Kent began his political career as a teenager, first serving on school councils, in Youth Parliament and on the Youth Council for the City of Mount Pearl. In 1997, at age 19, he ran a successful campaign for city council and was elected Deputy Mayor of Mount Pearl (a position assigned to the Councillor with the most votes), the youngest elected official in the city's history. He became the eighth Mayor of Mount Pearl in 2003 when Dave Denine moved on to provincial politics, and he was elected Mayor by acclamation in 2005.