On Thursday, Ames Mayor John Haila discussed the opportunities that brought him to office, the complexities of city government and projects the city council is working on. He also discussed leadership and how students can be active members of the Ames Community.

The Mayor cited city ordinance when describing his role in managing the city.

“The city ordinance says that the mayor is actually the Chief Executive Officer of the city,” Haila said. 

Haila leads city council meetings that decide policy, how the policies are executed, and then moves to the city manager to implement. 

“The city manager is following the lead of the council, not just the mayor,” Haila said. 

Haila attended Iowa State University and graduated with a degree in architecture. Recapping his time at Iowa State as a student, Haila talked about his experience of living on campus for four years.

 “It’s just the people, the friends that you make,” Haila said. “Some have become lifelong friends.” 

Haila expressed his opposition to a bill proposed in the Iowa Senate calling for partisanship in city mayoral elections, citing the “baggage” that may come with party politics.

“I don’t care what party council members are, I just want them to be passionate about making Ames a better place,” Haila said.

Haila highlighted some of the accomplishments of the City of Ames, specifically in being one of the few cities in Iowa with its own power plant. He also talked about new projects, including a new fire station, animal shelter and upgrades to the power plant. 

Haila was then asked about the city’s collaboration with Iowa State. He discussed relocating the Campustown fire station to Iowa State University property to “help serve the campus area.” 

Haila also discussed the positive impact of meeting with Student Government leaders, describing them as “very proactive in getting out and talking about issues.” 

“We’re always looking for more feedback and other ideas on how we can be engaged,” Haila said.

Haila mentioned a Raising Cane’s in Ames, inciting roaring applause in the room, and he said, “Cities don’t decide.” 

“That’s all the private sphere,” Haila said. “They would only provide some support if we had to review a little bit of rezoning.”

Haila spent time discussing homelessness in Ames after a question by an audience member.

“It’s a very complex and emotional issue,” Haila said. “You have people who will say they should be able to sleep where they want, be wherever they want to be, and on the other hand, you have people who say, ‘I don’t want to see them.'” 

Haila discussed opportunities for Ames residents to alleviate homelessness, highlighting opportunities to help, specifically mentioning Food At First and the SHOP food pantry on Iowa State’s campus. 

Another issue Haila brought up was the legislature.

“There were between 25 and 30 bills introduced at the beginning of this session that essentially were directly attacking cities in terms of trying to erode our ability to make local decisions,” Haila said.

“They’re looking at our funding, controlling how much we can collect on property tax,” Haila said. “There are groups looking to shrink the size of local government, and they don’t care if there are 40 parks or a library. They believe there should be basic services and what it takes to operate them. If we end up having shrinking revenues, the council is going to have to make some really difficult decisions.” 

Haila also highlighted particular positives of the legislature.

“The legislature has been more open to listening and trying to interact with cities as they have in the past,” Haila said.

Halia asked the community to engage more with information and spend time reading to fully understand facts.

“Don’t stay in an echo chamber,” Haila said. “Don’t just read or listen to one side; listen to both sides and make your own decision.”

To finish off, Haila shared leadership advice for students. 

“Get involved with a variety of activities,” Halia said. “Show up, ask questions, show an interest. If you listen and engage in dialogue and show an interest, they may disagree with what you decide, but they at least feel validated, they feel valued.”