Grant Thomas (politician)

Grant Thomas (born 1941) is a New Zealand politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Hamilton West from 1990 to 1993,[1] and a Hamilton city councillor from 1995 to 2007, including a period as deputy mayor.

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1990–1993 43rd Hamilton West National

Biography

Thomas was born in 1941[2] and educated at Southwell School and Hamilton Boys' High School.

In the 1990 election Thomas stood for the National Party, taking the Hamilton West electorate from Trevor Mallard. However he lost it to Labour's Martin Gallagher in the 1993 election.[1]

Thomas was a Hamilton city councillor from 1995 to 2007, when he stood down.[3][4] Thomas served under five mayors during his twelve years of office in the council.[4] In 2003 a comment about then-mayor David Braithwaite being a dictator prompted fellow councillor Bill Ward to question Thomas' support for the mayor. This led to Jody Garrett nominating Ward in a bid to replace Thomas as deputy mayor. The move ultimately failed, with ten councillors backing Thomas and only four supporting Ward.[5]

In 2005 Thomas claimed that the 13 members of the city council were excessive, saying "[their] salary is too high for the workload".[6] By reducing the number to ten, Thomas explained that the council could save NZ$150,000 annually.[6]

Thomas now lives in Perth, Australia, with his family.

References
  1. "MP Gallagher leaves with sense of honour". Waikato Times. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  2. Stringer, John (1990). 1990 Parliamentary Candidates. Wellington: New Zealand National Party. p. 24.
  3. "Hamilton city has elected Bob Simcock as mayor" (Press release). Hamilton City Council. 13 October 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  4. Rasmussen, Warwick (27 September 2007). "Long-time councillor says goodbye". Waikato Times. Fairfax Media. p. 3.
  5. Taylor, Geoff (22 May 2003). "Bid to unseat city deputy mayor fails". Waikato Times. Fairfax Media. p. 3.
  6. Gill, Mary Anne (4 November 2005). "Too many city councillors: Thomas". Waikato Times. Fairfax Media. p. 1.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Trevor Mallard		 Member of Parliament for Hamilton West
1990–1993		 Succeeded by
Martin Gallagher


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