Over the past decade, he has overseen an array of successful projects in the region, including the War Memorial Theatre and the Oneroa walkway.
But being at the top means you have to take the good with the bad.
Often it is Wilson’s name that appears in stories about crumbling infrastructure, as severe weather and perennial under-investment continue to take their toll on the region.
“I like to think I’ve been pretty accessible to people,” Wilson says, reflecting on his tenure.
“I do front a lot, but lifelines is a big area, it’s a big hub. It touches a lot of stuff that people care about.”
Growing up in Tairāwhiti, Wilson spent much of his adult life out of the region before shifting back a decade ago to work for the council.
He was living in Wellington at the time, working in project management.
When it comes to career, he has done it all, from hospitality to corporate.
“I still remember my wife and I dreaming about being able to move back to Gisborne when we were down in Wellington,” he says.
“I’ve had the most random background
. . . I’m not an engineer at all. I’m a lawyer by background.”
A lot has changed in the region since Wilson’s return, notably the sharp rise in severe weather events.
As a controller for Civil Defence emergency management since 2018, and group controller since 2020, he got a front-row seat for the aftermath.
He says that from 2018 onwards, the change in frequency became noticeable, and his team has been working behind the scenes harder than ever before.
In the early hours of the morning while heavy rain alerts are in place, it is not uncommon for personnel — many of whom are volunteers — to monitor river levels for hours on end.
Part of the reason the Coast has been hit so badly is a change in weather systems, he says, with north-easterly ex-tropical cyclones rolling in at “the wrong time of year” when southerlies used to be the norm.
“What are we talking, five or six declared events in the past 18 months? That’s just ridiculous,” Wilson says.
“It’s been a toll on me and a toll on the teams, but also a toll on our families too.
“I was saying to my wife the other day, her not waking up to a note left on the table downstairs or a text from me saying ‘I’m gone. I’ll be back when I’m back’ — that’s the kind of change I’m looking forward to.”
Wilson won’t divulge the longest shift he’s put in following the cyclones because “health and safety would have a fit”, but doesn’t mind admitting he won’t miss the sleepless nights.
“It’s been challenging — it’s been the hardest job and the best job.”
He will miss the people, however, saying those he has met along the way have been a highlight of the job.
Asked what the biggest challenge facing the region is, he doesn’t have to think long: funding.
Money has always been a challenge for Tairāwhiti, he says, and trying to find ways to build necessary infrastructure at a sustainable rate is an ongoing battle.
“Council has got $2.5 billion worth of assets we’re trying to maintain (and) 2000 kilometres of roading — one of the biggest, most expensive roading networks in the country to maintain because of our geology and those kinds of things.
“At the same time you’re trying to balance cycleways and walkways, safe roading access, bridges . . . it is difficult.
“We simply can’t afford to do all the things that we want to do.”
Wilson believes the roading network is underfunded by “hundreds of millions of dollars”, the result of central government not being able to pump enough money into it over a sustained period.
That said, he is quick to praise his roading team who he says are delivering at pace.
“In a year like we’ve just had, we still hit our budgets, which is just nuts.”
At a time when the council is often criticised for moving too slowly, Wilson offers a quip when asked how he responds to people complaining about red tape — “I’d love to be back in 1953.”
But a world without compliance is “pretty ugly”, he says, and the environment needs to be considered at every juncture.
Despite the challenges it faces, Wilson believes the council is now more productive as a whole than it has ever been.
He is optimistic about where the region is headed, saying a key to its success will be bringing people home.
For him at least, there are no plans to leave any time soon.
“I love home, my heart’s here. I whakapapa to here. I’ll be here forever.”
