Sometimes, politics is a noble battle of ideas, where winners are decided by reasoned public debate in the town square.

How the chair of Metro Vancouver was decided on Friday was not one of those times.

Instead, it was a question of regional alliances and last-minute anger causing a long-term mayor to lose an election he was presumed to win.

Let's back up.

On Friday, Burnaby Coun. Sav Dhaliwal was chosen to head the regional government, which oversees water and waste issues, various parks and housing initiatives and an annual budget of over $700 million. For his services, he'll make an extra $77,474 per year on top of his council salary.

Dhaliwal defeated Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Delta Coun. (and former mayor) Lois Jackson in a secret ballot. Which means there's no public record of who voted for Dhaliwal or what their reasons were.

But there is a backstory.

Newly elected Metro Vancouver chair Sav Dhaliwal has formerly served as president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities and Lower Mainland Local Government Association. (Justin McElroy/CBC)

Dhaliwal as vice-chair

With former chair Greg Moore and vice-chair Raymond Louie gone from municipal politics, the last month has seen plenty of intrigue around who would fill those positions, both open for the first time since 2011.

As late as Wednesday evening, informed sources had been telling multiple reporters that Brodie would be nominated as chair and Dhaliwal as vice-chair.

The pairing had a certain logic to it: after a municipal election season with so much turnover of mayors, Brodie was the longest-standing leader left in Metro Vancouver (running Richmond since 2001), and is generally seen as a steady presence.

Meanwhile, Dhaliwal has been a Burnaby councillor since 2002, but had stints as president of the Lower Mainland Local Government Association and Union of B.C. Municipalities — important regional experience some councillors don't get.

When asked whether plans for his nomination had changed, Dhaliwal was somewhat evasive.

"I was ready for either one of them, but I had decided a couple of days ago to pursue it [position of chair] really vigorously and talk to people and feedback was good," he said, portraying his win as merely good fortune.

The turning point, however, was just 24 hours before the vote.

Delta Mayor George Harvie casts his secret vote for vice-chair of Metro Vancouver. (Justin McElroy/CBC)

Contentious Mayors' Council

The day before was the first meeting of the Mayors' Council, where the big item on the agenda was Surrey's request to cancel light rapid transit in Surrey and prioritize a SkyTrain extension to Langley.

In the end, the mayors mostly agreed, but language around the timeline for design, consultation and procurement work — and therefore, ultimate approval — was softened, after concerted criticism by Brodie.

"I have to say that I think this approach is setting a very, very dangerous precedent," he said at one point.

"Surely, we're going to have the same depth of analysis to change this decision to SkyTrain as we had to make it the LRT for Surrey Newton Guildford."

In his response, McCallum's annoyance at SkyTrain to Langley being slowed down by procedural amendments was made clear. And multiple mayors told CBC News that in the hours after that meeting, conversations began to pick up about someone other than just Brodie being nominated for chair.

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum, left, and Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, right, have made it a priority early in their terms to work together. (Justin McElroy/CBC)

(Surrey + Vancouver) > everything else

Because of the secret ballot, we can't say for sure where the votes went.

But we can say Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart has been very open about his desire to have a strong political alliance with Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum.

"As the mayors of the two biggest cities in the region, it's our job to try and speak to the region as well as we can," said Stewart, in a joint media scrum with McCallum after the Mayors' Council meeting.

Votes on regional boards are weighted by population of each municipality, so by voting as a block, Surrey and Vancouver hold close to a majority on Metro Vancouver and the Mayors' Council.

And by nominating Dhaliwal as chair, Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley gains some political capital with Dhaliwal and his party — the Burnaby Citizens Association — which holds seven of eight seats on council.

Whatever the reasons — and whatever the voting — Dhaliwal is now the chair of Metro Vancouver. And Malcolm Brodie is on the outside looking in.

It may not be the most altruistic way of choosing a chair.

But altruism is a word rarely heard in politics.