Tracey McLellan

Tracey Lee McLellan (born 20 May 1970) is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 she was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.[1]

Tracey McLellan

Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Banks Peninsula
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded byRuth Dyson
Vice-President of the New Zealand Labour Party
Assumed office
20 May 2019
Preceded byBeth Houston
Personal details
Born (1970-05-20) 20 May 1970
Southland, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
Children2
ResidenceChristchurch
Alma materUniversity of Canterbury

Early life

McLellan was born in 1970 Southland, where she grew up in a state house. Her mother was disabled and unable to work.[2] McLellan moved to Christchurch in 2002. McLellan has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Canterbury and worked in academic psychology, specializing in sports injuries and concussion, as a research scientist at the University of Canterbury. Later she became a union organiser for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.[3][4]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020present 53rd Banks Peninsula 53 Labour

McLellan has been a member of the Labour Party since 2011. She was chair of the electorate committee and was joint campaign manager to Ruth Dyson's campaign in the Port Hills electorate at the 2014 election.[3][4] In May 2019 she won a by-election to become vice president of the Labour Party. Following Nigel Haworth's resignation over his handling of abuse allegations within the party, McLellan (who was a member of a panel which dismissed initial complaints) became acting party president.[5]

She was selected as its candidate for the Banks Peninsula electorate in November 2019, ahead of three other nominees: Reuben Davidson, Joe Davies and Tyrone Fields.[4] In January 2020, McLellan identified ACC and health as portfolios in which she would like to make a difference, but says that her electorate has diverse needs from climate change effects in Sumner and Lyttelton, to education, health, housing and water issues.[2]

During the 2020 general election held on 17 October, McLellan was elected with a majority of 13,156 over National's Catherine Chu and Green Party Member of Parliament Eugenie Sage.[6]

Family

McLellan is a single mother to two sons. One son, Jake, was elected a member of the Christchurch City Council in 2019. She credits her son with pushing her to join the Labour Party.[2]

References

  1. "Election 2020: The 40 diverse new MPs entering Parliament". Newstalk ZB. 18 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020 via The New Zealand Herald.
  2. "The Sure Things: Tracey McLellan". Newsroom. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  3. "Labour selects Dr Tracey McLellan for Banks Peninsula seat". Scoop.co.nz. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. Law, Tina (24 November 2019). "Labour selects Tracey McLellan as 2020 Port Hills candidate". Stuff. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. McCulloch, Craig (16 September 2019). "Labour abuse allegations investigator brings in computer expert". Radio NZ. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  6. "Banks Peninsula - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
New Zealand Parliament
Vacant
Constituency recreated after abolition in 2008
Title last held by
Ruth Dyson
Member of Parliament for Banks Peninsula
2020–present
Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Beth Houston
Vice-President of the New Zealand Labour Party
2019–present
Incumbent
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