Fleur Fitzsimons
Fleur Fitzsimons | |
|---|---|
 Fitzsimons in 2023 | |
| Wellington City Councillor for Southern Ward | |
| In office 22 December 2017 – 8 October 2022 Serving with David Lee (2017–2019) Laurie Foon (2019–2022) | |
| Preceded by | Paul Eagle |
| Succeeded by | Nureddin Abdurahman |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Fleur Ann Fitzsimons is a New Zealand local politician and lawyer. A member of the Labour Party, she was a member of Wellington City Council from 2017 to 2022. In the 2023 election, she stood for the House of Representatives in Rongotai, but the seat was won by Julie Anne Genter of the Green Party.
Early life
[edit]Fitzsimons grew up in Hastings.[1] She studied law at Victoria University of Wellington and whilst there was President of the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association from 2002 to 2003.[2] From 2003 to 2005 she was co-president of the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations, serving alongside future Labour Party general secretary Andrew Kirton. She then worked as a lawyer for the Public Service Association from 2008 to 2017 and was a member of the Island Bay School Board of Trustees.[3]
Political career
[edit]Wellington City Council
[edit]When Paul Eagle resigned his seat on the Wellington City Council after his election to Parliament a by-election was held in his ward.[4] Fitzsimons replaced him as the Labour Party candidate, who received Eagle's endorsement, and won the by-election.[3] Re-elected in 2019, she was a contender for the role of deputy mayor, but the role ultimately went to Sarah Free.[5] During her second term on the council she was seen as the de-facto leader of the centre-left group of councillors during the contentious triennium led by the then-mayor Andy Foster.[2] She was also the Labour Party's women's vice president.[6] She declined to run again at the 2022 election, by which time she was speculated as intending to run for parliament and would not rule it out. After leaving the city council she took up the role of assistant secretary of the Public Service Association (PSA).[2]
2023 campaign for Parliament
[edit]After Eagle's unsuccessful campaign for the Wellington mayoralty, he announced on 13 December 2022 that he would not be contesting the 2023 general election.[7][8] In March 2023, Fitzsimons was selected unopposed as Labour's candidate for Rongotai to replace Eagle.[2] At the election, Fitzsimons came second in Rongotai, 2,717 votes or 6.39 percentage points behind Julie Anne Genter of the Green Party.[9]
Union campaign work
[edit]Following her defeat in Rongotai, Fitzsimons returned to work with the PSA. In January 2024, she criticised the National-led coalition government's planned public sector cuts as "very short-sighted" and claimed many agencies were already running "on the smell of an oily rag" due to austerity measures imposed by the previous Labour administration.[10]
Personal life
[edit]Fitzsimons has four children,[11] one of whom is transgender.[12] She lives in Island Bay.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "New President At VUWSA". Scoop. 9 January 2002. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d Hunt, Tom (4 March 2023). "Fleur Fitzsimons to run in safe Labour seat of Rongotai". Stuff. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Devlin, Collette (22 December 2017). "Fleur Fitzsimons wins Wellington City Council southern ward by-election". Stuff. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ McAndrew, Ruby (24 September 2017). "Just when you thought it was safe to relax ... it's back to the polls in Wellington and Hastings". Stuff. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ^ Campbell, Georgina (24 October 2019). "Sarah Free set to take on role as Wellington's deputy mayor". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ MacManus, Joel and George, Damian (3 April 2021). "Analysis: Party politics stir controversy in the mini-parliament of Wellington City Council". Stuff. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lee, Irra (13 December 2022). "Six Labour MPs including David Clark to retire at election". 1News. TVNZ. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Ensor, Jamie (12 December 2022). "Labour MP retirements: Poto Williams, David Clark, Paul Eagle among those resigning". Newshub. Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Rongotai – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ "Union lays into 'short-sighted' public sector cuts". Radio NZ. 26 January 2024.
- ^ Hunt, Tom (18 January 2022). "Fleur Fitzsimons bows out of local politics, mulls run for Parliament". Dominion Post. Stuff.
- ^ Fitzsimons, Fleur (7 November 2021). "My trans son deserves love and acceptance, like every other kid". Stuff.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Fleur Fitzsimons at Wikimedia Commons
- Living people
- New Zealand trade unionists
- Wellington City Councillors
- 21st-century New Zealand politicians
- 21st-century New Zealand women politicians
- Victoria University of Wellington alumni
- New Zealand feminists
- Unsuccessful candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election
- New Zealand Labour Party politicians
- Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association presidents