1983 Porirua mayoral election

The 1983 Porirua mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. The elections were held for the role of Mayor of Porirua plus other local government positions including sixteen city councillors, also elected triennially. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background
The incumbent Mayor, Whitford Brown, retired after 21 years leaving an open race. The deputy mayor John Burke was elected over councillor Maxine Arnold, though the Labour ticket he led failed to regain a majority with the council having a majority of independent councillors.

Electoral reforms were implemented at the 1983 municipal elections, the method of electing councillors at large which had been used in Porirua since 1962 was replaced with a ward system of local electoral districts. Wards had been used for areas absorbed into the city since then in both Taupo and Pukerua Bay from 1974 with the rest elected at large.

Mayoral results
The following table gives the election results:

Ward results
Candidates were also elected from wards to the Porirua City Council.