“We got ourselves into this - on the left and the right. People want to be safe - so we're proposing something different and better.”

Svante Myrick is the mayor of Ithaca, NY - a role he’s held since 2012 - when he became the town’s youngest Mayor, and the first Mayor of color. Svante has become one of the nation’s earliest elected leaders to put forward one of the most ambitious, concrete plans to change the way we think about community policing - something that has propelled him to the national stage. His proposal to replace traditional policing with a Department of Public Safety and Community Solutions, aims to reduce armed personnel in emergency response. Svante’s thoughtful, informed take on how to take on big challenges at the local level are informed by his experiences as a mixed race kid who grew up facing homelessness, relying on school lunches, and other critical public services. And while his policies are progressive - Svante often says there are 3 political parties in America - Democrats, Republicans, and Mayors - because the real work is local in our communities. He’s also a huge comic book nerd, which means it's only a matter of time before Raman invites him on his OTHER podcast. Svante represents the next generation of politicians, and inspires us all that we change better together, not apart.

This episode originally aired in June 2021 and is part of our celebration of Black voices and stories this February.

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