In 1983, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including eighteen city councillors.

Lawrence retained the Mayoralty for the Citizens' Association, seeing off a challenge from high profile Labour Party councillor Helene Ritchie.

Given Lawrence's quiet style and low profile compared to Ritchie's more marked public reputation, most commentators and pollsters were predicting a very close result.

[2] The 1983 election was also notable as it saw former Citizens' councillor Leone Harkness re-elected to the council as an independent candidate, the first time a candidate without an official party ticket had been elected to the council since Berkeley Dallard in 1950.

It also saw Jenny Brough (later Harris) retain her seat on the council after defecting from Labour in 1982.