Entering Politics
In 1990, Jesson joined Jim Anderton's Labour party splinter NewLabour Party, and stood as a candidate for the party in the Panmure electorate. In 1991, he was elected to the Auckland Regional Council as an Alliance candidate, becoming chair of the Auckland Regional Services Trust between 1992 and 1995.
An anthology of his later articles has been published posthumously as Bruce Jesson: To Build a Nation - Collected Writings 1975 - 1999 (2005). He is affectionately remembered as a very learned but unpretentious radical who sought to shed light on the peculiarities of New Zealand politics, and who pioneered an independent left wing analysis of local political affairs. The Bruce Jesson papers are archived at the University of Auckland Library. The Bruce Jesson Foundation was established in his honour.
Read more about this topic: Bruce Jesson
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