Kayla Matos a lifelong Ithacan and the Deputy Director of Southside Community Center. She was elected in 2023 and is serving a four-year term for Ithaca Common Council Ward 1.

She is dedicated to stopping gentrification and displacement, and investing in local organizations that are already working to address issues in the community.

Kayla has seen firsthand the disruption that profit-seeking development has brought to Ithaca, and she was motivated to run after seeing the City’s budget process neglect community needs. Kayla works to support the community that has in turn supported her.