Peter Orazem was announced the victor for the at-large Ames City Council seat Tuesday night.

Orazem won by 67.59 percent of the vote over his opponents, Mike Miller and Sheli Dougherty.

“I’m very gratified on how many people helped me with this,” Orazem said after results were announced.

Orazem, labor economist and university professor of economics, decided to run for the City Council to help bring a tighter structure to how the council makes its decisions. Orazem studied Ames’ economics conditions and told the Daily he will base his decisions for the community on solid data and research about the issues.

Orazem believes Ames needs to be growing faster and that it is not living up to its potential as a college town.

“Ames is at a critical point in its development, and it has been growing more slowly than Boone since 1990,” Orazem said in a previous interview with the Daily.

Orazem has plans to revitalize Campustown and find new spaces and opportunities for businesses in Ames. He has discussed opting for a new business park in Ames to help draw in employers for graduating students as well as encouraging more retail business in Ames to provide jobs to current students.

More employment for the student population, Orazem said, can lower student debt upon graduation. He has also proposed building more retail business by the interstate to capture some of the business from travelers that currently goes to Ankeny and other cities.

Orazem has spoken of developing the creeks in Ames to create new walking and bike paths.

He mentioned pushing for a systematic evaluation of the Section 8 housing program to ensure the housing assistance is going to those who need it most and that background checks are instituted uniformly to all applicants to the program.

Steve Sapp, Orazem’s campaign manager, was enthusiastic about Orazem’s victory.

“Dr. Orazem had developed his message and run a successful campaign, so the next step is to learn from the citizens on how to serve on the council,” he said.

Orazem said that the incumbents were being punished for not making progress or setting aside disputes to address economic issues in Ames.

“People were extremely frustrated with the lack of compromise in the City Council,” Orazem said.

Miller and Dougherty could not be reached for comment.

Orazem said his immediate goal for the City Council is to sit down with the current City Council members and begin training on how to serve the Ames community.

“All us new people will need training,” he said.

Orazem said he was most looking forward to “taking the brakes off business” in Ames and helping the city utilize its resources with the interstate and the university to make the city less dependant on public sector employment.