Jordan Williams (New Zealand lawyer)

Jordan Henry Williams is New Zealand lawyer best known for his political activities. He is a founder and current Executive Director of the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union,
 a New Zealand Free Speech Union Council Member, and the Chief Executive Officer and sole director of the Campaign Company.
==Early life and politics==
Williams grew up in Hawkes Bay, Williams attended Lindisfarne College, and was a member of the Hastings Youth Council. When he was 15 years-old, Williams joined the New Zealand Green Party, motivated by a fear of genetic engineering. 
While studying law and accounting at Victoria University of Wellington he interned for Don Brash (National Party leader 2003-2006), and in 2008 he was involved in former ACT MP Stephen Franks' election campaign as a National Party candidate. This led to him working at Franks' law firm for four years. 
At 25 years old, Williams was a leading spokesman for Vote For Change, the main group that campaigned against MMP in the 2011 New Zealand voting system referendum.
==Taxpayers' Union==
In 2013, Williams and David Farrar founded the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union as an incorporated society. 
In 2014, Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics revealed collaboration between National Party figures including Judith Collins and "attack-blogger" Cameron Slater. Based largely on a hack of Slater's email account, the book also included Williams as an "enthusiastic helper, ready to help dig dirt on the latest target", as Hager later put it.
From 2017 to 2019 Williams was a regular opinion columnist for NZME publications including the New Zealand Herald. Writing mostly about politics, tax and spending, his articles variously declared his interest as Chief Executive of the Taxpayers' Union, or only as "a Wellington-based lawyer, lobbyist and commentator".
===Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance===
Williams founded the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance as a company in 2015, using the Taxpayers' Union in Wellington as its registered office address. While running the Ratepayers' Alliance, Williams also worked on multiple mayoral election campaigns. He remained the company's owner until it was wound up in 2021, with its activities being absorbed into the Taxpayers' Union.
==Free Speech Union==
In 2018 Williams was a co-founder of the Free Speech Coalition, which later renamed itself the Free Speech Union. The group's initial motivation was to overturn Mayor of Auckland Phil Goff's cancellation of an event featuring alt-right speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux at an council-owned venue. Their challenges were unsuccessful in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Williams remains a board Member of the Free Speech Union.
==The Campaign Company==
The Campaign Company's clients include Groundswell NZ and We Belong Aotearoa. 
During the 2022 Auckland mayoral election the Campaign Company worked for two candidates - Leo Molloy and Viv Beck. The company's working relationship with Molloy ended after the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance (also run by Williams) criticised him in a full page newspaper ad.
==Colin Craig defamation case==
In 2015 Colin Craig, former leader of the Conservative Party, sued Williams for defamation. Following Craig's appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, Williams and Craig settled the case. Williams issued an apology and agreed to make an undisclosed payment to Craig.
Category:New Zealand people
Category:Victoria University of Wellington alumni
Category:Lawyers
Category:Founders