Observers of city politics said the candidacy of recently elected Mayor of Ithaca Svante Myrick '09 straddled typical political divisions.

In what was considered the City of Ithaca’s most contentious mayoral race in recent memory, 24-year-old Svante Myrick ’09 claimed a resounding victory Tuesday — becoming the youngest mayor in Ithaca’s history and the city’s first African American mayor.

The Sun endorses Svante Myrick ’09 for mayor. He has the right vision and the knowledge and expertise to see it through.

Ithacans will go to the polls on Tuesday to vote in the 2011 mayoral election, one of the most contested in years.

This week, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and New York State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D-125th) endorsed the candidacy of Svante Myrick ’09 in the race for City of Ithaca Mayor.

At an Ithaca mayoral debate on Tuesday, two of the five candidates — Christopher Kusznir (I) and Janis Kelly ’71 (R) — emerged as fierce critics of Mayor Carolyn Peterson’s budget.

Alderperson J.R. Clairborne (D-2nd Ward), an Independence Party candidate for Mayor of Ithaca, held a press conference on Thursday to assail what he identified as the increasing incidence of voter badgering and sign tampering in the race.

Myrick faces competition from a Republican, two independent candidates and an Independence Party candidate in the general election.

Just two years after he graduated from Cornell, 24-year-old Alderperson Svante Myrick ’09 (D-4th Ward) defeated seasoned politician Tompkins County Legislator Pam Mackesey ’89 (D-1st District) and Alderperson J.R. Clairborne (D-2nd Ward) in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Ithaca Tuesday.

The Sun asked the three Democratic candidates for Ithaca Mayor where they stand on important issues related to Cornell.