Julie Hardaker was the Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand, from October 2010 to October 2016. Born in New Zealand, she was self-employed in Australia in the 1980s. After graduating from the University of Waikato, she joined the Hamilton law firm McCaw Lewis Chapman and became a partner and held senior management roles. She is involved in various community and business organisations at a governance level. As a political novice, she defeated former Mayor and experienced politician Bob Simcock in the 2010 New Zealand local government elections. Hardaker was re-elected in the 2013 election beating her main rival Ewan Wilson, with a majority of 2911 votes, becoming the first mayor of Hamilton in nearly two decades to survive their first term in office. She was returned to power with an increased majority, capturing 43.6% of the valid mayoral votes cast. Life outside politics Hardaker grew up near Rotorua. She lived in Australia during the 1980s, where she was self-employed in retail. She graduated from the University of Waikato Faculty of Law in 1995 as the top law student with LLB Hons. Hardaker also holds a Masters of Management (Hons 1st class) degree from Waikato University. She was recently elected Chair of Women on Boards, a division of Governance New Zealand. After university she joined the Hamilton law firm McCaw Lewis Chapman, where she became a partner in 2000. She initially specialised in dispute resolution, before turning her attention to employment law. She chaired the law firm's governance board, and at the time of her election as Mayor of Hamilton, she was in charge of finance. Hardaker has served on the boards of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. She has been a member of the St Peters School Board of Trustees, and has been on the board of Habitat for Humanity Waikato. Before her election as Mayor, she was the chairperson of the Waikato SPCA. Hardaker was also the founding chair of The Peoples Project, established in Hamilton to respond to homelessness based on a housing first model. Hardaker is married to Steven Perdia, who is father to two boys living in Australia. Political career Hardaker entered the 2010 mayoral contest as a political newcomer, one of six candidates. Her main opponent was the experienced politician Bob Simcock, the incumbent Mayor, who has been on Hamilton City Council for 6 years. He had been appointed Mayor in 2007 following