Palmerston North professional engineer Bruno Petrenas has won the race for a seat on the city council.
Petrenas' win, based on a count of 17,513 votes, including most special votes, was announced in the city council chamber on Saturday evening.
He finished ahead of city businesswoman and hairdressing salon owner Gabrielle Bundy-Cooke.
Former mayoress Karen Naylor finished third.
Petrenas, whose family came to Pahiatua after World War II as refugees from Lithuania, previously worked for the city council as assistant engineer.
He said he was keen to give something back to the city which had provided his family with a fresh start.
Petrenas was the most successful non-councillor candidate in the mayoral by-election in February.
He said it had been a competitive campaign, so he had not assumed he would win, and was delighted with the result.
Bundy-Cooke said she was pleased to be the top-polling woman, and that she would be back in 2016 to try again.
Naylor said eight people were always going to be disappointed, and she would give it another go.
Also defeated was veterinarian Lorna Johnson, who was the second highest polling unsuccessful candidate in the 2013 local body elections. She finished fourth.
The council vacancy was created when councillor Grant Smith won the mayoralty, after Naylor's husband Jono Naylor resigned to become a list MP.
The by-election was held using the STV system, which went through eight iterations of the votes before Petrenas reached the 50 per cent mark.
There was a 31.5 per cent turn out.
Official results are expected on Thursday.
The finishing order for the other candidates was Sue Pugmire, Abi Symes, Martin Egan, Warren de la Haye, and Ross Barber.
Source: Manawatū Standard
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