Terry McDavitt

New Zealand educator, politician and activist

Terry McDavitt

McDavitt in 1986

19th Deputy Mayor of Wellington
In office
13 April 1988 – 1 November 1989
Mayor| Jim Belich
Preceded by| Helene Ritchie
Succeeded by| David Watt
Wellington City Councillor
In office
8 October 1983 – 10 October 1992
Ward| At-large (1983-86)
Lambton (1986-92)
Personal details
Born|  (1948-01-02) 2 January 1948 (age 77)
Dannevirke, New Zealand
Political party| Labour
Other political
affiliations| Values Party
Alma mater| Victoria University of Wellington

Terry Joseph McDavitt JP (born 2 January 1948) is a New Zealand educator, politician and activist.

## Biography

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### Early life

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Terry McDavitt was born in Dannevirke in 1948. He was educated in Wellington at St. Patrick's College, later attending Victoria University of Wellington and graduated in 1970 with a Master of Arts degree.[1] He was an activist in his youth and organised multiple protests against the Vietnam War and apartheid.[2] In 1979 he became head of General Studies at Wellington Polytech, a position he retained until 1987, when he resigned to focus on his political career.[3][4] He is a justice of the peace.[5]

McDavitt married Kate Ford in 1970 and had two children; Ruth in 1975 and Joseph in 1978. He and Ford were divorced in 1984. McDavitt married Sue Lee in 1994.[1]

### Political career

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McDavitt became politically active in the early 1970s and joined the environmentalist Values Party. in 1974 he stood unsuccessfully for the Wellington City Council on a Values ticket.[6] In 1975 he was elected as the party's Wellington regional convener, replacing Tony Brunt who stepped down from the role.[7] He also served as the General Secretary of the Values Party from 1974 until 1979 when he decided to leave the role.[1] The role was no longer paid and he left it for a role as a communications tutor. He stayed on in a voluntary basis with several friends performing necessary duties until the next annual conference.[8] He was in favour of homosexual law reform in New Zealand and listed his name openly in support.[9]

By the 1980s McDavitt had left the Values Party and had joined the Labour Party. He stood again for the City Council in 1983 on a Labour ticket and was elected.[10][11] He transferred to the Lambton Ward in 1986 would remain on the council until 1992 when he decided not to seek re-election.[1] In 1988 he was appointed deputy to Mayor Jim Belich after the removal of Helene Ritchie, following a series of feuds with Labour councillors over policy.[12] He held that position until 1989 when Labour lost their majority on the council.[2]

In 1989 he was elected to the Wellington Regional Council on a Labour ticket. Wishing to concentrate more on his regional council duties prompted him to give up his role as Labour leader on the council to Sue Driver, who was Labour's nominee for the deputy mayoralty.[13] As Labour no longer had a council majority the deputy role went to David Watt, an independent.[14] As a regional councillor he chaired the transport committee, and would serve for 21 years until he was defeated in 2010 standing as an independent.[15] He was the chair of both the public transport and land transport committees and also served as Deputy Chair of the Regional Council from 2001 to 2007.

## Notes

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1. ^ a b c d Taylor 1998, pp. 500.
2. ^ a b Naylor, Shani (11 January 1989). "Terry McDavitt: ready when duty called". The Evening Post. p. 21.
3. ^ Busby, Anita (15 May 1987). "McDavitt quits job for council". The Dominion.
4. ^ "Farewelling Polytech's Problems". The Evening Post. 10 February 1987.
5. ^ Baalbergen, Janine (20 June 2023). "Horowhenua Justices of the Peace gather in Levin". Horowhenua Chronicle. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
6. ^ "City Council". The Dominion. 14 October 1974.
7. ^ "Values Party changes". The Press. Vol. CXV, no. 33894\. 14 July 1975. p. 14.
8. ^ "Values job vacated". The Press. 22 January 1979. p. 2.
9. ^ "We Support Homosexual Law Reform". The Press. 20 April 1985. p. 6.
10. ^ Dawson, P.L. (25 October 1983). Declaration of Result of Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
11. ^ "Local Body Polls '83". The Evening Post. 10 October 1983.
12. ^ "Wgtn deputy stripped of offices". The Press. 15 April 1988. p. 6.
13. ^ Evans, Gavin (19 October 1989). "Sue Driver Labour's choice for deputy mayoralty". The Evening Post.
14. ^ Moran, Paul (2 November 1989). "Former Tawa mayor now city's deputy". The Evening Post.
15. ^ "2010 election results". Greater Wellington Regional Council. Retrieved 29 May 2017.

## References

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* Taylor, Alister, ed. (1998). New Zealand Who's Who, 1998 edition. Auckland. ISSN 1172-9813.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

## External links

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* Photo of McDavitt (left) as Values Party secretary

Political offices

Preceded by

Helene Ritchie

|  Deputy Mayor of Wellington
1988-1989  | Succeeded by

David Watt

New constituency |  Wellington City Councillor for Lambton Ward
1986–1992  | Succeeded by

Liz Thomas

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States