Team Dunedin

Last updated

Team Dunedin
Leader Jules Radich
Founded12 October 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-12)
Dissolved2025
Headquarters8 Jones Street, Dunedin
Political position Centre
Colours  Blue,   Yellow
Slogan"Welcoming, Vibrant, Sustainable"
Seats on the Dunedin City Council
4 / 15
Website
www.teamdunedin.org.nz

Team Dunedin is a former local body ticket which contested local elections in Dunedin, New Zealand. [1] Team Dunedin contested the 2022 Dunedin mayoral and City Council elections. The ticket's leader Jules Radich was elected as Mayor of Dunedin while Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley and Kevin Gilbert were elected as councillors. [2]

Contents

Team Dunedin did not participate in the 2025 Dunedin mayoral and city council elections. Radich stood as an independent mayoral candidate while Whiley and Gilbert endorsed Cr Sophie Barker as a mayoral candidate. [3]

History

2022 local elections

Team Dunedin was formed by Dunedin City councillor Jules Radich in October 2021 to contest the 2022 Dunedin mayoral and Dunedin City Council elections. [4] Radich described the council's leadership by the progressive, Green Party mayor Aaron Hawkins as "autocratic" and overly influenced by party politics to the point of ignoring residents' interests. [5] With Radich, incumbent councillors Andrew Whiley and Carmen Houlahan were founding members of the ticket. [4]

Other members of Team Dunedin included business owner Brent Weatherall, 2020 ACT Party candidate Callum Steele-MacIntosh, Otago Peninsula Community Board member and school teacher Cheryl Neill, baker Kevin Gilbert, real estate investor and former council staffer Lynette Scott, and restaurant proprietor Riah McLean. [1] [6] Houlahan, who had been a founding member of Team Dunedin, withdrew in May 2022 to run against Radich for the mayoralty as an independent. [7] McLean withdrew her candidacy on 5 July 2022, leaving Team Dunedin with seven candidates. [8]

On 8 October, Radich was elected as Mayor of Dunedin, defeating Hawkins. Whiley, Weatherall and Gilbert were elected to the council. [9] [2] Neill was re-elected to the Otago Peninsula Community Board as an unaffiliated candidate. [10]

2025 local elections

On 17 June 2025, the Otago Daily Times reported that two Team Dunedin councillors Whiley and Gilbert had endorsed councillor Sophie Barker for the upcoming 2025 Dunedin mayoral election in October 2025. While Whiley and Gilbert had credited Team Dunedin with shifting the council's agenda away from the direction of the former Hawkins-led council, the two said that Dunedin need a long-term mayor with a "different skill set." Weatherall declined to endorse Radich as Mayor, saying that the electoral ticket failed due to a "lack of unity and numbers elected." Radich also confirmed that Team Dunedin would not be fielding candidates for the 2025 Dunedin City Council election but confirmed that he would be running for a second term as Mayor of Dunedin. [3]

On 25 June 2025, councillor Bill Acklin accused Whiley and Gilbert of betraying Radich shortly after the 2022 local elections and interfering with the council's operations. In response to Acklin's allegations, Gilbert said that the Team Dunedin ticket "was never meant to function as if loyalty would be a key feature in office." Whiley cited disagreements with Radich's handling of the George Street redevelopment, attempted installation of a groyne at St Clair beach and renumeration dispute with Crs David Benson-Pope and Steve Walker as reasons for the breakdown in their relationship. In response, Radich supported Acklin's account of his deteriorating relationship with his Team Dunedin colleagues and defended his own leadership. [11]

Radich, Weatherall, Wiley, and Gilbert are contesting councillor positions in the 2025 local elections as independent or unaffiliated candidates. Radich is also standing for mayor. [12]

Leadership and policies

Radich in 2022 Jules Radich (wider crop).jpg
Radich in 2022

It is led by Jules Radich, the mayor of Dunedin. [13] Radich describes the ticket as centrist, encompassing ideas from both the left and right of politics. [1]

Team Dunedin campaign material promoted policies such as using participatory democracy to make decisions (rather than representative democracy), ensuring older citizens' voices are heard in decision-making, expanding the network of tracks and trails in the city, upgrading existing playgrounds to have "destination" status, retaining the existing one-way system along State Highway 1, keeping Dunedin "open for business", protecting the Esplanade in St Clair, and conducting a safety audit of the city. [6]

Electoral results

ElectionCandidates nominatedSeats won
Mayoral candidatesCouncil candidatesMayoraltyCouncil seats
2022 1/117/40
1 / 1
3 / 14

2022 Dunedin local elections

Candidate namePosition contestedResult of election

 Jules Radich MayorElected

Brent WeatherallCouncillorElected

Andrew WhileyCouncillorElected

Kevin GilbertCouncillorElected

Lynette ScottCouncillorNot elected

Callum SteeleCouncillorNot elected

Cheryl May NeillCouncillorNot elected

Jules RadichCouncillorWithdrawn due to election as mayor

References

  1. 1 2 3 Miller, Grant (4 June 2022). "Eight on 'Team Dunedin' ticket". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 "'Dunedin has spoken': Radich says he won by clear margin". Otago Daily Times . 8 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 Shaw, Ruby (17 June 2025). "Radich allies switch to Barker" . Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 Miller, Grant (12 October 2021). "Radich launches Team Dunedin local body election bid". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  5. ↑ Williams, David (2 October 2022). "Battle of narratives to win Dunedin's top job". Newsroom. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Team Dunedin". Team Dunedin. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  7. ↑ Miller, Grant (20 May 2022). "Houlahan leaves Team Dunedin to run as independent candidate". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "Off Team Dunedin ticket". Otago Daily Times . 5 July 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  9. ↑ Gill, Sinead (8 October 2022). "Jules Radich takes Dunedin mayoralty as Hawkins loses out, while Glyn Lewers is to run Queenstown". Stuff . Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Dunedin City Council (31 August 2025). "2022 Election results and expenses returns". Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  11. ↑ Miller, Grant (25 June 2025). "Claim pair 'turned on' mayor rejected" . Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "Council Candidate profiles". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "New Dunedin mayor Jules Radich: Landslide results shows need for change in direction". Radio New Zealand . 8 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
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