Mark Blumsky

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New Zealand Parliament
Mark Blumsky
QSO
Blumsky portrait.jpg
32nd Mayor of Wellington
In office
28 October 1995 27 October 2001
YearsTermElectorateListParty
2005 2008 48th List36 National

In early 2004 Blumsky joined United Future at the urging of its leader Peter Dunne, an old school friend. Blumsky, dubbed by media the man with "the most charismatic eyebrows in politics", served as Party President and confirmed he was considering running for Parliament for the party. However, he resigned soon afterwards, citing a conflict of interest.

In October 2004, Blumsky announced that he would seek the National Party candidacy for the Wellington Central electorate, and was nominated unopposed in November. In June 2005 the National Party released its party list for the elections later that year and Blumsky was ranked 36.

His campaign was marred by an incident in which he received a black eye and other abrasions when returning home late at night. He said he did not recall the incident but believed he had been assaulted. Political opponents suggested he had been inebriated, and a witness reported that he was inebriated when she helped him to his door. Police investigated but no assailant was charged.

Blumksy was elected as a National list MP in the 2005 general election although his challenge to incumbent Wellington Central MP Marian Hobbs was unsuccessful, losing by 6,180 votes. In 2007, he announced that he would not stand again in the next election. [8]

Niue

In September 2010, Blumsky was appointed High Commissioner to Niue, replacing acting High Commissioner John Bryan. [9] He was succeeded by Ross Ardern in February 2014. [10]

Blumsky married a Niuean, Pauline Rex, in 2012 and now lives permanently on Niue. [11] [12] He represented Niue in lawn bowls at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, competing in the men's pairs and men's four, but did not progress beyond the group stage in either event. [13] [14]

Blumsky ran as a candidate in the 2020 Niuean general election but was unsuccessful. [15]

References

  1. "Blumsky, Mark". www.parliament.nz. NZ House of Representatives. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 Crean, Mike (10 August 2013). "Doyen of broadcasting". The Press . p. 13.
  3. Currie, Shayne (22 May 1995). "Gould stands for Mayor". The Evening Post . p. 1.
  4. Kedgley, Sue (19 March 2012). "When we sold off Wellington's power". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  5. "The dealing's done for Kenny the Busker". Stuff. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King bonus commentary
  7. "Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee honours list 2002". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  8. "Blumsky quitting 'tribal' politics". The Dominion Post . 25 September 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  9. Boyer, Seamus (17 September 2010). "Blumsky new high commissioner to Niue". Dominion Post . Stuff . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  10. "Former Niue police chief appointed High Commissioner of NZ". Dateline Pacific. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  11. Chapman, Katie (9 September 2011). "Mark Blumsky finds love in a cafe in Niue". The Dominion Post . Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  12. Migone, Paloma (28 July 2012). "Blumsky begins new life in Niue". Dominion Post. p. 21.
  13. "Former diplomat to represent Niue at Commonwealth Games". www.niuefm.com. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  14. "Lawn bowls official results" (PDF). Gold Coast 2018. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  15. "Premier of Niue loses seat in election". RNZ. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Wellington
19952001
Succeeded by