David Wilson (New Zealand First politician)

Wilson was born in Kumeū, Auckland and was raised in Glendowie by adoptive parents. He was schooled at Mount Taylor Primary School, Glen Innes Intermediate School, and Saint Kentigern College, where he was a boarder. His adopted father, a businessman, died in Wilson's final year of high school and he said that inhibited his ability to go to university. In 2016, Wilson was awarded a PhD from Auckland University of Technology for his thesis The Metropolitan Auckland Project: A Step-Change in Governance and Regional Economic Development in a City-Region, which was supervised by Marilyn Waring. Wilson's career has been in economic development. He was the chief executive officer of the Northland Regional Council's economic development agency Northland Inc from 2013 to 2017, when he resigned to become a parliamentary candidate. Simultaneously, he was the chairman of the Economic Development Association of New Zealand. After not being elected in the 2017 general election, he went back to Northland Inc until 2019. He then moved to the Upper Harbour area of Auckland, where he worked as a consultant. ==Political career==

Wilson joined the New Zealand First party in 2015. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the party in both the 2017 and 2020 general elections: in 2017, he was number 14 on the list and stood in ; and in 2020, he stood in and was ranked 9th on the party list. When the Labour–New Zealand First coalition government created the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) during its 2017–2020 term, regional economic development minister Shane Jones appointed Wilson to the PGF independent advisory panel. Wilson contested for New Zealand First in the 2023 general election and was 9th on the party list. ==Personal life==

Wilson coached netball and basketball. He is also an accessibility and innovation advocate, being a board member of social enterprise The Be. ==Notes==