When Steve Goodhue steps down from the Ames City Council later this summer, residents of Ames’ 2nd Ward said they want a special election to fill the seat.

More than 200 people living in the ward signed a petition that would request a special election when Goodhue resigns his post later this summer, said Kurt Friedrich, a 2nd Ward resident and real estate agent for Friedrich Iowa Realty, 100 Sixth St.

“What we’re trying to do is be proactive and let the council know what the desires are of the people in the ward and not have them waste time in determining their intentions,” he said. “We thought it was appropriate that they know in advance of making that decision what the desires are of the people in the ward.”

Goodhue said he would resign his post as councilman sometime this summer when he becomes the president of First American Bank in Des Moines. He currently is the president of First American Bank in Ames.

Should Goodhue resign during the summer, there is a chance that the special election would be held before fall semester classes resume Aug. 21.

The 2nd Ward encompasses the north-central residences in Ames, including the Frederiksen Court and Schilletter University Village student apartment complexes.

The Ames municipal code states that the council seat would need to be filled within 30 days of Goodhue’s resignation, either by appointment or special election, said Doug Marek, Ames’ city attorney. He said the petition requires 2 percent of 2nd Ward voters from the 2003 election in order to request a special election.

Ames’ 3rd Ward Councilman Ryan Doll said his primary concern is many students living in the 2nd Ward would not be in Ames to vote in a special election held before fall classes resume.

“I will not support any election before the first of September,” he said.

“With the summer, half the population of Ames is gone.”

Doll said although voters should choose who replaces Goodhue, the only circumstance in which he would support appointing a councilperson would be to postpone the election until the fall.

“That is the only way I see us appointing somebody, is to push the election back to September,” he said.

“That would give students the chance to get back in town and find out about who is running and to be here to vote.”

Goodhue said he would like to see students get the chance to vote in the special election, should it take place.

“I think it’s important that students have the opportunity to participate in an election, if indeed it is a special election,” he said. “It is all going to be a matter of timing when [my family] leaves the community and I resign from the council.”