The 1953 Dunedin mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1953, 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.

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1953 Dunedin mayoral election

← 1950 31 October 1953 1956 →
Turnout	30,891 (64.20%)
Candidate Len Wright Phil Connolly Party Citizens' Labour Popular vote 15,420 13,365 Percentage 49.91 43.26
Mayor before election Len Wright Elected Mayor Len Wright

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A major talking point in the lead up to the election was the potential of a clash with the 1953 Royal Tour.^[1] There were proposals to postpone local elections until early 1954 over fears of reduced turnout due to a conflicted schedule. The proposals were considered by the Minister of Internal Affairs William Bodkin, who ultimately decided against it.^[2]

Len Wright, the incumbent Mayor, was re-elected for a second term. He defeated a spirited challenge from Phil Connolly the sitting Labour MP for Dunedin Central, who despite losing the mayoralty was elected to the Otago Harbour Board, where he became deputy-chairman.^[3] Initially the Labour Party won a 8-4 majority on the city council, however after a recount Citizens' candidate Stuart Sidey displaced Labour's James Dalziel as the lowest polling successful candidate amending the party split to 7-5.^[4]