For many students, open-mic Mondays mean a pint of the house special and a medley of mellow pub music to take the mind off of the week. But for third-year Political Science, Philosophy and Economics UBC Okanagan student Kevin Craig, microphones and Mondays mean something very different.

Every Monday, Craig takes his place in the City of Kelowna Council Chambers, where he has worked ever since winning the Kelowna City by-election on November 28, 2009. At 19-years-old, Craig is Kelowna’s youngest-ever city councilor.

“I knew that if I was able to out-work my opponents, I could pull off a win,” said Craig in a phone interview. “I got out and did a ton of door-knocking, and it paid off on Election Day.” Craig’s get-out-the-vote strategy earned him the support of 28 per cent of the electorate at the polls, putting him past 14 other candidates, including second-place finisher Todd Sanderson, a chartered accountant who tallied 436 fewer votes than Craig.

After the by-election, Craig underwent two-weeks of orientation, which he balanced with writing his final exams for first term. Since then, the other councilors have done tried to ease the transition for him.

Craig’s age has generated some skepticism. Having won his seat through an impromptu by-election as opposed to a regular election, only 11 per cent of the electorate actually bothered to cast a ballot at all.

But Craig has worked hard for years to gain experience in Council’s decision-making process.

“Since my first year at UBC-O I arranged my class schedule so that I didn’t have courses on Monday afternoons. So I’d go and sit in council chambers.”
With plans to settle permanently in Kelowna after pursuing a post-graduate degree and a career in either politics or the private sector, Craig said that he has a deep-seated interest in serving the community.

“When we’re deciding on things that are going to affect Kelowna’s landscape 50 years from now, I’m going to be around. I have a very vested interest in making sure that Kelowna 50 years from now is just as great a place as it is today.”

Craig wants to do long-term strategic planning, and brings a different perspective to the council that he says Kelowna needs.

“Kelowna is in a bit of a transition period….We’re very much a teenager of a city,” he said.

“There’s an openness to trying new ideas and to embracing innovation.”