It is perfectly legitimate that people with a large amount of SP vote for whoever they want to. It is the main benefit of holding SP - being able to influence the site the way you want. Whether you agree or disagree with how they are using their vote is one thing, but it is their vote to do with as they wish with.
Also, it sounds like there was a lot of conversation behind the scenes before the voting took place. Plus, he is a well known member of the community that has high popularity. If @dollarvigilante ran, he would probably skyrocket to the top too (because he is popular).