Grant Gillon is a former New Zealand politician. He was a member of parliament between 1996 and 2002, representing the Alliance Party, has held a number of seats in local government. He previously served on the

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board covers from Castor Bay, and Sunnynook south to the end of the Devonport Peninsula; it is separated from the Kaipātiki board area by the Northern Motorway. This local board sits in the Auckland Council office ...

representing

Shore Action Shore Action is a political ticket which contests the boards and council seats in the North Shore Ward of the Auckland Council. They have a strong focus on retention of local assets and investment in the natural environment, along with a focus ...

. He is a former senior lecturer in paramedicine and emergency management at the

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...

Political career

Gillon's political career began when he joined the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. In 1991, the Democratic party joined the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

as one of the four founding parties. In the , Gillon stood in the electorate and came third. Gillon was elected to Parliament as an Alliance

list MP A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than from by a geographical constituency. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes that the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs ...

in the 1996 election, having been ranked in eleventh place on the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

. He was re-elected to Parliament in the 1999 election. While an MP, Gillon was a Government Whip, Deputy Chair of the Government Administration Select Committee, members of the MMP Review Committee, a member of the Privileges, Officers of Parliament, Standing Orders, Members' Services, Business, Parliamentary Services, Legislative, Cabinet and other parliamentary committees. In 2001, Gillon became leader of the

, replacing John Wright. When the

collapsed in 2002, Gillon and the

joined

Jim Anderton James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989. Anderton's political career began when he was elected to th ...

's breakaway party, the Progressive Coalition. In the 2002 election, Gillon was ranked third on the Progressive Coalition list, behind

and

Matt Robson Matthew Peter Robson (born 5 January 1950) is a New Zealand politician. He was deputy leader of the Progressive Party, and served in the Parliament from 1996 to 2005, first as a member of the Alliance, then as a Progressive. Early years Robson ...

. Gillon left the

and moved to the Progressive Coalition. Gillon became President of the Progressive Coalition until he stood down in 2007. He has served as the North Shore City Councillor (representing the Harbour Ward and Chair of the Strategy and Finance Committee) and Birkenhead/Northcote Community Board member, elected to both the City Council and Community Board. Gillon is a past Chief Executive Officer for the ISEA union for teachers and past member of the board of directors of the

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

AsureQuality. Gillon has also worked as a dairy farmer, senior fire officer, and an entrepreneur in light manufacturing, printing, educational resource and publishing. As of 2017 he managed the Esplanade Hotel on Auckland's North Shore. During the 2016 Auckland elections, Gillon ran for the North Shore ward of the

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

and missed out on a seat by 128 votes. He was re-elected to the

as its Chair. He tried to win election to Auckland Council under the More for the Shore banner in the 2019 local body elections but was unsuccessful, being defeated by the two incumbent councillors.

Publishing

Gillon's published works include: * ''United to Protect: An Historical Account of the Auckland Fire Brigade, 1848–1985'' * ''Where There's Smoke'', an exposé of insurance evasion in relation to The Fire Service He has also contributed chapters to other works, including: * ''New Zealand Government and Politics'', chapters with Ray Miller on the role of an MP * ''The Baubles of Office: The New Zealand General Election of 2005'', a chapter on The Progressives

Personal

Gillon and his family have been long-term residents of the North Shore. Gillon also performs community work and previously a trustee of the Birkenhead Licensing Trust," Trustees"
birkenheadlicensingtrust.org.nz Northart, Birkenhead-Northcote Glenfield Community Trust and other community organisations. His daughter, Paula, is also active in Auckland local body politics; having been elected in 2001 to the North Shore City Council two weeks after reaching the required age of eighteen. Paula currently serves on the Kaipatiki Local Board and the Birkenhead Licensing Trust. Grant Gillon's eldest son,John, serves as Chair of the Kaipatiki Local Boar

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=222805] Gillon has a master's degree in Public Policy and a PhD in Public Policy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillon, Grant 1954 births Living people Alliance (New Zealand political party) MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Leaders of political parties in New Zealand New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit politicians Jim Anderton's Progressive Party politicians New Zealand list MPs New Zealand farmers North Shore City Councillors Academic staff of the Auckland University of Technology Unsuccessful candidates in the 1993 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2005 New Zealand general election 21st-century New Zealand politicians