Moe Banga sworn in as Edmonton's newest city councillor

Even a few days ago, Moe Banga never believed he would be taking the oath of office.

That was all he could think about as he climbed the steps of city hall on Friday, holy books in hand. He carried a Bible and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book.

He tied a white rumal -- a Sikh bandana -- around his head, raised his left hand and became the new councillor for Ward 12.

"Things will happen for you, just keep working toward that goal," Banga said after the ceremony.

Mayor Don Iveson welcomed Banga to the team with a reminder that his oath is to all of Edmonton.

"The way I describe it is that you represent the people of your ward, but you serve the whole city," Iveson said.

Banga's starts work on Monday, but he has a lot to do to prepare.

He said he's already met with several councillors, and now has to read binders full of reports in advance of his first city council meeting. He said he also hopes to get some sleep this weekend.

He hasn't had a lot in the last few months.

The keys to beating out 31 other candidates

As a soccer player and coach, Moe Banga is accustomed to dealing with a field full of competitors. 

But nothing could have prepared him for Monday's Ward 12 byelection, which drew 32 candidates, the most in a single ward in Alberta history.

"My friends were telling me that, 'You know, there are so many candidates it's going to be tough,' " said Banga, who sometimes refers to himself in the third person.

"Moe Banga does not go for anything that is easy."

Other candidates relied on social media, television ads, even endorsements.

Banga's secret: an old fashioned ground campaign.

He has made many connections in the ward, having lived there for nearly four decades. He worked for 24 years with the Edmonton police department and was a board member with the Edmonton District Soccer Association.

Banga's nephew and campaign team member, Jasmeet Sadhra, said that enabled them to muster an army of volunteers with a goal of knocking on every voter's door

"Moe's lived in the ward for 38 years, he's been a police officer and he's served out of that ward. So he has a lot of connections as a DARE officer. He's made a positive impact on a lot of lives. This was an opportunity for the people that Moe has maybe motivated or families he's assisted as a police officer, member of the community or volunteer, this was a way for them to give back."

Sadhra thinks Banga's police experience also paid off.

"People respect the badge," said Sadhra, adding that increased crime is a big concern in the ward. "I think the people really considered and appreciated that Moe has a unique and greater understanding and grasp of the issues with respect to safety, and how it will be necessary to make tough and creative decisions, that he would be the best person to represent the people of Ward 12."

While Banga's extensive education and experience helped, Sadhra thinks the real key was knocking on doors, shaking hands and meeting those who weren't already familiar with the candidate.

'Tell people who Moe Banga really is'

"I think that was the most important aspect of our strategy."

Perhaps drawing on his soccer experience, Banga relied on his team to make that happen. He assigned them a simple task.

"My message to them was, tell people who Moe Banga really is and let them decide who the best candidate is."​

Sadhra said it was an easy sales pitch and a great way to connect.

"We just had to illustrate what Moe's done and why that matters, and with door knocking we were able to do so."

Former Edmonton councillor Jim Taylor said that was a good strategy, and he ought to know. The first time he ran in the mid-1990s, Taylor beat out 16 other candidates. He too credits his victory to door knocking and said despite technological advances, it's still the best strategy.

"It's a matter of having a really, really good team helping you and going out and working as hard as you can. People talk about social media and elections nowadays, but I bet in that election on the south side with those 32 candidates, it was not social media that won it," said Taylor. "I think it's going out to community meetings, going out to organized forums and mostly, and this was without a doubt the secret of my success, going door to door and making sure you get in front of as many people as you can."

It certainly worked for Banga, who got nearly twice as many votes as the second-place candidate.

Now that the tough part is over, Banga can focus on the not-so-easy part of steering the city in the right direction, at least until the next municipal election, when he'll once again put on his walking shoes and prepare his knuckles for another round of door knocking.