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

Biography

Early life

Terry McDavitt was born in

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New ...

in 1948. He was educated in Wellington at St. Patrick's College, later attending

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

and graduated in 1970 with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree. He was an activist in his youth and organised multiple protests against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and apartheid. 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. 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.

Political career

McDavitt became politically active in the early 1970s and joined the environmentalist

Values Party The Values Party was a New Zealand political party. It is considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, pre-dating the use of "Green" as a political label. It was established in May 1972 at Victoria University of Wellingto ...

. in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

he stood unsuccessfully for the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

on a Values ticket. He also served as the General Secretary of the Values Party from 1974 until 1979 when he decided to leave the party. By the 1980s McDavitt had left the Values Party and had joined the Labour Party. He stood again for the City Council in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

on a Labour ticket and was elected. He transferred to the Lambton Ward in 1986 would remain on the council until 1992 when he decided not to seek re-election. In 1988 he was appointed deputy to Mayor

Jim Belich Sir James Belich (25 July 1927 – 13 September 2015) was a New Zealand local politician. He was the mayor of Wellington from 1986 to 1992. Biography Early life and career Belich was born on 25 July 1927, of Croat descent, in Awanui, North ...

, holding that position until 1989 when Labour lost their majority on the council. In 1989 he was elected to the

Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for Public transport in the Wellington Region, public ...

on a Labour ticket, chairing the transport committee, and would serve for 21 years until he was defeated in 2010 standing as an independent. 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

References

External links

Photo of McDavitt (left) as Values Party secretary
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:McDavitt, Terry Joseph 1948 births Victoria University of Wellington alumni Deputy mayors of Wellington Wellington regional councillors Wellington City Councillors Values Party politicians New Zealand Labour Party politicians Living people New Zealand justices of the peace