James McCombs
| James McCombs | |
|---|---|
James McCombs between 1920 and 1925
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Lyttelton |
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In office 1913–1933 |
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| Preceded by | George Laurenson |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth McCombs |
| Deputy Leader of the Labour Party | |
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In office 1919–1923 |
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| Leader | Harry Holland |
| Succeeded by | Michael Joseph Savage |
| 1st President of the Labour Party | |
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In office 1916–1917 |
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| Vice President | Andrew Walker |
| Leader | Alfred Hindmarsh |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Walker |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 December 1873 County Leitrim, Ireland |
| Died | 2 August 1933 (aged 59) Christchurch |
| Political party |
Social Democrat (1913–1916) Labour (1916–1933) |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth McCombs (married 1903) |
| Children | Four (two of which were adopted), incl. Terry McCombs |
James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton.
McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, a farmer, and his wife, Kate Rourke. He came to New Zealand with his parents in 1876 as a three-year-old. He was educated at Sydenham School and Christchurch East School. A successful businessman, McCombs owned a drapery in Christchurch.
McCombs was involved in the temperance movement (with Tommy Taylor), the Progressive Liberal Association (with Harry Ell) and was a friend of George Laurenson. McCombs served on the Christchurch City Council between 1913–17 and 1931–1933.
McCombs contested the 1917 Christchurch mayoral election against the incumbent, Henry Holland, along the lines of win-the-war (Holland) and anti-conscription (McCombs). The result was a crushing defeat of McCombs; Holland received 12,177 votes and McCombs received 5,381. Holland retired from the mayoralty in 1919; the election was contested by three candidates: Henry Thacker, John Joseph Dougall (Mayor of Christchurch 1911–1912) and McCombs (who at that time was MP for Lyttelton). Thacker won the contest, and McCombs came last.
In the 1908 election, McCombs stood in Christchurch East as an Independent Liberal candidate; at the 1911 contest for Avon he was a Liberal-Labour candidate polling 2,817 votes to the official Labour candidate's 798 on the first ballot.
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