Labour’s first selection

Labour have announced:

In the party’s first selection meeting for the 2014 General Election, Labour has endorsed Dr Deborah Russell as the candidate for Rangitikei.

Deborah Russell is a tax expert and left wing columnist, well known in New Zealand social media.

She was born in Taranaki and currently lives in Manawatu with her husband and three daughters.

I know Deborah and her family. She would be an excellent MP. Of course she has no chance in Rangitikei, so she will be relying on a good list ranking from Labour. Will they rejuvenate to make room for new blood?

I won’t spoil Deborah’s chances by pointing out that she recruited me into Young Nationals when she was the Otago University Chair of it 🙂 **

Dr Russell started her career as an accountant working for Deloitte and Treasury. She subsequently completed a PhD in Philosophy at the Australian National University. She went on to be a senior tax policy analyst for the IRD, and is now a senior lecturer in taxation at Massey University. Dr Russell chairs the Labour Party Economic Policy Committee.

Deborah is smart, a great debater, and a very nice person to boot. Labour will do much better with MPs like her in the House. Hence my saying such nice things about her which should doom her list ranking chances 🙂

** – my memory may be faulty. See Deborah’s comment below.