1974 Dunedin mayoral election

The 1974 Dunedin mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1974, elections were held for the Mayor of Dunedin plus other local government positions including twelve city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

1974 Dunedin mayoral election

12 October 1974
Turnout	26,172
Candidate Jim Barnes Brian Arnold Party Citizens' Labour Popular vote 13,820 9,279 Percentage 52.80 35.45
Mayor before election Jim Barnes Elected mayor Jim Barnes

Jim Barnes, the incumbent Mayor was re-elected for a third term. He defeated councillor Brian Arnold of the Labour Party. In the city council voting, the Citizens' Association won seven seats, the Labour Party four and one independent was successful.

Results

The following table shows the results for the election:

1974 Dunedin mayoral election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Citizens'	Jim Barnes	13,820	52.80	−1.89
	Labour	Brian Arnold	9,279	35.45
	Independent	Gordon Brian Heslop	2,482	9.48
Informal votes			591	2.25	+1.65
Majority			4,541	17.35	−4.77
Turnout			26,172