With the greatest of respect, I believe your recollection might be a bit off. A mere 3 months before e-day Hall was indeed a shoe in with something like a 30-point lead over the nearest challenger, John Nunziata. What happened after that was both unparalleled and unprecedented -- but it was not at all a battle of ideology, as you seem to suggest with your political spectrum argument.
The defining issue that decided the day emerged out of nowhere and had absolutely nothing to do with a "left" vs "right" analysis ... and everything to do with wedging all the other candidates while simultaneously implying a specific pro-urban vision and values. In fact, one of the major reasons behind the Miller victory is quite arguably the fact that he successfully found the key issue that spanned the political spectrum and allowed people who would not normally support an NDP candidate to join his coalition.
Who ever can do that this time around will sit in the big chair come November.