Former president of the Woden Valley Community Council Fiona Carrick is on a strong position to win a seat in her second tilt at the Legislative Assembly.
With 76 per cent of the vote counted at 11pm Saturday, Ms Carrick's party had 0.8 of a quota, ahead of the Greens' 0.6 of a quota. She had the second most first-preferences in the electorate at that point.
If elected, she would take Greens minister Emma Davidson's seat.
Ms Carrick also recorded the fourth-highest first preference votes for Murrumbidgee at the last election, but fell behind on preferences and missed out on a chance to be elected.
This election she ran for the Fiona Carrick Independent party and has two support candidates: Marea Fatseas and Bruce Paine. Both have previously run as ungrouped independents.
"You need preference flows to get you up to a quota and I didn't get the preference flows because I was in the ungrouped right hand column of the ballot. So this time to try and compete with the major parties, to have a chance I've got running mates," Ms Carrick said.
Ms Carrick stepped down from her role at the community council earlier this year.
She ran on a platform focused on issues in the Murrumbidgee electorate, saying too much focus had been in Canberra's north over recent years.
"People want to see more ambition for the social and economic development of their local areas," Ms Carrick said when she announced her candidacy.
"For too long Woden, Weston Creek and Molonglo and Canberra's south in general have been short-changed, with the lion's share of ACT government investment directed to activity in Canberra's north. This needs to change."
Ms Carrick ran as an independent in the 2020 election where she secured 7 per cent of the vote in Murrumbidgee, taking 3777 votes.
In 2020, Ms Carrick, who spent just $13,693 on her campaign, received more first-preference votes than the Greens' Emma Davidson, who was elected on preferences. She also received more first-preference votes than former Liberal MLA Giulia Jones and her successor, Ed Cocks.
She led the Woden Valley Community Council for eight years, with much of her campaigning focused on the loss of facilities in Woden and planning issues. She is a public servant.
Planning was a key issue in her campaign.
"I believe good planning means delivering the right balance of housing and health and education services with excellent community facilities and great public spaces. A vibrant and well-planned city provides local jobs and creates strong communities," Ms Carrick said on her website.
"While I support densification to increase the housing supply, it should be done in the context of holistic planning with effective processes in place to ensure that existing residents are protected from poor planning decisions that result in over-height buildings and detrimental overshadowing and overlooking."
Ms Carrick said if she was successful she would not align with any party and would assess each proposal on its merits. She said if she held the balance of power she would base her decision on the makeup of the Legislative Assembly.
"I don't take any vote for granted and will do my best in the next five months to speak to as many Murrumbidgee residents as possible to ensure that my policy positions are informed by community views," she said.
