Voters decided it was time for a change on Ames City Council after Tuesday’s runoff for the at-large seat.

“The voters thought it’s time to try something a little bit different,” said newly elected City Council member, Matthew Goodman. “And I think I represented that to the voters.”

Goodman prevailed over opponent Mary Ann Lundy and said he is elated with the results.

“I’m giddy,” Goodman said. “I’m very excited to do this.”

Goodman won with 61.34 percent of the votes while Lundy received 38.43 percent. There were nine write-in votes, which equaled 0.23 percent of the total votes.

According to election officials, student turnout for this election was almost exactly the same as that of the first election on Nov. 4. Seventy-four students voted in the Maple-Willow-Larch precinct, compared to 73 who voted in the first election. Turnout was slightly higher in the Friley precinct, with 65 students voting compared to 61 in the November election.

Bobbie Warman, election official from the Maple-Willow-Larch precinct, said she believes student turnout can probably be attributed to students finding more of an appeal with this City Council election.

“I think there’s an emphasis on the fact that we have a young person running, which I think has been appealing to students,” Warman said.

“I just think this goes to show this election has been important to students,” said Friley precinct worker Marge Hobson.

Hobson said she’s glad to see students are making Ames city issues and elections an interest in their busy lives as college students.

“We’ve had a lot of enthusiastic voters this time,” said Dixie Lickteig, election official at the Maple-Willow-Larch precinct. “I’m glad to see so many students voted.”

Bob Hobson, election official for the Friley precinct, said he has seen a slight increase in the number of students voting in this election compared to the past.

“I think this voter registration drive really helped to turn out students. It’s great to see this many students taking an interest in their community,” Hobson said. “We’ve had people vote this time who hadn’t in the first election and that’s great to see.”

Judie Hoffman will be stepping down from the at-large position when Goodman takes over, leaving only one woman on the council. Hoffman is not concerned about it though.

“I think it’s nice to have balance,” Hoffman said. “The people have decided and we’ll move on.”

Goodman said he is ready to learn as much as he can and represent the Ames community. “My goal is to constantly increase what I know,” he said.

Lundy is glad the campaign is over but plans to stay involved in Ames.

“I will continue to be involved,” Lundy said. “I will definitely be mounting the campaign against the new mall.”

Lundy said she believes Goodman had a better campaign and said voters wanted a fresh voice on the council.

“I know in the last few weeks Matthew had been working very hard,” Lundy said. “I think they’re saying they want something different.”

Mayor Ted Tedesco said he is happy for Goodman and looks forward to working with him on City Council.

“I think he’ll bring a new viewpoint to the council,” Tedesco said. “I think he ran a good campaign and I certainly wish him well.”