Oh, you guys weren't joking?

Photo from the Winnipeg Free Press

Last night in the Elmwood-East Kildonan ward, which is populated by 42,135 people, Thomas Steen was elected councilor. It was a close race by a mere 216 votes between him and Shaneen Robinson, the NDP endorsed candidate who split the vote with left-leaning Rod Giesbrecht. This doesn't represent a stable confidence, in my opinion, but what can be done?
Having attended the candidate forum that took place at the Elmwood-East Kildonan Active Living Centre on October 20, I considered Steen's candidacy a joke. I'm not trying to be rude but the evidence he provided me with that night was rather damning.
When asked whether he was for or against re-zoning the Kelvin Community Centre, he responded with "Yo." The other candidates answered with a normal yes or no.
I spoke to him and his campaign manager earlier in the evening and they told me about a legitimate crime prevention plan that has had good results elsewhere. This plan being to implement a community officer in the neighbourhood to become familiar with its residents and be able to provide them with a personalized form of help. But this plan never came out during the forum. He eluded to the fact that he had a plan and it was more than just a pretty face, with his comment "a plan with long term results that don't just look attractive but actually work."
Do the residents of the Elmwood-East Kildonan ward really want a councilor that doesn't know how to articulate his thoughts?
After each candidate debriefed their plans for infrastructure, crime and safety, housing, and all other areas of importance, it was closing time. The candidates were given a timed two and a half minutes to summarize everything they said and convince the crowd that they were the right choice. However, Steen used up his time rifling through his papers, attempting to find what was written down for him to say.
How did he win the popular vote? Is Terryn Shiells, a classmate of mine, right when she says it was a popularity contest because he is the former captain of the Jets? Will Thomas Steen really be able to bring back the Jets? Highly unlikely, that if the Jets do return to Winnipeg that it will be from the efforts of Steen.
Anyways, at the end of the forum last week, I had heard Steen's halted Swedish-accented speeches that held little experience with the English language in comparison to Robinson's practiced emotion-evoking speak and I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen in Elmwood-East Kildonan on October 27.
Apparently I was wrong. I guess I just always thought that politicians were also wordsmiths...?
Check out Steen proving his point with his fists and not his words,