Geoffrey Leonard Simmons (born 27 December 1974) is an economist and former leader of
The Opportunities Party
The Opportunities Party (usually referred to as TOP) is a centrist political party based in New Zealand. It was founded in 2016 by economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan and is today led by Raf Manji. The party is based upon an idea of "evid ...
(TOP), a political party in New Zealand. He stood for TOP in the
February 2017 Mount Albert by-election, in the
Wellington Central electorate in the
2017 general election, and in the
Rongotai electorate in the
2020 general election.
Early life
Simmons grew up in
Ōkaihau
Ōkaihau is a small town in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island, just north of Kaikohe. State Highway 1 passes through Ōkaihau making it fairly busy. Ōkaihau has a primary school (Ōkaihau Primary School) and a secondary scho ...
(Far North) and
West Auckland,
[ the son of two teachers.]University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
.[ He worked as an economic analyst for the ]New Zealand Treasury
The New Zealand Treasury ( mi, Te Tai Ōhanga) is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the Government on economic policy, assisting with improving the performance of New Zealand's economy, and managing fin ...
from 1999 to 2003.[ He worked as an economic advisor for the UK Home Office in 2003–05 and then for the ]East Midlands Development Agency
East Midlands Development Agency, abbreviated EMDA, was the regional development agency for the East Midlands region of England formed in 1999.
Structure and function
EMDA’s office was located next to a Premier Inn, BBC East Midlands (and R ...
in 2005–08.[ He was the general manager and an economist for the Morgan Foundation][ (founded by Gareth Morgan) in Wellington from 2009 to 2016.]improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
, since he was at secondary school. He has performed with the Improv Bandits, a professional troupe in Auckland, Best on Tap in Wellington, and Stagecraft at the Gryphon Theatre in Wellington. He teaches with the Wellington Improv Troupe.
Political career
2017 general election
In the February 2017 Mount Albert by-election, Simmons stood as a candidate for the Opportunities Party (TOP), founded by Gareth Morgan.[ He came third, with 623 votes, 4.56% of 13,649 valid votes.
On 24 May 2017, Gareth Morgan announced that Simmons as the deputy leader of TOP and their candidate in the Wellington Central electorate in the ]2017 New Zealand general election
The 2017 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 23 September 2017 to determine the membership of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. The previous parliament was elected on 20 September 2014 and was officially dissolved on 22 August 20 ...
.[ During the 2017 election for Wellington Central held on 23 September, Simmons came fourth place with 2,892 votes.
]
TOP revamp and leadership
In December 2017, three months after the election, Morgan resigned as leader and Simmons and two candidates also stepped down from their roles. In August 2018, TOP appointed Simmons as interim leader until an election of party members could be held to determine a replacement to Morgan. In the ensuing internal leadership election, Simmons contested the position with four other candidates. On 8 December 2018, the party board announced Simmons had been successful.
During the TOP's party relaunch held in October 2019, Simmons delivered a speech advocating a universal basic income and "breaking the Labour / National duopoly".
2020 election
In July 2020, Simmons announced that he would contest the Rongotai
Rongotai is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, located southeast of the city centre. It is on the Rongotai isthmus, between the Miramar Peninsula and the suburbs of Kilbirnie and Lyall Bay. It is known mostly for being the location of the We ...
electorate during the 2020 New Zealand general election
The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...
. At the beginning of his campaign for the seat Simmons spelled the name of the electorate incorrectly in his advertising as "Rongatai".
During the 2020 election held on 17 October, Simmons came fourth place in Rongotai with 2,794 votes. Based on full results published on 6 November, the TOP party won 43,449 party votes (1.5% of the popular vote). Following the election results, Simmons and deputy leader Shai Navot emailed members, supporters, and donors, thanking them for their support.
During the party's first annual general meeting held on 3 November, Simmons resigned as leader of TOP.
Electoral history
2017 Mount Albert by-election
The 2017 Mount Albert by-election was a New Zealand by-election held in the electorate on 25 February 2017 during the 51st New Zealand Parliament. The seat was vacated following the resignation of David Shearer, a former Leader of the New Ze ...
2017 Wellington Central general election
2020 Rongotai general election
Leadership elections
= 2018 Opportunities Party leadership election
=
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Geoff
1974 births
Living people
People from Auckland
21st-century New Zealand politicians
University of Auckland alumni
The Opportunities Party politicians
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election
New Zealand economists
The Opportunities Party leaders