October 21, 2015

Local Activist Enters Mayoral Race as Write-In

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Local activist Phoebe Brown announced earlier this month that she will launch a write-in campaign for mayor in an attempt to foster a better city dialogue, though she acknowledged the unlikelihood of unseating Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 in his bid for reelection.

Brown has been vocal in the past on issues of economic and community development and the need to advance diversity in and around Ithaca. She is currently a community outreach liaison for Cayuga Medical Center’s Center for Healthy Living.

Brown told The Ithaca Voice that she is mostly supportive of the work Myrick has done so far as mayor, but feels that some voices have not been represented in this year’s mayoral race. She said she hopes that creating a point of contention will help refocus the election around certain key issues.

“I doubt very seriously I will win, and I want [Myrick] to win, truthfully,” Brown said to The Voice. “But I also want people to not just say, ‘Okay, that’s it.’ That’s not the way our system is supposed to be set up.”

Brown’s platform focuses on the need to increase governmental transparency, foster diversity, create affordable housing and ensure Ithacans receive living wages. She has been active in the local Black Lives Matter movement and has worked to improve police-community relations.

“Our system was built to help people of every income bracket, and there have been many of us left out for a very long time,” Brown told The Voice. “For me, it’s scary to do this. But I said, ‘Hey, I’m going to go for it.’”