for all local bodies and has not announced any adoption of the Communist candidates —Mrs. Constance Birchfield for the hospital board, is the other. Another independent candidate for the council is Mr. J. T. L. H. Parry, a contractor, of Rixon Grove. Te Aro. The independent candidate for the hospital board is Mr. T. W. Dick, a health consultant, of Aitken Street. The Labour council candidates include three union secretaries and the hospital ticket four. The Labour harbour board ticket of four has three candidates who are or have been union secretaries. One is the mayoral candidate, Mr. Roberts; another, Mr. T. Hill, is secretary of the Watersiders’ Union. The two mayoral candidates each had to deposit £lO and the others £3, which sums are not forfeit unless a candidate fails to poll one-eighth of the votes cast for the lowest polling successful candidate. These deposits must be in cash; the cheques of the highest and lowest alike are equally unacceptable in law to the returning officer, Mr. J. Norrie. Labour has put up three women for the council against one by Citizens. For the hospital board there are five women Labour candidates against three by Citizens and one Communist. The number of vacancies and the total nominations are : Council. 15 f 34) ; hospital board, 13 (28) ; harbour board 4 (8). The full lists of candidates arc advertised oh page 3.