He had recorded a phantom call of the 1977 Melbourne Cup on to a cassette and brought it into school to show his mates.

Even though he sounded like Mickey Mouse, everyone reckoned it was pretty cool and he started producing them more often.

But Parton was told he would never become a professional race caller because he was colour blind.

"I said you just watch me. And so that's what I did," Parton said.

"I was calling harness racing trials from the time I was 13 and I was calling fully registered betting race meetings from the time I was 16."

The word 'never' is like a red rag to a bull for Parton.

The newly elected Member for Brindabella is not one to back away from a challenge, even though the ninth ACT Legislative Assembly looks set to deliver him plenty.

The October ACT election was Parton's second tilt at an assembly seat.

In 2008 he ran as an independent but failed to get over the line without the preference flow of one of the major parties.

This time, he ran on the Canberra Liberals' ticket but it was a "bittersweet" ascension into the assembly.

"I'm not here to be in opposition. I don't front up to anything to run second," he said bluntly.

"I ran for election before and didn't make it and I did get over the line this time and so there was some joy in that triumph, but we needed to drag another couple over the line and we just didn't do it.

"I put my hand up to change the government [and] I failed."

Being a "tenacious bastard" is how Parton reckoned he excelled in the broadcasting world.

"I just kept on getting up at 2.45am and going into work," he said.

He was a radio announcer for 30 years before throwing in the towel early in late 2015 to open his own marketing company, PartonMe.

"The business was rocketing along. My accountant still won't talk to me because he thinks I'm crazy for being here," he said.

Small business is in Parton's blood.

The second son of a small town grocer, Parton was born in York in Western Australia.

He grew up in government housing while his father Tom worked long days building his supermarket.

Eventually Tom Parton sold up to a bigger supermarket and a bigger house. He retired at age 50, not because he had to but because he could.

Meanwhile Mark Parton's radio career took him to almost every state and territory in Australia.

A restructure at KOFM in Newcastle forced Parton out the afternoon announcer spot in 1998 and into the chair at Mix 106.3 in Canberra in 1999.

He remained at Mix until his unsuccessful run for the assembly in 2008 then wound up doing breakfast at 2CC.

But the call of public office proved too great. Just months after quitting radio, he again threw his hand up for election, although maintained he was not a member of the Liberal party when he left the radio station.

"The two occasions that I've run for public office I did so because I wanted to change the government," Parton said.

"I don't think it's healthy in any city, in any country, in any state to have the same people in power for 20 years. It's just not, it doesn't matter whether it's us or whether it's them."

Like when he was told he could never call a professional race, Parton was defiant when asked whether the Liberals could ever win a majority government in a city like Canberra.

"They say it's impossible. You just watch us," he said.