Reuben John Davidson is a New Zealand television producer and politician. He was on a

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

community board from 2019. In the 2023 general election, he was elected to represent the

Christchurch East Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...

electorate in Parliament.

Early life and career

Davidson was born in

. He got his first job aged just 14 at a café. Later he was a television producer working at Whitebait Media for over 15 years. For seven years he produced the children's show ''

What Now ''What Now'' is a New Zealand children's television programme that premiered on Saturday 9 May 1981. It is currently filmed before a live audience at a different school in New Zealand, which is selected every week. The show airs every Sunday at ...

'' and later created the show ''Fanimals''. He lives in

North New Brighton North New Brighton is a suburb on the northern side of Christchurch city. It was originally known as North Beach and was readily accessible from Christchurch city by tram. It was renamed North New Brighton in 1953. Demographics The statistical ...

. Davidson has a degree from the New Zealand Broadcasting School.

Political career

At the 2019 local body elections, he was elected to the Banks Peninsula Community Board. Re-elected in 2022, he became chairman of the community board and was also chairman of the Labour-aligned local political ticket The People's Choice. He put himself forward for the Labour nomination in the seat of for the to replace the retiring

Ruth Dyson Ruth Suzanne Dyson (born 11 August 1957) is a former New Zealand politician. She was a Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2020. She represented the electorate from the election to 2020. She also held a number of senior offices i ...

. He missed out with Labour's vice-president

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. Early life McLellan was born in Sydney Australia in May 1970, before mov ...

winning the selection. He then stood in the seat of and was 67th on Labour's 2020 party list. He finished second in Selwyn to National's

Nicola Grigg Nicola may refer to: People * Nicola (name), including a list of people with the given name or, less commonly, the surname **Nicola (artist) or Nicoleta Alexandru, singer who represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest * Nicola people, ...

. Despite losing, Davidson polled higher than normal, coming closest to winning the seat for Labour in 27 years. After Labour's

Poto Williams Munokoa Poto Williams (born 7 January 1962) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of Parliament. She was elected in a 2013 by-election and is currently Minister of Conservation and Minister for Disability Issues in the Sixt ...

announced her retirement from the

electorate in December 2022, Davidson was selected for the seat ahead of

Dan Rosewarne Daniel Peter Rosewarne (born 1981) is a New Zealand politician and former military officer. Since July 2022 he has been a List member of parliament for the New Zealand Labour Party. Biography Military career In 1999 at the age of 18 Rosewarne ...

, Colin Meurk, Melissa Lama, and Teresa Butler. After gaining selection he stated he would resign from the Banks Peninsula Community Board and donate his community board salary to the Mayoral Relief Fund. He was 57th on Labour's 2023 party list. He was elected to the Christchurch East seat in October 2023 with a margin of over 2000 votes. Davidson was one of just two new MPs elected in Labour's defeat in 2023 along with

Cushla Tangaere-Manuel Cushla Tangaere-Manuel is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. She represents the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate and was first elected at the 2023 general election. Prior to ente ...

. He stated "It's bittersweet because I'm really aware of the huge shoes I'm stepping into to represent the people of Christchurch East but I had hoped to be doing it as part of a Labour government". In late November 2023, Davidson was appointed as spokesperson for statistics, digital economy and communications, and associate broadcasting and media in the

Shadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins Chris Hipkins announced his shadow cabinet on 30 November 2023, after the formation of the Sixth National Government. As the Labour Party forms the largest party not in government, this shadow cabinet is the Official Opposition of the New Zea ...

References

External links

Parliamentary profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Reuben Living people New Zealand television producers Local politicians in New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand politicians Politicians from Christchurch Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Year of birth missing (living people)