Sophie Barker portrait

Sophie Barker

Currently serving: Mayor, Dunedin City Council Independent - working for you
Party Independent - working for you
Connect with Sophie Barker
Sophie Barker’s Elections & Candidacies

Note: This database contains data from the 2023, 2020, 2017 and 2014 general elections, the 2025 local government election and is gradually being backfilled with other election data.

Contested 4 races — 2 elected 1 not elected 1 withdrawn

2025 NZ Local Government • October 11, 2025 Local
  • Council - At Large
    Dunedin City Council
    Affiliation: Independent - working for you
    [email protected] 022 601 2778 Ballot name: Sophie Barker
    Policy Source
    Final Withdrawn
    Vote share • 0.0%
    0 votes
  • Mayor
    Dunedin City Council
    Affiliation: Independent - working for you
    [email protected] 022 601 2778 Ballot name: Sophie Barker
    Policy Source
    Final Elected
    Vote share • 29.1%
    16,874 votes
2022 NZ Local Government • October 8, 2022 Local
  • Council - At Large
    Dunedin City Council
    Affiliation: Independent
    Source
    Final Elected
    Vote share • 10.7%
    7,361 votes
  • Mayor
    Dunedin City Council
    Affiliation: Independent
    Source
    Final Not elected
    Vote share • 16.9%
    9,574 votes
Offices held
  • Mayor
    Dunedin City Council
    Affiliation: Independent - working for you
    Oct 2025 – present
  • Council - At Large
    Dunedin City Council
    Affiliation: Independent
    Oct 2019 – Oct 2025
In the News
Four new mayors on rolling a grenade down the road for future generations
The Spinoff — January 15, 2026

These mayors just won office for the first time. They’re already worried they’re going to end up lumping their children and grandchildren with a huge bill for broken infrastructure.

Ong’s bid to chair new funding committee ‘a stretch’: mayor
Otago Daily Times — December 16, 2025

Benedict Ong. Sophie Barker. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED A third Dunedin city councillor is seeking a shake-up to the city’s governance, this time asking to chair a new committee to oversee council funding sources.

Sophie Barker haunted Dunedin’s Larnach Castle – now she’s running the city
The Spinoff — December 12, 2025

Just the second female mayor in the city’s history, Sophie Barker wants to make Dunedin the best little city in the land. As a child growing up in Larnach Castle, Sophie Barker loved being a ghost. Whenever busloads of visitors came to tour the historic home high on the hill above Otago Peninsula, the young Barker would hide under a bed in one of the castle’s 25 rooms and wait for the guests to wander in. Then, as the unwitting tourists lingered nearby, possibly contemplating all the stories about Larnach Castle being haunted , Barker would thrust her cold hands out from beneath the bedcovers to grab the nearest pair of ankles, sending the visitors screaming from the room.

Mayor to head CEO committee
Otago Daily Times — December 8, 2025

Mayor Sophie Barker. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker appears set to chair the committee that monitors the performance of the city council’s chief executive.

Unique on-air voices celebrated at awards
Otago Daily Times — November 27, 2025

Zohaib Amjad accepts the Best Multilingual Programme award from Mayor Sophie Barker on behalf of the Pakistan Association of Otago at OAR FM's Air Awards. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Burns Hall at First Church was as abuzz on Saturday night as Dunedin Access Media station OAR FM celebrated its Air Awards.

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This database currently contains data from the 2025 local government eleciton, and general elections in 2023, 2020, 2017 and 2014. It is being backfilled with older data. Please get in touch if you want to help.

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