Kelowna

Kelowna residents have elected their youngest councillor ever in the 2009 by-election.

Kevin Craig, 19, says he's not surprised he beat out older, more experienced candidates.

"I worked as hard as I could. I learned last election that every single vote counts. I knew that if I outworked the other candidates and I knocked on as many doors as I could, I'd be able to pull it out, and I did.

"I think I was able to offer a skill set that's currently lacking on council. I think I've got an innovative approach to problem solving, and I think that I really showed that I've done my homework."

Craig says he has spent the last two years attending council meetings and learning the ropes as much as an outsider could.

"I have no idea how to thank you all," he told his supporters at his victory party at Manteo Resort. Craig thanked his volunteers for countless hours of door-knocking, including more than 10 hours of door-knocking today, which he partially credits for his win.

Runner-up Todd Sanderson was also celebrating a close win, coincidentally right next door to Craig at Manteo Resort.

Sanderson says that he's disappointed that he came in second. "Well, you don't run to lose, so obviously I'm not happy to lose," he says. "But I'm happy to finish as well as I did."

Sanderson came in second place with 2,427 votes, about 400 votes behind Craig's 2,863.

Sanderson says he was also disappointed with the election turnout, with just over 10,100 people casting a ballot, or about 11 per cent of eligible voters.

Sanderson says he wishes Craig luck and hopes that he "won't be too swayed" by more experienced councillors.

Mayor Sharon Shepherd says Craig's enthusiasm and youth will be a good thing for council.

"I think Kevin's going to do a great job. He's attended a lot of council meetings and he certainly knows what his future is going to be ... he knows what he's getting into.

"With his age, he's certainly going to represent an age demographic of voters that haven't had representation on council."

Craig will be officially sworn in in two weeks, where his first major issue will be the Kelowna city budget. Craig says he is looking forward to the challenge.

The unofficial results are as follows:

CRAIG, Kevin 2863
SANDERSON, Todd 2427
NIELSEN, Vern 1665
GRAHAM, Mary-Ann 1004
PATTERSON, Ernie 527
THOMPSON, Mark 406
REED, Matthew 280
HALLFORD, Valerie 270
MIX, Rocky 270
LOEWEN, Michael 172
ROJEM, Dennis William 116
KESSLER, Clay 53
OUELLETTE, Kim 45
UITVLUGT, Andy 30
MURPHY, James 18