Albert Davy

Albert Ernest Davy (17 August 1886 – 13 June 1959) was a New Zealand political organiser and campaign manager; and at the height of his career, was regarded as one of the best in the country. He was a strong opponent of socialism, and spent most of his life fighting what he saw as socialist tendencies in New Zealand politics.

Davy was born in Wellington, where his father Charles was a police officer. His great grandfather - Captain Lleyson Hopkin Davy emigrated out from Wales in 1841. His family moved around the country considerably during Davy's youth, eventually coming to live in Gisborne. Davy held a number of jobs there, including bootmaker, draper, and hairdresser. He married Florence Maude Sawyer, a milliner, in 1908. He was to have two sons. He was active in the New Zealand Auto Cycle Union and the New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union, holding a number of prominent organisational roles.

Davy's first major political activity came as part of Douglas Lysnar's successful campaign for the Gisborne seat in the 1919 election. In 1923, Davy was offered an organisational position in the Reform Party, to which Lynsar belonged. He was largely responsible for Reform's strategy in the 1925 election, focusing strongly on the party's leader, Gordon Coates. This was unusual in New Zealand politics, where the focus tended to be on local candidates. Also unusual was the degree of central control – party headquarters provided each candidate with instructions and guidance, rather than simply allowing them to run their own campaigns. While this is now the norm in New Zealand politics, it was rare at the time.

The elections were a major victory for Reform, and Davy gained much of the credit. He quickly developed a reputation as the country's top political organiser. Soon, however, rifts began to emerge between Davy and the Reform Party. As the country's economic situation worsened, the Reform Party began to adopt more radical measures to address the problem – Davy condemned the measures as "socialistic". He also made enemies by allegedly blocking Ellen Melville, who sought the Reform Party candidacy for an Auckland by-election – when Melville lost, she contested the seat as an independent, and split the vote. In late 1926, Davy left the Reform Party, possibly under pressure. He denounced its leadership as "autocratic".

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