Lawyer and motorcycle enthusiast Jayson Hinder will become the newest member of the ACT Assembly next week, after winning a count-back of 2012 election votes on Thursday.
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A member of Labor's right and chair of Bendigo Community Bank, Mr Hinder will represent the Labor Party in the electorate of Ginninderra, before running in the October election for the newly created electorate of Yerrabi. He polled fifth at the last election.
He beat Australian Motorist Party candidate Chic Henry and independent Darren Churchill in the count, which took less than a minute to be completed.
"All of the people I have spoken to, who are much better with a calculator than I am, told me it was historically a sure thing and I got about 8000 of the 11,000 votes," he said.
"But in the end you just don't set yourself up to look like a fool."
Mr Hinder said representing Belconnen until October would not be an awkward fit, as it had similarities with the Yerrabi, which will eventually take in Gungahlin and Hall.
"The reality is 10 of the suburbs are in both electorates so half the electorate at least will be part of the area I am hoping to be representing."
The Belconnen suburbs of Evatt, Giralang, Kaleen, Lawson and McKellar and a portion of Belconnen adjacent to the Barton Highway will move across.
Electoral Commissioner Phillip Green is expected to officially declare Mr Hinder elected to the Assembly on Monday at 3pm.
Mr Hinder said retiring MLA Mary Porter could have endorsed rival in the seat Deepak-Raj Gupta before her retirement to help Labor win a crucial third member.
"I was happy to assume she had such high confidence that I would be OK that she thought she'd drag a third one along," he said.
Labor had a good chance of winning three seats as Transport and Municipal Services Minister Meegan Fitzharris increased her profile and the city to Gungahlin light rail line won support. Mr Hinder said the tram would benefit Labor and ease traffic congestion.
"Once the tram is here, the benefits and value of it will be seen by everybody in Canberra," he said.
His early priorities included integrated transport issues, promotion of motorbike riding and improvements for community groups and sporting teams.
"I'll be the only practicing lawyer in the Assembly, I believe, so I hope to use my experience in how the laws we create will impact on Mr and Mrs Average."
Chief Minister Andrew Barr welcomed Mr Hinder to the Labor caucus, describing him as an active member of the community.
"He has already indicated a willingness to be involved in the Assembly committee processes and to support the implementation of the government's vision for Canberra," Mr Barr said.
"Jayson has a strong connection with our city, and I'm confident that his experience in the private sector and in small business will be of great value to Labor's team in 2016."
