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He used to be homeless. Now he's a mayor. And he's only 28.

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The CW

When you walk into the office of the 28-year-old mayor of Ithaca, New York, you get an instant taste of what it means to have a young person running your city.

An LED display mounted above the couch in his office flashes text messages that are sent directly to the mayor, Svante Myrick. The messages aren’t censored and are posted instantly for anyone within eyesight to read.


Photo by Blake Fall-Conroy, used with permission.

"Could you please pave James St.? The holes are really bad!" read one recent message. "Think about a bike system like citi bikes for Ithaca! Could promote green transport," another suggested.

Not all of them are so serious: "Stop staring at this sign and get back to work!"

The board is an installation created by local artist Blake Fall-Conroy, and all of the texts can also be read online. "It was always about open communication, by anyone at any time, about anything, whether that's good or bad," said Fall-Conroy.

Myrick came of age in the time of smartphones and Snapchat, so this sort of innovation fits him perfectly.

A selfie with city hall staff on Christmas Eve in 2014.

"It’s a new public square," Myrick said in an interview with Upworthy. "Some people feel very comfortable calling my office or writing a letter. Other people use Twitter and Facebook. It means more people have my ear. And, the more constituents you hear from, the better job you can do."

Myrick was elected mayor of Ithaca in 2011, making him the youngest mayor in the city’s history and the first African-American to hold the office.

Snow gear: an important part of the job. Photo via Facebook, used with permission.

One of his earliest decisions as mayor went viral. After selling his car, he put benches and planters in his mayoral parking spot and changed the sign to read "Reserved for Mayor and Friends." The day the sign was installed, someone snapped a picture of it, and by that evening, it appeared in an article on The Huffington Post. Four years later, some people still refer to him as "the parking space guy."

Myrick and his family after he won his first mayoral campaign. Photo via Facebook, used with permission.

Myrick hoped the gesture would signal that positive change was coming, that how the streets and sidewalks were treated would be improved. The idea reflects his vision of a more dense, more walkable city.

It’s a vision he shares with his generation. More young people are living in cities than 35 years ago, and most choose urban neighborhoods where they can walk or take public transportation. They want to be close to coffee shops, their offices, and restaurants. When surveyed, they say they want a home where they can feel like a part of a community and have a positive impact.

With Cornell's mascot, the Big Red Bear. Photo via Facebook, used with permission.

His youth helps him connect with young people in Ithaca, a college town characterized by the presence of Cornell University and Ithaca College, but he’s also very different from some of those constituents.

One of the things that sets Myrick apart from many of his peers is his childhood, which was spent in the throes of poverty.

After he was born, his mother came home from the hospital to find a red eviction notice tacked to the door. The family slipped in and out of homelessness, living in shelters and spending a few nights sleeping in the car.

Photo via Facebook, used with permission.

Eventually they moved to the one-stoplight town of Earlville, New York, to be close to Myrick’s grandparents.

Myrick, far right, with his siblings. Photo via Facebook, used with permission.

Myrick’s mother worked several jobs to raise him and his three siblings. Each month, she would write on the back of an envelope what she had made and what the bills were. Then the children would add what they wanted and together they would decide how to spend her paychecks.

"She brought us right into the household decision-making," Myrick said. "This is what we have and what we want. We could decide, 'This is the third notice from the gas company so we should pay that over the phone bill because they only sent one.'"

Growing up in poverty also sparked Myrick’s interest and passion for government.

Because his family relied on food stamps, free lunches, and other social programs, he became aware of what government was and why it was important at an early age. It’s also why he became a Democrat.

He explained his path to the party during a 2014 award acceptance speech at the JFK Library in Boston. "We are successful when we take care of each other, when we look out for each other," he said. To Myrick, the Democrats best embodied that message.

A 2013 selfie at the White House. Used with permission.

After learning of Myrick’s high SAT scores, one of his high school teachers encouraged him to take advanced placement classes and to consider Cornell. He was accepted in 2005.

He worked four jobs to help pay for college, including one gig as an assistant to a council member on Ithaca's city council. After the member announced he would be retiring, he encouraged Myrick to run for his seat, which he won in 2008, during his junior year of college.

On the council, Myrick focused on youth engagement and education but also discovered a passion for urban planning.

He admits it sounds boring, but he believes zoning dictates much of our lives — where people live, where they go to school, what kind of commute they’ll have. He created a new platform for his city council re-election and realized it was full of things only a mayor could do. So he ran for mayor in 2011.

After an aggressive campaign and lots of door-knocking, Myrick won the mayor’s seat.

In his first term, he closed a $3 million structural budget deficit, the largest the city had ever faced. He worked to rebuild the downtown pedestrian shopping area known as "the Commons" and fought to rezone the city to make it more walkable and include more mixed-use housing.

Via Facebook: "I'm not actually dressed up. I just wear my superman pajamas under my clothes every day ... they give me power." Image used with permission.

When Myrick first ran for mayor, people were skeptical about the impact he could have.

"I had people tell me at the door they weren’t voting for me because I was too young," he said. "They assume you don’t have a deep Rolodex, that you’re immature."

This past fall, Myrick won a second term with 89% of the vote.

The young mayor is frequently compared to President Barack Obama.

Both are biracial men raised by single white mothers. Like Obama, Myrick is considered a rising star in politics. As you might imagine, he’s frequently asked about his plan for the future.

"I don’t know what comes next," said Myrick. "I’m excited to do this for four more years. You become qualified to run for state offices at 30. I still have a couple of years to think about it."

Photo via Facebook, used with permission.

As for the comparisons to the president, Myrick is flattered. He says Obama is an "inspiration," and Myrick aspires to achieve the commander-in-chief’s cool, calm demeanor. While he respects Obama deeply, Myrick says his personality more closely mirrors another top-ranking Democrat.

"I’m more Joe Biden," he says. "I grew up in a place like Scranton, hardscrabble, rural, fairly conservative."

Perhaps most importantly in the political space, Myrick also shares the vice president’s notorious loquaciousness: "If you get me talking, it’s hard to get me to stop."

Watch Mayor Svante Myrick share what he's learned in the Upworthy Original video below:

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10 anti-holiday recipes that prove the season can be tasty and healthy

Balance out heavy holiday eating with some lighter—but still delicious—fare.

Albertson's

Lighten your calorie load with some delicious, nutritious food between big holiday meals.

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The holiday season has arrived with its cozy vibe, joyous celebrations and inevitable indulgences. From Thanksgiving feasts to Christmas cookie exchanges to Aunt Eva’s irresistible jelly donuts—not to mention leftover Halloween candy still lingering—fall and winter can feel like a non-stop gorge fest.

Total resistance is fairly futile—let’s be real—so it’s helpful to arm yourself with ways to mitigate the effects of eating-all-the-things around the holidays. Serving smaller amounts of rich, celebratory foods and focusing on slowly savoring the taste is one way. Another is to counteract those holiday calorie-bomb meals with some lighter fare in between.

Contrary to popular belief, eating “light” doesn’t have to be tasteless, boring or unsatisfying. And contrary to common practice, meals don’t have to fill an entire plate—especially when we’re trying to balance out heavy holiday eating.

It is possible to enjoy the bounties of the season while maintaining a healthy balance. Whether you prefer to eat low-carb or plant-based or gluten-free or everything under the sun, we’ve got you covered with these 10 easy, low-calorie meals from across the dietary spectrum.

Each of these recipes has less than 600 calories (most a lot less) per serving and can be made in less than 30 minutes. And Albertsons has made it easy to find O Organics® ingredients you can put right in your shopping cart to make prepping these meals even simpler.

Enjoy!

eggs and green veggies in a skillet, plate of baconNot quite green eggs and ham, but closeAlbertsons

Breakfast Skillet of Greens, Eggs & Ham

273 calories | 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (5 oz) pkg baby spinach

2 eggs

1 clove garlic

4 slices prosciutto

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 medium zucchini squash

1/8 cup butter, unsalted

1 pinch crushed red pepper

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

bow of cauliflower ham saladGet your cauliflower power on.Albertsons

Creamy Cauliflower Salad with Ham, Celery & Dill

345 calories | 20 minutes

1/2 medium head cauliflower

1 stick celery

1/4 small bunch fresh dill

8 oz. ham steak, boneless

1/2 shallot

1/4 tspblack pepper

1/4 tsp curry powder

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1/8 tsp paprika

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

tofu on skewers on a plate with coleslawPlant-based food fan? This combo looks yums. Albertsons

Grilled Chili Tofu Skewers with Ranch Cabbage, Apple & Cucumber Slaw

568 calories | 20 minutes

1 avocado

1/2 English cucumber

1 (12 oz.) package extra firm tofu

1 Granny Smith apple

3 Tbsp (45 ml) Ranch dressing

1/2 (14 oz bag) shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix)

2 tsp chili powder

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

frittata in a cast iron skilletSometimes you just gotta frittata.Albertsons

Bell Pepper, Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata with Parmesan

513 calories | 25 minutes

6 eggs

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

2 oz Parmesan cheese

1 red bell pepper

1/2 medium red onion

8 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with slices of grilled chicken and a caprese saladCaprese, if you please.Albertsons

Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Classic Caprese Salad

509 calories | 25 minutes

3/4 lb chicken breasts, boneless skinless

1/2 small pkg fresh basil

1/2 (8 oz pkg) fresh mozzarella cheese

1 clove garlic

3 tomatoes

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 3/4 pinches black pepper

1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

four stuffed mushrooms on a plateThese mushrooms look positively poppable.Albertsons

Warm Goat Cheese, Parmesan & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

187 calories | 35 minutes

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms

1 clove garlic

1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed

1 1/4 pinches crushed red pepper

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

2 pinches salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with open English muffin with goat cheese and sliced baby tomatoes on topMove over, avocado toast. English muffin pizzas have arrived.Albertsons

English Muffin Pizzas with Basil Pesto, Goat Cheese & Tomatoes

327 calories | 10 minutes

3 Tbsp (45 ml) basil pesto

2 English muffins

1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese

1/2 pint grape tomatoes

3/4 pinch black pepper

2 pinches salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

pita pocket on a plate filled with veggies, meat and cheeseThis pita pocket packs a colorful punch.Albertsons

Warm Pita Pocket with Turkey, Cheddar, Roasted Red Peppers & Parsley

313 calories | 20 minutes

1/4 (8 oz) block cheddar cheese

1/2 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

4 oz oven roasted turkey breast, sliced

1/2 (12 oz) jar roasted red bell peppers

1 whole grain pita

3/4 pinch black pepper

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp mayonnaise

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with toast smeared with avocado and topped with prosciuttoDid we say, "Move over, avocado toast?" What we meant was "Throw some prosciutto on it!" Albertsons

Avocado Toast with Crispy Prosciutto

283 calories | 10 minutes

1 avocado

2 slices prosciutto

2 slices whole grain bread

1 5/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

bowl of chili with cheese and green onions on topVegetarian chili with a fall twistAlbertsons

Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili with Cheddar

444 calories | 30 minutes

2 (15 oz can) black beans

1/2 (8 oz ) block cheddar cheese

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 green bell peppers

1 small bunch green onions (scallions)

1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin purée

1 medium yellow onion

1/2 tsp black pepper

5 7/8 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes, visit albertsons.com/recipes.

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