Election 2020: With the Bill’s polls at 7 percent, who’s on track to join David Seymour in Parliament?

Colmar Brunton’s poll yesterday for TVNZ saw the Act creep towards its best election result, at 7 percent. With that, the one-man gang would become a club of nine led by Seymour. Who the hell are they?

By now, David Seymour must be among our most recognized political figures. Entering Parliament fresh-faced in 2014 as an MP for Epsom, the leader of the Act Party has been the party’s total group for six years.

If current polls are to be believed, that is about to change. But while Seymour had the end-of-life election bill, gun law reform, free speech, and twerking to help build his profile, the rest of the Act Party list is largely unknown. .

Let’s meet the rest of the top nine.

2. Brooke van Velden

With the benefit of billboards across the country, Act MP Brooke van Velden, 27, is arguably the next most recognized candidate behind Seymour. But despite a huge promotion in the party rankings this year, she has been a behind-the-scenes operator of the party for several years, widely admired for her work lobbying for support for the end of the election bill. Seymour’s life.

Before that, it is widely known that he went from supporting the Green Party to Acting as a result of his economics studies at university. Having a young, progressive woman as a MP (and on billboards across the country) helps to tone down Act’s image as a far-right party.

Van Velden told Policy that he is running for parliament to “transform mental health and addiction care by establishing an independent national mental health and addiction agency.” She also says that she is a “committed social liberal.”

3. Nicole McKee

For the vast majority, Nicole McKee will be as unknown as the rest of the Act list. But for those in the gun community, McKee is something of a celebrity.

Before entering politics, McKee was the voice of the nation’s gun lobby as a spokesperson for the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners. It gave her a strong profile in the media and as someone who has interviewed her numerous times, I can attest to her ability to answer questions quickly and eloquently.

With David Seymour’s opposition to the government’s gun legislation, McKee is a smart choice for third on the list. It has a large following among a community that feels alienated from the other parties and should give Act a greater opportunity to capitalize on the issue of gun law reform.

4. Chris Baillie

According to the Act website, Chris Baillie is a full-time high school teacher, a former police officer with 14 years of experience, and the owner of a local hospitality establishment. His goal is to raise the profile of Act in Nelson’s electorate.

Earlier this year, Baillie came under fire for allegedly denying climate change. Nelson City Councilman Rohan O’Neill-Stevens tweeted that Baillie had led a group of “climate hysteria skeptics” at his school, always putting climate change in quotes.

Since then, Baillie has denied being a denier and told Stuff that climate change was a problem, but that there had to be a rational discussion. “Right now we are being bombarded by hysteria,” he said at the time.

5. Simon Court

Act environmental spokesperson Simon Court completes the top five. He is a civil and environmental engineer with 23 years of experience in roles for the private sector and local government.

His Twitter seems to be mostly David Seymour retweets, although I notice he’s a fan of The Spinoff’s Youth Wings series (which you can view here).

David Seymour has stated that the Court would raise the level of the environmental debate in Parliament. At this stage, he doesn’t seem to have led any group of “climate hysteria skeptics,” so it’s probably a good start.

6. James McDowall

At about this stage on the party’s list it becomes quite difficult to find anything online about the candidates, other than their candidacy for law.

Number Six James McDowall considers himself a classic liberal who is skeptical of big government (although he is running and possibly will be elected to big government).

Based in Hamilton, McDowall has led the development of the Act’s firearms policy after David Seymour became the only voice in Parliament to oppose the 2019 Government legislation.

He told Policy that he wants to “reactivate the economy after Covid-19 by supporting SMEs, creating jobs and reopening the border safely.” He is an advocate for lower taxes while reducing government debt, and he wants to revolutionize the mental health sector by centralizing funds and promoting choice.

The Law’s website says that he owns several small businesses, including an immigration law firm, and works for a large NGO in the mental health sector.

7. Karen Chhour

Act number seven Karen Chhour is a self-employed mother of four who has lived on Auckland’s North Shore for the past 30 years.

Chhour talks about her experience as a foster child and participated in the launch of the Act’s mental health policy during the recent Covid-19 shutdown in Auckland.

“For years it has frustrated me to see the numbers of the homeless, child poverty, abuse and mental health rise,” he told Policy.

“It seems that nowhere is willing to have open and honest discussions on these issues. Act will have those difficult conversations to find solutions that are more than just throwing more money at the problem. We need to establish targeted help and put the money where it is needed most. “.

8. Mark Cameron

Northland-based Mark Cameron is a dairy farmer in Ruawai and has lived in the region for 30 years. Earlier this week, Cameron helped launch his party’s rural policies, including promising to remove subsidies for forestry investment and letting regional councils set the freshwater rules.

His priorities include tax cuts, reducing public spending and reducing debt.

9. Toni Severin

Rounding out the top nine is Christchurch East-based Toni Severin. The Act Party website says that she owns a licensed firearm which “understands the impact the gun law reforms that the government implemented last year have had on law-abiding citizens in New Zealand.” .

Severin was a Qualified Lab Technician at Canterbury DHB for 14 years and runs a business with her husband.

There is little to be found online of Severin, but her largely abandoned Twitter account shows that she loves the crowns and Richard Dean Anderson.