A Newfoundland teen's razor-thin mayoral victory has been overturned, less than two days after the 19-year-old was elected as the country's youngest mayor.
Kurtis Coombs won a municipal election in Paradise, N.L., on Tuesday, beating the incumbent mayor by just three votes to become Canada's youngest mayor ever.
But a recount put the two in an exact tie, and according to local reports, Coombs officially lost the election Thursday when officials randomly selected the name of incumbent Ralph Wisemen in a tie-breaker.
Wiseman, who has been mayor of the town since 2005, had asked for a recount on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, Coombs said he's thrilled with his political opportunity.
The political science university student said he has always noticed "prominent" problems in the municipality but that they became more evident as his family built a new home.
"It was a real motivation for me," he told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.
"The Canadian building codes weren't being adequately followed within the municipality and it just went from there," he continued. "From basic services to infrastructure and recreational services -- I mean the list is very long."
Coombs said he wasn't surprised when his bid for mayor was met with skepticism by the town's 12,500 residents. After all, he's just a teenager.
"I'd be skeptical too at first but once I got around and people started talking to me and seen what I'm all about, that I do have the knowledge and the know-how and the vision for the future to get things done, people were very perceptive of what I had to say," he said.
Coombs is a student at Memorial University and he said his teachers backed his bid.
"My professors have been very supportive," he said. "They're a great bunch of people."
