2025 Dunedin City Council election

2025 Dunedin City Council election
11 October 2025
Turnout43,295 (45.39%)
 
Candidate Sophie Barker Andrew Simms Lee Vandervis
Affiliation Independent Future Dunedin Independent
Primary vote 10,382 11,377 7,234
Percentage 23.98% 26.28% 16.71%
Final vote 16,874 15,976 excluded
Percentage 51.37% 48.63%
 
Candidate Jules Radich Marie Laufiso
Affiliation Independent Building Kotahitaka
Primary vote 3,485 2,437
Percentage 8.05% 5.63%
Final vote excluded excluded
Mayor before election

Jules Radich
Team Dunedin

Elected mayor

Sophie Barker
Independent

Council election
14 seats on the Dunedin City Council
8 seats needed for a majority
Party Vote % Seats +/–
Independent

57.22 10 0
Future Dunedin

23.90 1 +1
Building Kotahitaka

5.94 1 +1
Green

5.11 1 +1
Labour

4.50 1 0
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The 2025 Dunedin City Council election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in Dunedin, New Zealand, as part of that year's territorial authority elections and other local elections held nation-wide.

Voters elected the mayor of Dunedin and 14 city councillors, and other local representatives for the 2025–2028 term of the Dunedin City Council. Postal voting and the single transferable vote system were used.

Councillor Sophie Barker won the mayoralty, defeating incumbent mayor Jules Radich.

Key dates

  • 4 July 2025: Nominations for candidates opened
  • 1 August 2025: Nominations for candidates closed at 12 pm
  • 9 September 2025: Voting documents were posted and voting opened
  • 11 October 2025: Voting closed at 12 pm and progress/preliminary results were published
  • 16–19 October 2025: Final results were declared.[1][2]

Background

Positions up for election

Voters in the city elected the mayor of Dunedin, 14 city councillors at-large, the members of six community boards,[a] and the members of the Oamaru Licensing Trust.[3][1] They also elected 7 members of the Otago Regional Council.[b][2]

Campaign

Debates

On 17 June 2025, Dunedin climate advocate Bruce Mahalski held a public meeting for DCC council and mayoral candidates to field questions on climate change issues including a commercial train service, the city's Zero Carbon Plan 2030, and relations between the DCC and Otago Regional Council (ORC). Mayoral candidates Cr Sophie Barker and Andrew Simms, and city council candidates Cr Marie Laufiso, Cr Jim O'Malley and Lily Warring spoke at the meeting, which was attended by 50 people.[4]

Issues

One key election issue has been the proposed landfill site at Smooth Hill. While the incumbent Mayor Jules Radich has supported the Smooth Hill landfill site, mayoral candidate Andrew Simms and his Future Dunedin ticket have opposed the new landfill site.[5]

On 23 September, 15 left-wing DCC and ORC candidates established an alternative progressive alliance called "The People's Hub" to advocate on shared values such as climate action, social justice, traffic speed reductions and reviving passenger trains. The group consisted of candidates from the Labour, Green parties, the Radical Action Faction and Building Kotahitaka including Cr Steve Walker, Cr Marie Laufiso, Cr Alan Somerville and ORC candidate Alex King. The group established a hub at the corner of George Street and Moray Place in Dunedin to promote their causes and encourage people to vote.[6]

List of candidates

Incumbents not seeking re-election

Mayor

Main article: 2025 Dunedin mayoral election § List of candidates

Incumbent mayor Jules Radich would stand again as an independent candidate.[9] Other independent candidates included councillors Sophie Barker, Carmen Houlahan, Mandy Mayhem, and Lee Vandervis.[10] Candidates that stood under a ticket were Marie Laufiso as the Building Kotahitaka candidate,[11] Andrew Simms as the Future Dunedin candidate and Mickey Treadwell as the Green candidate.[12][13]

Endorsements

In mid June 2025, former Team Dunedin councillors Andrew Whiley and Kevin Gilbert endorsed Sophie Barker as mayoral candidate.[14]

Councillors

Fourteen councillors were elected at-large to the city council.[3]

Candidate[10] Affiliation[c] Notes
Bill Acklin Independent Incumbent councillor[16][17]
Lachlan Akers None
Lync Aronson Independent-Fully Funded City Council Also ran for mayor
Sophie Barker Independent – working for you Incumbent councillor.[17] Also ran for mayor.
Tony Bennett None
Rachel Brazil Independent Lawyer.[18] Was previously affiliated with the Future Dunedin ticket but withdrew on 20 August after facing criticism for sharing a leaked confidential report about DCC chief executive Sandy Graham.[19]
Heike Cebulla-Elder None High School teacher[20]
John Chambers Your Health Candidate Former head of the emergency department at Dunedin Hospital[21]
Sarah Davie-Nitis Independent
Cyndee Elder Building Kotahitaka Creator of Able Abodes, a tiny home project.[22]
Rose Finnie Green Support worker[13]
Jo Galer Independent Leader of the Southern Heritage Trust and Otago Regional Council communications professional[23] She left the Future Dunedin ticket to stand as an independent candidate in late August 2025 following disagreements with the leadership.[24]
Christine Garey Independent Incumbent councillor[16][17]
Kevin Gilbert Independent Incumbent councillor[17]
Jett Groshinski Labour Otago University Students' Association politics representative and 2022 mayoral and local council candidate[25][16]
Doug Hall None Also ran for mayor
Robert Hamlin Independent University of Otago Business School lecturer. Was previously running under the Future Dunedin ticket until he was removed after he circulated an email criticising the use of karakia (Māori prayers) at university meetings.[26]
Karl Hart None
Jarrod Hodson Future Dunedin West Harbour community board member[27] and commercial manager[18][23]
Carmen Houlahan Independent Incumbent councillor.[16][17] Also ran for mayor.
Marita Johnson Independent Previously stood for council in 2022[28]
Anthony Kenny ACT Local Former Royal New Zealand Navy serviceman[29][30]
Anna Knight Building Kotahitaka
Richard Knights Independent
Marie Laufiso Building Kotahitaka Incumbent councillor.[17] Also ran for mayor.
Cherry Lucas Independent Deputy mayor and incumbent city councillor[16][17]
Russell Lund Independent
Lianna MacFarlane Independent Also ran for mayor
Mandy Mayhem None Incumbent councillor.[17] Also ran for mayor.[31][16]
David Milne Independent Also ran for mayor.
Jim O'Malley Independent Incumbent councillor[17]
Hugh "Captain" O'Neill Independent
Jen Olsen The Radical Action Faction
Benedict Ong None Also ran for mayor
Marian Poole None
Paul Pope Independent Incumbent chair of the Otago Peninsula community board[32]
Bruce Ranga Future Dunedin Former CEO of the Torres Strait Island Regional Council and member of the Te Pae Oranga Iwi Community Panel[23]
Evelyn Robertson Independent Events Lead Dunedin Pride [33]
Daniel Rooney None
Andrew Simms Future Dunedin Businessman, Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board chairman and founder of Future Dunedin. Also ran for mayor.[18]
Conrad Stedman Future Dunedin Former city councillor[18][23]
Andrew Sutton Future Dunedin President of Taieri Cricket Club and school boards chairperson[23]
Amy Taylor Future Dunedin Volunteer and disability advocate[18][23]
Pamela Taylor Independent Previously ran for council and for the mayoralty in 2022.[34] Also ran for mayor.
Sue Todd Independent
Mickey Treadwell Green Video game programmer and part-time lecturer.[13] Also ran for mayor.
Rebecca Twemlow Future Dunedin Director of Business South and former Vice President of the Otago Chamber of Commerce[18][23]
Lee Vandervis Independent Incumbent councillor.[17] Also ran for mayor.[31][16]
Steve Walker Labour Incumbent councillor[25][16][17]
Lily Warring Green Visual designer[13]
Brent Weatherall None Incumbent councillor since 2022[17]
Andrew Whiley Independent Incumbent councillor[16][17]
Paul Williams None

Results

Summary

2025 Dunedin City Council election[35]
Affiliation Councillors
Primary vote % +/− # +/−
Independent 24,818 57.22 10 0
Future Dunedin 10,364 23.90 +23.90 1 +1
Building Kotahitaka 2,578 5.94 +5.94 1 +1
Green 2,216 5.11 1 +1
Labour 1,950 4.50 1 0
ACT Local 273 0.63 +0.63 0 0
The Radical Action Faction 172 0.40 +0.40 0 0
Informal 579 1.33
Blank 423 0.98
Turnout 43,373
Registered
No majority
Independent gains mayoralty from Team Dunedin

Composition

Position Previous Elected
Mayor Jules Radich Sophie Barker
Councillors Bill Acklin John Chambers
Sophie Barker Christine Garey
David Benson-PopeR Doug Hall
Christine Garey Marie Laufiso
Kevin Gilbert Cherry Lucas
Carmen Houlihan Russell Lund
Marie Laufiso Mandy Mayhem
Cherry Lucas Benedict Ong
Mandy Mayhem Jules Radich
Jim O'Malley Andrew Simms
Lee Vandervis Mickey Treadwell
Steve Walker Lee Vandervis
Brent Weatherall Steve Walker
Andrew Whiley Brent Weatherall
R retired

Mayor

Main article: 2025 Dunedin mayoral election § Results

Councillor Sophie Barker was confirmed as mayor, with Andrew Simms coming in second place. Incumbent mayor Jules Radich came in fourth place, behind councillor Lee Vandervis.[36]

2025 Dunedin mayoral election[35]
Affiliation Candidate Primary vote % Iteration vote Final %
Independent Sophie Barker 10,382 23.98 #15 16,874 51.37
Future Dunedin Andrew Simms 11,377 26.28 #15 15,976 48.63
Independent Lee Vandervis 7,234 16.71 #14 8,739
Independent Jules Radich† 3,485 8.05 #13 4,174
Building Kotahitaka Marie Laufiso 2,437 5.63 #12 4,001
Green Mickey Treadwell 1,967 4.54 #11 2,491
Independent Mandy Mayhem 1,259 2.91 #10 1,480
Independent Benedict Ong 947 2.19 #9 1,248
Independent Carmen Houlahan 758 1.75 #8 1,017
Independent Doug Hall 675 1.56 #7 797
Independent Lync Aronson 657 1.52 #6 739
Independent Lianna MacFarlane 422 0.97 #5 497
Independent David Milne 344 0.79 #4 360
The Radical Action Faction Ruthven Allimrac 296 0.68 #3 314
Independent Pamela Taylor 149 0.34 #2 149
Silly Hat Party Flynn Nisbett 73 0.17 #1 73
Quota 21,231 49.04 #15 16,425 50.00
Informal 106 0.24
Blank 727 1.68
Turnout 43,295 45.39
Registered 95,394
Independent gain from Team Dunedin
† incumbent

Council

At-large[35]
Affiliation Candidate Primary Vote % Iteration vote[d]
Future Dunedin Andrew Simms 7,540 17.38 #1 7,549
Independent Lee Vandervis† 6,461 14.90 #1 6,461
Building Kotahitaka Marie Laufiso† 2,410 5.56 #2 2,916
Independent Jules Radich 2,102 4.85 #47 2,785
Independent John Chambers 1,665 3.82 #65 2,770
Labour Steve Walker 1,618 3.73 #69 2,733
Independent Mandy Mayhem† 1,356 3.13 #74 2,664
Independent Cherry Lucas† 1,320 3.04 #76 2,670
Green Mickey Treadwell 1,299 2.99 #76 2,656
Independent Christine Garey† 1,236 2.85 #77 2,658
Independent Russell Lund 1,051 2.42 #81 2,651
Independent Brent Weatherall 941 2.17 #81 2,596
Independent Benedict Ong 891 2.05 #84 2,592
Independent Doug Hall 686 1.58 #87 2,577
Future Dunedin Bruce Ranga 443 1.02 #87 2,372
Independent Andrew Whiley† 691 1.59 #78 1,739
Independent Bill Acklin† 607 1.40 #75 1,563
Independent Carmen Houlahan† 605 1.39 #71 1,438
Independent Lync Aronson 578 1.33 #68 1,270
Future Dunedin Rachel Brazil 562 1.30 #66 1,174
Independent Paul Pope 558 1.29 #64 1,025
Independent Jim O'Malley† 530 1.22 #62 914
Green Lily Warring 468 1.08 #60 876
Green Rose Finnie 449 1.04 #58 813
Future Dunedin Conrad Stedman 417 0.96 #56 781
Independent Richard Knights 415 0.96 #54 726
Future Dunedin Jo Galer 406 0.94 #52 644
Future Dunedin Rebecca Twemlow 346 0.80 #50 613
Labour Jett Groshinski 332 0.77 #48 570
Independent Lianna MacFarlane 322 0.74 #46 537
Independent Sarah Davie-Nitis 296 0.68 #44 509
Independent Kevin Gilbert† 292 0.67 #42 468
Future Dunedin Jarrod Hodson 283 0.65 #40 451
ACT Local Anthony Kenny 273 0.63 #38 429
Independent Heike Cebulla-Elder 243 0.56 #36 402
Future Dunedin Andrew Sutton 236 0.54 #34 311
Independent Paul Williams 227 0.52 #33 305
Independent Tony Bennett 218 0.50 #30 298
Independent Lachlan Akers 207 0.48 #27 281
Independent David Milne 184 0.42 #25 278
The Radical Action Faction Jen Olsen 172 0.40 #22 267
Independent Daniel Rooney 164 0.38 #20 259
Independent Robert Hamlin 162 0.37 #18 234
Independent Hugh O'Neill 160 0.37 #16 231
Independent Sue Todd 155 0.36 #14 210
Future Dunedin Amy Taylor 131 0.30 #13 187
Independent Pamela Taylor 116 0.27 #12 184
Building Kotahitaka Anna Knight 108 0.25 #11 115
Independent Evelyn Robertson 72 0.17 #10 78
Independent Marian Poole 47 0.11 #9 68
Building Kotahitaka Cyndee Elder 60 0.14 #8 67
Independent Marita Johnson 47 0.11 #5 53
Independent Karl Hart 14 0.03 #4 19
Independent Sophie Barker† withdrawn (elected mayor)
Quota 2,813 6.49 #87 2,563
Informal 579 1.33
Blank 423 0.98
Turnout 43,373
Registered
Future Dunedin gain from Independent
Independent hold
Building Kotahitaka gain from Independent[e]
Independent gain from Independent
Independent gain from Independent
Labour hold
Independent hold
Independent hold
Green gain from Independent
Independent hold
Independent gain from Independent
Independent gain from Team Dunedin[e]
Independent gain from Team Dunedin
Independent gain from Team Dunedin
† incumbent

Aftermath

Following the death of Cr and former Mayor Jules Radich, the Dunedin City Council announced that a by-election would be held on 12 May 2026.[37]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Strath Taieri, Waikouaiti Coast, Mosgiel-Taieri, Saddle Hill, West Harbour, and Otago Peninsula.
  2. ^
    • 5 councillors representing the city exclusively.
    • 2 councillors representing parts of the city and parts of neighbouring Clutha District.
  3. ^ A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket or political party.[15]
  4. ^ Rounded to nearest whole number
  5. ^ a b Incumbent changed affiliation

References

  1. ^ a b "Pukapuka Aratohu Kaitonopōti | Candidate Handbook" (PDF). www.dunedin.govt.nz. Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b "2025 Elections". www.orc.govt.nz. Otago Regional Council. Archived from the original on 23 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Elections". www.dunedin.govt.nz. Dunedin City Council. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  4. ^ Shaw, Ruby (18 June 2025). "Council hopefuls talk about climate change". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  5. ^ Mathias, Shanti (16 September 2025). "The disagreement over Dunedin's new dump". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 19 September 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  6. ^ Miller, Grant (23 September 2025). "People's Hub a 'progressive alternative'". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Cr David Benson-Pope". www.dunedin.govt.nz. Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Elections to be well contested". The Star. Otago Daily Times. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  9. ^ Miller, Grant (12 October 2024). "Radich keen to keep hold of mayoral chain". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b "2025 Triennial Elections | Dunedin City Council". www.electionz.com. electionz.com. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  11. ^ Scott, Tim "Out-of-the box solutions the key", Otago Daily Times, 5 Aug 2025, retrieved 19 Aug 2025
  12. ^ Manhire, Toby (7 February 2025). "Who is in and who is out in the big mayoral races of 2025?". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 7 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d "Thriving communities sought by Greens candidates". Otago Daily Times. 27 May 2025. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  14. ^ Shaw, Ruby (17 June 2025). "Radich allies switch to Barker". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Pukapuka Aratohu Kaitonopōti | Candidate Handbook" (PDF). www.dunedin.govt.nz. Dunedin City Council. p. 15. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shaw, Ruby (22 May 2025). "Nine city councillors confirm intention to seek re-election". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Mayor and Councillors". www.dunedin.govt.nz. Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d e f MacLean, Hamish (17 March 2025). "New 'Future Dunedin' DCC ticket declared". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  19. ^ Shaw, Ruby (22 August 2025). "Simms says ticket not 'crumbling' after latest departure". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  20. ^ "LPHS teaching staff".
  21. ^ Littlewood, Matthew (12 June 2025). "Former ED head John Chambers to run for council". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  22. ^ Tomsett, Ben. "Dunedin tiny home development aims to provide affordable housing". NZ Herald. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g "Home". Future Dunedin. Archived from the original on 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  24. ^ Scott, Tim (25 August 2025). "Another candidate leaves ticket". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Labour endorsing candidates in DCC election". Otago Daily Times. APL. 21 May 2025. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  26. ^ Littlewood, Matthew (26 March 2025). "Mayoral hopeful dumps candidate over karakia critique". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  27. ^ "West Harbour". www.dunedin.govt.nz. Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  28. ^ "Dunedin council nominations finalised". Otago Daily Times. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  29. ^ ACT New Zealand (27 June 2025). "Local Business Owner & Former Royal New Zealand Navy Serviceman, Anthony Kenny, Selected As ACT Local Candidate For DCC". www.scoop.co.nz. Scoop. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  30. ^ "Ex-navy serviceman named Act candidate". Otago Daily Times. 28 June 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  31. ^ a b Shaw, Ruby (22 May 2025). "Eighth time lucky for Vandervis in mayoral bid?". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  32. ^ "Otago Peninsula". www.dunedin.govt.nz. Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  33. ^ "City celebrates Pride". Otago Daily Times Online News. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  34. ^ McNeilly, Hamish (18 August 2022). "Conspiracy theorist Pamela Taylor running for Dunedin mayoralty". Stuff. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  35. ^ a b c Morton, Anthony (16 October 2025). "2025 Triennial Elections – Declaration of Result" (PDF). electionz.com. Dunedin City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2025.
  36. ^ "Sophie Barker confirmed as Dunedin's next mayor". RNZ. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  37. ^ Shaw, Ruby (13 January 2026). "Early interest as DCC by-election set". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
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