In a blinding display of common sense and responsible use of power, Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco vetoed the Ames City Council’s proposed “couch ordinance” Wednesday afternoon.

The ordinance, passed unanimously by the Council Tuesday night, prohibits the placement of indoor furniture outdoors or on unenclosed porches in rental housing. Tedesco announced his decision and reasons for the veto in a letter to the Council members the day after they approved the new law.

The Mayor should be lauded for seeing the ordinance exactly for what it is: blatant discrimination against “rental properties,” aka ISU students.

Tedesco wisely realized what the Council did not. The Ames community is made up of more than 50 percent college students. Nearly all of these students are renters who pay for the same rights homeowners enjoy. To single out a specific demographic is not only unfair, but unjust.

Tedesco stated in his letter to the Council he also felt the law was too vague and members of the Council may have overreacted to a limited number of complaints as additional reasons for his decision to veto the proposed ordinance.

Not to mention the ridiculous fine of $500 for a first offense.

A student could get caught drinking under age while relieving themselves on a public street and the fine would still be less than that levied for a violation of the couch law.

The reason for such a steep fine? The reason for the ordinance in the first place?

“Number one, it looks nasty,” Council Member Sharon Wirth said to The Des Moines Register. Behold the powerful logic of the Ames City Council.

Other concerns that the couches may be a public health hazard or may be lit on fire are also weak reasons for banning all indoor furniture for outdoor use. It’s already illegal to burn a couch. If a couch is infested with rats, the city’s inspections rules already apply.

Council members have 30 days to override the veto with a two-thirds vote. Since the council passed the ordinance unanimously, it certainly has the votes to trump Tedesco’s veto. To do so would be a mistake.

Tedesco’s record speaks for itself. In the five years Tedesco has been held office, this is the first time he has exercised his veto power. This is not a political bigfooting stemming from a dysfunctional mayor/council relationship. Tedesco has proven he is not veto-happy.

In this case, the Mayor has correctly struck down a law that would be difficult and expensive to enforce, unfairly target students and carry a fine far too large.

An alternative ordinance being considered that would cover not just couches, but other possible nastiness (to borrow Wirth’s words) may be fair, as long as it is narrowly and strictly defined and applies to all Ames residences.

The couch ordinance, however, should stay stuffed.

Editorial Board: Dave Roepke, Erin Randolph, Charlie Weaver, Megan Hinds, Rachel Faber Machacha