A pair of mayoral candidates met with a campus club Tuesday to discuss their campaign platforms and listen to students’ concerns.

Ann Campbell and Jon Shelness spoke with approximately 15 members of the Political Science Club in an open discussion that focused on the relationship between ISU students and the Ames community.

Campbell, who served on the Ames City Council for four terms and subsequently left city government before declaring her candidacy for mayor, said she’s noticed a major shift in demographics at Iowa State since her years as a council member.

“One issue is that we’ve seen a huge difference in living arrangements among students,” Campbell said.

She said she’s noticed a significant increase in students finding housing off campus.

“We saw more clear communication between the community and students when more students lived on campus,” Campbell said.

She said off-campus housing presents a challenge to communication between city government and ISU students.

Open discussions like the one Tuesday night, she said, offer an opportunity for her to listen to students about how to establish communication with those living away from campus.

“Feeling connected to campus is more difficult when you live independently,” Campbell said.

Shelness, who took undergraduate classes at Iowa State beginning in the spring of 2003, said he has gained a unique perspective on the university’s relationship with the community.

He said establishing students as active leaders in the community would encourage cooperation between students and the city.

“My goal is to share authority with students,” Shelness said. “I want to offer students more leadership opportunities in the community.”

He said he wants to reverse the negative feelings students have toward city government.

“As freshmen are coming in, they learn from older students that the city is unfriendly,” Shelness said.

Both candidates agreed discussions like Tuesday night’s allow them to encourage feedback from students.

“This is one of the things I enjoy most about campaigning,” Campbell said. “These are particularly good for me because I’m not an incumbent with a lot of name recognition, and this offers a great information-gathering opportunity.”

Shelness said the discussion was a chance to encourage students to contribute to city government.

“I want to have students begin to trust me, and I want them to choose to participate in the political process,” he said. “That’s how we’ll establish a stronger relationship between students and the community.”