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Mike Pagtakhan (SUBMITTED)

A stressful day gave way to a very, very, very unstressful evening for Mike Pagtakhan.

The city councillor for Point Douglas retained his seat for a third term with a landslide victory on Wednesday night.

Pagtakhan received 7,127 votes, well ahead of challengers Dean Koshelanyk, with 1,805, and Herman Holla, with 411. (All results were unofficial at time of posting. They will be declared official by the city's senior election officer on Oct. 28.)

Pagtakhan said he was optimistic about his chances, but never could have expected to win by such a rout.

"It was a stressful day, but a really pleasant surprise to get that kind of mandate," he said. "I’m truly humbled, and looking forward to working with everyone again to make Point Douglas better.

"This was like a big pat on the back. I enjoy working hard and making things happen."

Residents of the ward should expect their councillor to make big waves at city hall over the next four years if Pagtakhan adheres to his own theory about civic politics.

"You need at least three terms to do things as a city councillor," he said.

It comes as no surprise, given recent headlines, that crime and safety will be Pagtakhan’s top priorities from Day 1 of his third term.

His "four-year plan" called for additional recreational programming for young people in the ward, as well as more tools and resources for the Winnipeg Police Service.

"We’ve already got tons of projects on the go," Pagtakhan said. "We need to do what we can to deliver as well as take advantage of amenities that are already there."

The Point Douglas councillor will be the only familiar face on the Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan community committee when it reconvenes on Nov. 23.

Replacing retiring members Mike O’Shaughnessy (Old Kildonan) and Harry Lazarenko (Mynarski) on the committee are Devi Sharma and Ross Eadie, respectively.

"I guess I'll be the senior guy," said Pagtakhan, whose two former colleagues had been on council for more than three decades each.

"The community committee has changed. The people have spoken and I'm looking forward to working with councillors Sharma and Eadie."

Pagtakhan said he learned all about the inner-workings of city hall from O’Shaughnessy and Lazarenko.

"They’ve explained every single situation, and they’ve seen it all," he said.

He hopes to pass along that knowledge to his new committee mates.

As for a potential seat on Mayor Sam Katz’s executive policy committee, Pagtakhan was tight-lipped.

"We’ll see," he said, when asked if he’d like a seat at the EPC table. "It’s the mayor’s decision. We’ll see what he does on that front."