Ithaca, N.Y. — Mayor Svante Myrick reappointed two Ithaca alderpersons as his substitutes at City Hall Wednesday night.
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Alderperson Deb Mohlenhoff, who represents Ithaca’s fifth ward, was renamed the city’s Acting Mayor for when Myrick is out of town or otherwise unable to fulfill his job responsibilities.
Similarly, Alderperson Ellen McCollister, who represents Ithaca’s third ward, was reappointed to the role of Alternate Acting Mayor.
Mayor Myrick spoke briefly before swearing in Mohlenhoff and McCollister. He said both members of the Common Council had performed “gracefully” under pressure in various trying circumstances.
During the following State of the City speech, Myrick also cited Mohlenhoff as he praised those who had worked “around-the-clock” to protect their neighbors during the ice jam incident last year.
McCollister — who has been involved in a range of important policy decisions, including Collegetown zoning — told The Ithaca Times in 2013 that she had lived in her ward for 30 years.
“I’ve always loved helping the Bryant Park/Belle Sherman community. I feel really rooted here and it’s a way I can give back,” she told The Times.
This is how the city’s code defines “acting mayor:”
A member of the Common Council who is elected at the organization meeting each year to serve as Acting Mayor of the city in the absence of the Mayor, with all of the powers and duties of the Mayor, who shall serve as such Acting Mayor in the event of an attack or public disaster as defined in this section.
This is how the city’s code defines “alternate acting mayor:”
The member of the Common Council duly appointed by the appropriate authority at the organization meeting each year to serve as Mayor, with all the Mayor’s powers and duties, in the absence of the Mayor and the Acting Mayor by reason of attack or public disaster as defined in this section.