Campbell Barry

Campbell Nicholas Barry (born 1991) is a New Zealand local-body politician. He has served as Mayor of Lower Hutt since 2019.

Campbell Barry
20th Mayor of Lower Hutt
Assumed office
23 October 2019
DeputyTui Lewis
Preceded byRay Wallace
Personal details
Born1991 (age 29–30)
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)
Laura Barry
​
(m. 2019)​
ResidenceWainuiomata, New Zealand
Alma materVictoria University of Wellington

Biography

Early life

Barry was educated at Wainuiomata High School. He went on to study at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2018.[1]

Political career

At the 2013 local body elections, Barry was elected a member of the Hutt City Council for the Wainuiomata ward and was re-elected in 2016. He was the youngest person ever to be elected onto the city council.

In October 2016, Barry contested the Labour Party nomination for the electorate of Hutt South for the 2017 election against Ginny Andersen and Sarah Packer after long-serving member of parliament Trevor Mallard signalled his intention to stand as a list-only candidate at the election.[2]

In June 2017, Barry raised a motion to abolish ratepayer-funded meals for city councillors at long meetings, as he believed elected members should pay for their own meals after the Council decided to introduce what he called "a sham Living Wage Policy".[3] After a 7–6 vote, with mayor Ray Wallace voting in favour of retaining the meals, a public backlash engulfed the Council in controversy.[4]

At the 2019 local-body elections, Barry was elected mayor of Lower Hutt, beating the incumbent Ray Wallace by 15,453 votes to 13,034.[5] At 28, he was the youngest person ever elected to the office of mayor of a city in New Zealand.[nb 1][7]

In July 2020 his council secured funding from the government to rebuild the Naenae pool, fulfilling a campaign promise. The council co-funded the project.[8] In September of the same year the council passed a change to the city's rubbish collection system.[9]

Footnotes
  1. Kevin O'Hara was elected mayor of a borough council (Mount Maunganui) aged 26 in 1974[6]

References
  1. "Roll of graduates". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  2. "Labour selects former Ohariu candidate Virginia Andersen to run in Hutt South electorate". stuff.co.nz. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  3. "Hutt mayor gets a roasting over 'sham' living wage decision". Stuff. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. "Hutt City Mayor Ray Wallace uses casting vote to retain free meals for councillors". Stuff. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  5. "Wallace toppled by Barry in Hutt City". Stuff.co.nz. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  6. "Mayor of Mount at 26". The New Zealand Herald. 14 October 1974. p. 1.
  7. Long, Jessica; Tso, Matthew (13 October 2019). "Lower Hutt elects New Zealand's youngest ever mayor, Campbell Barry". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  8. "Govt announces $27m for new Naenae Pool building". Radio New Zealand. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  9. Boyack, Nicholas (18 September 2020). "Rubbish collection causing a stink in Lower Hutt". Stuff. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ray Wallace		 Mayor of Lower Hutt
2019–present		 Incumbent
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