Megan Woods
Dr Megan Woods | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 November 1973 |
| Political party | Labour (since 2007) |
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Party (2002–2007) |
| Website | Profile on Labour website |
Megan Woods (born 1973) is the Labour Party candidate for the 2011 election in the Wigram electorate of the New Zealand Parliament.
Early life
Woods was born and grew up in Wigram, Christchurch.[1] She has a PhD in history obtained at the University of Canterbury.[2]
Professional life
Woods was a business manager for Crop & Food Research (2005–08) and is at present a business manager for Plant and Food Research (since 2008), based at Lincoln.[1]
Political career
Woods was a member of the Progressive Party from 1999 to 2007 and was involved in several of Jim Anderton's reelection campaigns.[3] She contested the Christchurch Central electorate in the 2005 general election and came fourth, receiving 1077 votes (3.2% of the electorate votes).[4] She was placed fourth on the Progressive party list. As the party obtained only 1.2% of the party vote, she did not enter Parliament that year.
She was a member of the Spreydon–Heathcote community board in Christchurch in 2004–2007.[1]
Woods joined the Labour Party in 2007.[3] In the same year, she contested the Christchurch mayoralty for the centre-left Christchurch 2021 group, receiving 34,000 votes and coming second against Bob Parker.[5] She did not contest the 2008 general election.
Woods has been chosen as the Labour Party candidate for the next election in the Wigram electorate.[1][3] If elected, she will succeed Jim Anderton, who announced that he would retire either after winning the Christchurch mayoralty (he has since been unsuccessful) or at the 2011 general election. Woods was a key member of Anderton's campaign committee, along with key Progressive Party members like Jeanette Lawrence and Liz Maunsell, and Labour activists such as campaign manager Tony Milne, Ben Ross, Liana Foster and Hayden Munro.[6] Until the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, Anderton was leading in the opinion polls, and winning the mayoralty would have caused a by-election in the Wigram electorate.[7] The earthquake resulted in a mood swing in Christchurch, and Anderton lost against Bob Parker.[8] Hence, Anderton will remain an MP until the end of the term of the 49th Parliament, and Woods will contest the 2011 general election in the Wigram electorate.[3]
Woods' candidacy, which began in late 2010, is centred around job creation in her electorate. She stated in her Labour selection speech that "Growing up here in the 1980s, I watched people lose their jobs. I saw workplaces like the Addington Workshops shut their doors forever. Now I am 36 years old and am watching jobs disappear from our communities again."[3] Woods also cited the rising cost of living for everyday people as a major concern.
References
- ^ a b c d Conway, Glenn (20 September 2010). "Anderton follower chosen for Wigram". The Press. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Dr Megan Woods". Plant & Food Research. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Megan Woods to stand for Labour in Wigram". 3 News. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "Official Count Results -- Christchurch Central". Election NZ. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ New faces aplenty in local government shake-ups, By Edward Gay, The New Zealand Herald, Saturday October 13, 2007, retrieved 2010-09-22.
- ^ |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bhsAKM9VqY |accessdate=30 October 2010
- ^ "Anderton presses on with mayoral bid". New Zealand Herald. 12 September 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "Parker re-elected in Christchurch". The Press. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.