Svante Myrick
| Svante Myrick | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Mayor of Ithaca, New York | |
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Assumed office January 1, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Carolyn K. Peterson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 15, 1987 Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Ithaca, New York |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Awards | The John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards (2014) |
| Website | https://www.facebook.com/svantem |
Svante L. Myrick (born March 15, 1987) is an American politician serving as the mayor of Ithaca, New York. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In September 2011, Myrick won a contested primary election for the Democratic Party mayoral nomination, and on November 8, 2011, won the general election with 54.9% of the vote, defeating three other candidates (two independents and one Republican). Upon taking office In January 2012, he became the city’s youngest mayor and its first African-American mayor. Myrick was born in Florida and raised in the small town of Earlville, New York. First elected at age of 20 to Ithaca's Common Council, he was one of the youngest elected African Americans in United States history. At 29, he is one of the youngest mayors in US history and one of the few to be popularly elected by citywide vote.
On August 8, 2016 Politico.com asked 71 mayors from all around the country to voted the mayors who most likely to succeed and rate each other in a variety of categories. Svante Myrick received votes for most innovative, biggest turnaround and a mayor to “keep our eye on.”
Svante Myrick is the third of four children, raised in Earlville, New York, a small village with 900 people, by his single mother and his grandparents. Through his childhood, he was in and out of homelessness; his family struggled to get by and depended on food stamps. He attended public schools and graduated from Sherburne-Earlville High School in 2005. He then studied communication at Cornell University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and a leader of the Interfraternity Council and Quill and Dagger society. He began his public-service career though volunteer activities while a student, including working with the REACH program (Raising Education Attainment Challenge) and the Ithaca Youth Council. Myrick graduated in 2009.
After graduating, he continued his work with local youth working as an apprenticeship coordinator with The Learning Web. Myrick also served as the Assistant Director of Student and Young Alumni Programs for Cornell University before resigning his position to run for mayor.
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