[3][5] In 1986, she married Robert Donald McKay,[3] but their marriage ended during Buck's time as Christchurch mayor.

[9] The Labour Party chose Buck to stand in this by-election, which she won by a large margin.

An active and vigorous leader, she is widely credited with leading a turnaround in the perception of Christchurch as a city.

[3][13] More recently she has: In 2008 she was nominated by a panel commissioned by The Guardian newspaper as one of 50 people who could reverse the effects of climate change.

[19] Buck stood as an independent candidate in the 2013 local elections in the Riccarton-Wigram ward as councillor for Christchurch City Council.

[20] On 12 October 2013, Buck was returned with the highest number of votes of any of the council candidates across the city.