Gloria Betcher, 60, has been serving on the Ames City Council since 2014 and is running for reelection on the council.

Betcher currently represents ward 1, the largest ward which covers a majority of the east and south of Ames. Betcher has served three terms while being on the council.

Politically, Betcher has also served as chair of the Ames Historic Preservation Commission, as president and interim executive director of Preservation Iowa, as a member of the Ames Economic Development Commission, chair of the National League of Cities University Council and as a member of the Discover Ames Board and Executive Committee.

Betcher graduated cum laude from St. Olaf College and holds a master’s and doctorate degree in English from the University of Minnesota.

The city and school elections in Ames will take place Tuesday. Voter information can be found on the City of Ames website. 

Why are you running?

Betcher:  In these challenging times when politics are so divisive at the state and national levels, having continuity on the city council is extremely important, and keeping our decision making as non-partisan as possible is even more important. I am committed to non-partisan government and to this community, and I enjoy helping the City of Ames address the needs of our residents so that everyone may have as high a quality of life as possible.

What are the biggest issues facing the Ames community and how do you plan to address them?

Betcher: The […] biggest issue at present is the hamstringing of local government’s ability to levy at a reasonable and individually established rate for fire, police, library, and parks & recreation services. With our hands tied to levy as needed, we have few choices besides strategically cutting services or voting out those at the state level who would usurp our power as legally elected representatives of our community. We also face the challenge of most mid-sized college towns: lack of housing options to create affordability. We must continue to seek ways to create more housing variety while preserving lower-cost housing stock through incentives and other means.

How does the city plan to balance the affordability of living in Ames while also living sustainably?

Betcher: We have a multi-pronged approach to balancing sustainability with affordability. Achieving climate action goals will not come cheap, though, so “affordability” is a relative term. The best we can hope is to mitigate the impact on those who can least afford increases in daily-life expenses. We need to find a way to make progress toward our climate action goals without shutting down housing starts or driving away potential, lower-income residents.[…]

As part of our Climate Action Plan (CAP) implementation, city staff, first, is assessing and reporting on impacts of various strategies for carbon reduction so that city council can more accurately gauge where the costs lie and who might be most affected by particular strategies. […] Second, council has requested that staff bring back options for incentives and support for those least able to afford updates that might be required under the CAP. […] Third, relying on community members to buy into climate action goals and change behaviors is key, and city investment in education about the carbon reduction strategies will be essential. Changing habits and behavior patterns is relatively inexpensive, in monetary terms, for residents, though some might feel inconvenienced.