There's a new sheriff in town...

Birks elected Riga mayor.

This week, the Riga City Council voted in Deputy Mayor Janis Birks (For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK) as the city's new mayor, replacing Aivars Aksenoks (New Era), who was ousted the same day by the council. All 33 council members who participated voted to oust the now former mayor, making Aksenoks is the first mayor in Riga's history to lose his position in a vote of no confidence.