The former Moyne Shire mayor has been catapulted into the Legislative Council following a series of mathematical masterstrokes by the seasoned accountant.

He founded his political party — Vote1 Local Jobs — in March this year and through a mail-out campaign, managed to attract roughly 850 members by the time the election campaign rolled around in late October.

Mr Purcell obviously learned from his failed tilts at a federal and state level. He originally stood as an independent candidate for Wannon at the 2010 federal election following Liberal MP David Hawker’s retirement.

A late start to the race meant he made only a small dent, with Liberal candidate Dan Tehan ultimately winning. Only a few months later he tackled a far stronger force, veteran MP Denis Napthine. 

The fellow Port Fairy resident managed to out-campaign Mr Purcell, although the independent stole a substantial number of votes from Dr Napthine as well as the Labor party.

This time around, Mr Purcell was far more shrewd. With Dr Napthine at the peak of state power, he decided to run for the Legislative Council.

Few voters understand the chamber and even fewer know who their upper house MP is.

Some of that blame should rest on the MPs’ shoulders. The decision by Liberal MP Simon Ramsay to up stumps and move to Ballarat was a poor choice. 

His Labor counterparts Jaala Pulford and Gayle Tierney also need to be more active in this region.

Mr Purcell is set to open an office in the south-west. 

He has campaigned on improving job prospects for the region’s school leavers, strengthening the state’s renewable energy target and boosting investment in south west roads. 

All are laudable goals. Congratulations, Mr Purcell. Your track record to date has been strong and your campaign highlighted some key issues for the south-west’s future.

Now that you have a new job, the challenge is to develop hundreds more.