Josephine Bartley

Josephine Ruth Bartley is a New Zealand politician who has been on the Auckland Council as a member of the Labour Party since 2018, and is the first Pacific Islander elected to the council. Prior to her tenure on the council she was a member of the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board.

Early life Josephine Ruth Bartley was born to Eddie Bartley and raised in Māngere. She is of Samoan descent, with her father being from the villages of Tapatapao and Singamoga in Samoa. Her great-grandfather was from Guangzhou and moved to Samoa to work as a tailor. Her family financially struggled due to her mother's gambling addiction.

Career In the 2006 election Bartley unsuccessfully ran for a seat on a community board. Bartley was the Labour candidate for a seat in the New Zealand Parliament from Tāmaki in the 2008 election, but lost to Allan Peachey. Bartley won a seat on the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board from the Tāmaki subdivision in 2010. She was reelected in 2013 and 2016. She had the highest number of votes out of any candidate in 2013 and 2016. She became chair of the board in 2016.

Denise Lee left the Auckland Council after being elected to the New Zealand Parliament. Bartley defeated Auckland Future nominee Josh Beddell in the 2018 by-election. She was the first Pacific Islander woman elected to the council.

Bartley received a substantial number of threats of violence because of her involvement in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Bartley is running for re-election as a councillor for the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward in the 2025 elections.

Personal life Bartley obtained her first house in 2025, due to the shared ownership scheme by the Tamaki Regeneration Company.