Svante Myrick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Svante Myrick
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| Mayor of Ithaca | |
| In office January 1, 2012 – February 6, 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Carolyn K. Peterson |
| Succeeded by | Laura Lewis (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 15, 1987 Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Cornell University (AB) |
Svante L. Myrick (born March 15, 1987) is an American politician. He used to be the mayor of Ithaca, New York. He is a member of the Democratic Party, one of the two main political parties in the U.S.
Svante grew up in Earlville, New York. In 2007, while he was still a student at Cornell University, he was elected to the Ithaca Common Council. This is like a city council that helps run the city. After finishing college in 2009, Myrick decided to run for mayor of Ithaca in 2011. He won the election with more than half of the votes. When he became mayor in 2012, he was only 24 years old. This made him the youngest mayor in the city's history and its first mayor of mixed race. He was re-elected two more times, in 2015 and 2019. In 2022, he left his role as mayor to work for an organization called People For the American Way. He is now the president and CEO of this group.
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Early Life and School
Svante Myrick was born on March 15, 1987. He has three brothers and sisters. His father is Black, and his mother is White. When he was a baby, Svante and his family sometimes did not have a permanent home. His mother, Leslie Myrick, moved her four children from Florida to a small village in New York called Earlville.
Svante was raised in Earlville by his mother and his grandparents. His family often struggled with money and used food stamps to buy groceries. His mother worked many jobs to support her children. Svante went to public schools and finished high school in 2005. He also had asthma when he was in high school.
After high school, Svante studied communication at Cornell University. He was very active in student groups there. He also started helping the community through volunteer work. For example, he worked with a program called REACH, which helps students with their education. He also helped with the Ithaca Youth Council. Svante graduated from Cornell in 2009.
Political Journey
Serving on the Ithaca Common Council (2008–2011)
In 2007, Svante Myrick was elected to the Ithaca Common Council. He was only 20 years old at the time. When he started his job in January 2008, he became the youngest council member ever in Ithaca. He was still a student at Cornell University while serving on the council.
As a councilman, Svante helped create a "tobacco-free zone" in a public area called the Ithaca Commons. He also worked to get young people involved in city government by helping to create the Ithaca Youth Council. He also played a part in planning changes for Collegetown, a busy area in Ithaca where many students live.
Becoming Mayor of Ithaca (2012–2022)
On March 29, 2011, Svante Myrick announced he wanted to become the mayor of Ithaca. He ran as a Democrat. In the first election, he won against two other candidates. Some people worried about his age and how much experience he had. But Svante won the main election in November with 54.9% of the votes. He won in every part of the city.
When Svante Myrick became mayor on January 1, 2012, he was 24 years old. He was the youngest mayor in Ithaca's history and the first mayor of color. He also became the youngest mayor in the entire state of New York. When he started, the city of Ithaca was facing a big money problem, with a budget shortage of about $3 million.
His first city budget, for the year 2013, focused on keeping city services running. He also worked to make City Hall more efficient by combining departments and using new technology. The budget also aimed to increase the pay for the city's lowest-paid workers.
In June 2013, Svante Myrick gave an important speech at a conference about housing. He talked about issues of race and his own experience with homelessness. In October 2013, the City of Ithaca became a "Certified Living Wage Employer." This means the city paid its workers enough to live comfortably. In December 2013, Myrick joined other mayors at the White House to talk about how to help manufacturing businesses in their cities.
The city's budget for 2014 successfully fixed the money problems Svante had inherited. It also led to the smallest tax increase in over ten years.
In January 2015, Myrick met with President Obama at a meeting for mayors. They talked about how cities could work with the government to help people earn more money and strengthen the middle class. In August 2015, Svante Myrick was invited to a big meeting in Geneva, Switzerland called the World Economic Forum. He joined people from many countries to talk about making local changes that help the whole world.
Svante Myrick was re-elected as mayor in 2015 with a huge 89% of the votes. In March 2019, he announced he would run for a third term and won again with 76% of the votes. On January 5, 2022, Myrick shared that he had accepted a new job. He became the Executive Director of People For the American Way, an organization that works for fairness and justice.
Awards and Recognition
On December 10, 2014, Svante Myrick received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award. This award honors Americans under 40 who are making a difference in their communities and the country through public service.
In 2016, a magazine called Politico asked 71 mayors to rate each other. Myrick was recognized as one of the most innovative mayors. He also received votes for leading a "biggest turnaround" in his city and was called a mayor to "keep our eye on."
