Dunedin's new mayor-elect Sophie Barker has already chosen her deputy mayor and is meeting with councillors to find out what they want to achieve. Photo: Supplied
Dunedin's mayor-elect says she's ready to take the reins with the preliminary results putting her further in front.
The competition has been tight between the top two in the mayoralty race with councillor Sophie Barker only 105 votes ahead of challenger Andrew Simms by Saturday afternoon's progress result.
Incumbent Jules Radich confirmed his bid for a second term was unsuccessful but he would return as a councillor instead.
But the council warned that there were more than 9000 votes still to be counted after a surge of last minute voting.
The preliminary results did not come through until late Sunday night, showing Barker had extended her lead by more than 700 votes.
"I'm feeling very relieved and very excited. It was a long, long wait over the weekend. First, you might hear at 1:30pm on Saturday and then you actually end up hearing at 10pm on Sunday. It was a really long wait," she said.
There was a shake-up around the council table with five councillors missing out on re-election and another councillor opting to retire at the election.
Barker was looking forward to leading a team with a mix of new faces and returning councillors, with Cherry Lucas already reclaiming the deputy mayor title.
Cherry Lucas has retained her role as deputy mayor for another term. Photo: Supplied / Dunedin City Council
Barker said she chose Lucas because she had done a good job last term and she respected and trusted her.
She had already started meetings with incoming councillors to find out what they wanted to achieve.
Value for money, rates, the Dunedin build and a plan for the city's future were among her top priorities.
The Dunedin Hospital build has been fraught with budget blowouts and delays, but the Health Minister recently said it was back on track.
Barker wanted to make sure the city and region got what it needed.
"We've absolutely got to keep our foot on the accelerator about that one, she said.
"There's also the visionary piece about planning for our city in the future and that's key to me because if you don't have a plan then you're just meandering along. So getting our partnerships back together and working on a plan and a vision for our city."
Usually the Dunedin mayoralty has been one of the more stable jobs in politics with every mayor given at least two terms from the late 1960s.
But that changed in 2022 when first-term councillor Jules Radich ousted first-term mayor Aaron Hawkins.
Barker said the city was ready for change.
"There was a lot of pushback from the community but also the candidates certainly lit fires under people for change and people were frustrated about the lack of action and leadership in our city," Barker said.
The inaugural council meeting will be held on 31 October.
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