'Community isn’t just shaped by the adults': Oakville teen running for mayor

For 19-year-old Jack Kukolic, Monday will be the first municipal election in which he's able to cast a ballot.

It will also be the first time the Oakville teen has ever voted for himself.

Kukolic is running for mayor of Oakville, and if elected, he would be the youngest mayor in the province – but notoriety isn’t what inspired him to run.

“I ran because I saw that in the last municipal election only 37 per cent of eligible Oakville voters voted,” Kukolic told CTV News, “and 82 per cent of those [eligible voters] 18-25 did not vote.”

Along with the issues, Kukolic’s campaign has attempted to draw attention to the election itself, through a series of TikTok videos. In them, the teen explains everything from how to run to how to vote.

@jack_kukolic Make sure you get out and vote on any of the advance poll days or election day! Visit your local elections website to find out where and when you can vote. #elections4everyone #youngmayor #jacksfacts #oakvillevotes #onpoli #fyp ♬ original sound - Jack Kukolic

“I think having a younger candidate running lets them see that politics is not just this big scary thing that you see on the news – it’s an important process that you can get involved in.”

Kukolic is one of three candidates running to be mayor in Oakville. For the other two, it’s a rematch of the 2018 campaign with business leader Julia Hanna running against the incumbent Rob Burton.

Speaking to voters in Oakville’s downtown, Kukolic is offered best wishes by a number of voters, some of whom have already cast their ballot.

“It’s been really surprising,” Kukolic said, “I’ve had a lot of adults come and tell me that they are in involved in politics but are interested in the federal and provincial level – they vote in the federal and provincial levels but up until this point they’ve kind of just ignored the municipal level.”

The Sheridan College student, who runs his own photography/videography company, says he hopes voter turnout will be higher on Monday than it was in the last municipal election.

He also says, win or lose, this is just the beginning of his involvement with the city he calls home.

“This community isn’t just shaped by the adults, it's shaped by everyone and as I always say elections are for everyone, so I want everyone to go out and make an informed choice and just have a voice in their community.”