Serving two uninterrupted terms as a county assembly Speaker is no mean fete in Nyanza.
For a region where assembly fights and impeachments have been frequent in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori and Kisii, even completing a term can be considered an achievement.
But this is the storm that the former Siaya Speaker, George Okode, has withstood.
Not even a threat of impeachment has been made against him since 2013.
Kisumu has had five Speakers, while Migori too has had four. In Migori, Boaz Okoth was ousted six months ago after he was accused of gross misconduct.
Homa Bay's Elizabeth Ayoo has survived a chaotic term courtesy of court intervention.
But Mr Okode is eyeing a third term, having kept his House united and retain the confidence of the MCAs.
He attributes this his open-door policy and frequent consultations with the Ward Reps.
"We agreed and disagreed a lot, but this is within the law," says the lawyer.
He says the relationship between the assembly and the Executive should be based on the understanding that oversight is not policing or compromise.
He commends the assembly for playing the role well, citing the refusal to approve names proposed by Governor Cornel Rasanga for his Executive, and rejection of budget allocations.
Mr Okode, however, notes that the success of a county assembly should be measured by how much MCAs made the life hard for a governor, or how easy they were on him; it has to be a balanced relationship guided by the law.
"Some people think our role is to prosecute for irregularities, which is not our function. We have also been accused of being in bed with the Executive. Some also accuse us of being too hard on the Executive. For us, it is that compromise of the relationship that has brought us this far because when we are required to play our oversight role, we do it," he says.
Mr Okode, who is confident of winning another term, promises to maintain good relations between the two arms for the benefit of the people.
He says the assembly considered 35 Bills under his leadership.
"We have had major Motions like the one that resolved the dismissal of the CEC for Health, the one that created the municipal board and the other one that created the law that enables the county to have emergency fund bills," he notes.
The Speaker acted as governor for three months when the High Court nullified the election of Mr Rasanga in his first term.
During his last tour of the region before the General Election, Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga endorsed him for another term.
As lobbying for the seat builds up, party loyalty, regional balance and gender are the key considerations that could guide the MCAs in picking their Speaker.
Other seats that have attracted interest are those of the whip, and leaders of majority and minority.
With 20 new MCAs out of 30 set to take the oath of office, it will be interesting to see if Mr Okode gets a third term.
In the 2013 pre-election pact, the county's top seats were distributed among the six sub-counties, with the position of the Speaker going to Rarieda.
In this year's elections, Alego-Usonga, Bondo and Gem got the positions of the deputy governor, senator and Woman Rep respectively.
