While at Howard Springs, he worked as a vegetable and poultry farmer, and became involved with local government, subsequently spending five years as the President of the Litchfield Shire Council.
However, Labor managed to seize majority control with Matthew Bonson's narrow win in the electorate of Millner, which severely limited Wood's potential influence in the Assembly.
While he has not maintained as high a profile as Braham, he received some attention from the national media in November 2004, when he discovered the theft of a 10-tonne steel railway bridge in his electorate after hearing a report from a constituent.
The same month, in response to a severe shortage of fruit pickers in the Territory, Wood wandered around the Mindil Beach Markets, a popular tourist attraction, dressed as a mango tree.
Despite a controversial redistribution which moved the Robertson Barracks into his electorate, Wood held his seat with a swing in his favour, polling nearly double the vote of his nearest rival.