Garth McVicar says he's "back home" at the helm of the law and order lobby group he founded 13 years ago, after an unsuccessful bid to become Napier's MP.
The hard-line Hawke's Bay lobbyist has taken back the reins of the Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST) following his foray into politics as the Conservative Party's Napier candidate and law and order spokesman earlier this year.
Third on the party's list, he received 7135 votes, but ate into the National Party's support base, allowing Stuart Nash to win back the seat for Labour.
Post-election, he announced a return to SST but said he remained on good terms with Conservative Party leader Colin Craig.
"When I put my name forward [for the Conservatives], the legal advice was to take leave of absence, which left the opportunity to return to SST."