After a total of 17 1/2 years of involvement with city government, Ames Mayor Ann Campbell said she has learned to always question issues she is confronted with.

“All controversial issues have more than one side,” Campbell said.

Campbell said although she does not have the ability to vote during city council meetings, she believes her role is to ensure they are run in a fair, open and efficient manner.

“That can certainly be a challenge,” she said.

Any issue involving high emotions is not easy to deal with, Campbell said. Watching the council make decisions that are not going to please everyone is one of the most challenging aspects of her job.

Before becoming mayor in 2005, Campbell had spent 16 years on the city council.

The first situation that plunged Campbell “waist deep” into public service, she said, was chairing a committee that ultimately resulted in creating the present CyRide system.

“That was probably the thing that gave me introduction to political life,” she said.

Her involvement with human services boards, including the Youth and Shelter Services Board, as well as the League of Women Voters, gave Campbell an “intimate involvement with the city,” she said.

Running for mayor, however, was never her original plan.

“It took people being quite persuasive,” Campbell said.

Campbell had been absent from the city council for four years, thinking she had finished her time with city government. During that time, she also dealt with the loss of her husband.

“I kind of phased out of doing community things at the time,” she said.

Despite her own ideas about the end of her involvement with the city, however, Campbell said a variety of people approached her, asking her to run for mayor.

After seeing people from many different walks of life telling her they felt she was qualified to lead the city, Campbell said she realized her experiences had made her qualified to do so.

“There certainly is nothing like being in public office that takes you out of your own comfort zone,” she said.

Still, Campbell said she has found it satisfying to see “the broader side of Ames,” meeting a variety of people and recognizing the range of opportunities that exist in the city.

One aspect of her work Campbell said she finds difficult, aside from citizens taking controversial issues personally, is communicating with the many citizens of Ames.

The mode of communication has changed, she said, over the time she has been involved in city life – e-mail often takes away the opportunity for personal conversation.

“I am extremely cautious about anything I say in response to an e-mail,” Campbell said.

She said she is aware her words can be forwarded to hundreds of other people, making her particularly careful.

“I am more than happy to have people visit with me or call me,” she said.

While Campbell acknowledged that e-mail is a useful tool, she said she thinks it is also a product of an impersonal approach that society has taken.

In the coming years, some things Campbell said she hopes the city will grow in are diligence in making sure the school system is functioning well, as well as the aesthetic elements of the city, whether they be on public or private property.

A more immediate wish Campbell has for the city, she said, is that the upcoming July 24 bond issue would pass, enabling the city to officially go forward in building an aquatics center.

Campbell said if there were one thing she would like ISU students to know about her, it would be that campus life is very much a part of her own, since she lives nearby and often walks to campus.

“I hope they would recognize my appreciation of that,” she said.

Apart from her work, Campbell said she enjoys spending time with her two children and three grandchildren

She also enjoys cycling, especially during this time of year.

Ryan Doll, 3rd Ward city councilman, said two words he would use to describe the mayor are “compassion” and “control.”

“She shows her compassion by how much of herself she has given to Ames over the years, without asking for a return,” Doll said.

“She also shows compassion in her service to individuals. She volunteers to assist many agencies within the community.”

Doll said he also appreciates her willingness to understand people’s viewpoints, even those of “rookie council members” such as himself, he said.

As for “control,” Doll said the mayor is able to make her voice heard even if she cannot vote during meetings.

“She has shown leadership through her ability to control the situation when we have entered into difficult decisions on the council,” Doll said.

Doll said Campbell is a very positive force in the community.

“I truly believe that she has the best interest of the city in mind with every decision she makes,” Doll said.