Mandy Mayhem

Mandy Mayhem
Mayhem in 2019
Born	Amanda Morrison November[1] 1972 (age 52–53) Dunedin, New Zealand
Occupations	Local politician Performer Circus ringmaster Artist
Spouse	Lee Bullock ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	Rose Max Vita

Amanda Morrison^[2] (born 1972)^[3] better known as Mandy Mayhem and at times Mandy Mayhem-Bullock,^{[note 1]} is a local politician, celebrant, performer,^[4] circus ringmaster,^[5] newspaper deliverer,^[6] and artist based in Waitati and Dunedin, in New Zealand.

Mayhem was born in November^[1] 1972^[3] and raised in Dunedin. Mayhem was 5 years old when her mother moved her family to a 10-hectare property on a hill above a small township. By that time, the cluster of holiday homes had become affordable. She was a participant in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study; its only subjectto become a ringmaster.^[6]

Mayhem was educated at Waitati School^[7] and Otago Girls' High School.^[3] She unofficially went to Logan Park High School, by pretending to be a foreign exchange student at the school.^[1]

Mayhem moved to Wellington to complete a degree in women's studies at Victoria University of Wellington, while working as "Slaphappy the clown".^[6]

Mandy married Lee Bullock^[1] in 2016, and has three children, Rose, Max,^[8] and Vita.^[7] Mayhem earlier donated egg cells, contributing to a friend's births of two other children.^[3]

The Mayhem-Bullock family lost a pet horse following a violent criminal attack on the animal in 2019.^[9]

Mayhem runs a monthly community market in Waitati.^[10] She is the commander of the pacifist combat arm of the Waitati militia, a satirical "pacifist warfare" group formed over 50 years ago in protest against the Vietnam war.^[11] Mayhem is involved with the Coastal Communities Cycleway Connection, is chair of Keep Dunedin Beautiful and a local emergency response co-ordinator.^[12]

Mayhem worked in Wellington as a clown, then worked for five years with Ridgway Circus, where "Mayhem" was her stage name.^[3] She has a third-dan black belt in taekwondo, and considered representing New Zealand in what was then a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.^[1]

More recently, Mayhem wrote, directed and performed in a circus rock opera, The Carnival Ain't Over, for the 2021 Dunedin Fringe Festival,^[13] and has been organising the annual Wuthering Heights dance-along in the Octagon since 2019.^[14]

Mayhem spent six years as a member of the Dunedin City Council's Waikouaiti-Coast Community Board^[15] and was elected to the council in October 2022.^[16] As of 2025^[update] she is deputy chair of the city council's community services committee.^[15]

She is the unofficial mayor of Waitati,^[17] a small coastal settlement within Dunedin city.

Mayhem announced in May 2025 that she would stand as a candidate for Mayor of Dunedin and for city councillor in the 2025 Dunedin City Council election.^[18]

On 26 August 2025, Cr Mayhem voted against a DCC motion to scrap the contentious Albany Street cycleway project, which passed by a vote of 8 to 7 votes. The Albany Street cycleway project would have involved removing 48 carparks near the University of Otago. Local business owners had criticised the DCC for not consulting them about the proposed project. Mayor Jules Radich has used his casting vote to pass the motion after Cr Jim O'Malley recused himself from the proceedings.^[19] That same day, Mayhem voted in favour of a motion to scrap free Sunday parking in the Dunedin city centre, which passed by a vote of 11 to 4.^[20]

Mayhem's 2022 election campaign cited accessibility, sustainability and wellbeing as political priorities.^[21]

In a 2023 interview, Mayhem said “I know what it is to be a solo mother. I know what it is to be forced to take budgeting advice at the foodbank," claiming that "older, white men – business people" on the council lack the same lived experience as her.^[6]

• Politics of New Zealand
• Mayor of Dunedin

• Cr Mandy Mayhem official profile on Dunedin City Council website