From speaking with Ames residents, Mary Ann Lundy knows what she has to do if she is elected to the Ames City Council.

“We’ll have to work on the Land Use Plan,” she said. “It needs to be evaluated.”

Lundy, 4316 Phoenix St., will face off against Matthew Goodman for the at-large seat in the special runoff election.

Lundy was the only woman to run for a position on the Ames City Council during the Nov. 4 general election. However, Lundy doesn’t consider her gender an issue in the election.

“I think of myself as just a candidate, not a woman candidate,” Lundy said.

Currently two women preside on the council, but one of them, Judie Hoffman, is giving up her position as the at-large seat after 16 years of service. The issue of lack of women on the council has come up at recent forums.

Hoffman agreed gender shouldn’t be a big issue during the runoff election.

“That is a possibility with some people but I don’t think it will be an overriding issue,” she said.

Mayor Ted Tedesco said voters should choose the best person for the job and not base their decision on the ratio of women to men.

Lundy, 56, has lived in Ames since 1969 and currently works at Benson Motor Inc., 1613 S. Duff Ave. She decided to run for the position after Hoffman encouraged her to run for the at-large seat, she said. It was time to help her community in the best way she knew how, she said.

“I thought it would be a good time to give something back [to the community],” Lundy said.

The at-large candidate said she has really enjoyed campaigning because she’s learned new things and she’s met a lot of people.

Lundy said it is important to grow in the right way.

“I want to see [Ames] grow in a reasonable way,” Lundy said. “I don’t want to compromise quality of life.”

Lundy also said she wants to work on affordable housing and economic growth.

She agreed with Goodman that improving communication between students and Ames residents should be a priority.

“Students have done great things,” Lundy said. “We need to get those things publicized more.”

Hoffman said neither candidate has a lot of experience when it comes to holding the at-large seat, but both could bring new ideas to the job.

The job takes time and an “open mind,” Hoffman said.

“It entails a lot of work,” she said. “[The at-large seat] must have an open mind and listen to both sides before making a decision.”