On Nov. 4, voters will cast ballots for Ames City Council and mayoral candidates. 

John Haila, the incumbent, runs unopposed for mayor. For the city council, Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen, Gloria Betcher and Amber Corrieri are all incumbents running unopposed for their respective wards. 

Haila began serving as mayor in 2018. He said he initially ran for office because of his views on “the importance of giving back to the community, not just living in a community.” 

Since becoming mayor, Haila says his proudest moment has been leading the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to strengthening relationships with local community partners.

“Iowa State, the County, Ames School District and local businesses,” Haila said. 

When considering another term, Haila mentioned some initiatives already underway.

“There are a number of major projects that are going to be undertaken,” Haila said. “Transitioning into a more robust recycling program… Ames has bought 40-some acres of land coming into another park, so there’s also developments from a commercial and housing stock.” 

Haila said Iowa State student votes matter.

“We need Iowa State to be successful for Ames to be successful and vice versa, and students are a part of the community,” Haila said. 

Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen

Inspired by the service aspect of public service, Beatty-Hansen began her first term in 2016 as an at-large representative and was elected as Ward One Rep. in 2023. 

“I’m most proud of our bicycle infrastructure and how that’s grown over time,” Beatty-Hansen said. “Both recreationally but also for transportation. A lot of students don’t necessarily have cars… so more bike trails in places we don’t have them… or shared bike lanes on streets are both ways we’ve increased bicycle infrastructure.”

Looking ahead to another term, Beatty-Hansen mentioned recycling.

“Ames is going to move to curbside recycling as a citywide residential service,” Beatty-Hansen said. “Iowa State already has some of its own initiatives like recycling services on campus.”

To Iowa State voters, Beatty-Hansen encouraged students to vote in every election.

“Vote every time there’s an election… elections affect you,” Beatty-Hansen said. “In terms of property tax, students pay that through rent.” 

Gloria Betcher

Betcher began serving Ames as a Ward 3 Rep. in 2014.

“I was inspired to run for city council by people approaching me saying we need someone who can speak for neighborhoods,” Betcher said. 

Since beginning on City Council, she said the city as a whole has been working on engagement.

“I think that the city as a whole has been working on engagement,” Betcher said. “We’re trying pop-ups in faith communities and on campus so that we aren’t waiting for people to come to us.”

Betcher mentioned housing as something to focus on for the next term. 

“I want us to have more effective strategies for developing affordable housing and workforce housing,” Betcher said. “I would like to see us bring to fruition the downtown housing effort… creating a more vibrant downtown space.”

To Iowa State student voters, Betcher would like more student engagement. 

“Have students believe that they are residents of Ames,” Betcher said. “I would love to see us have Council meetings at the MU so it becomes a part of student life.”

Amber Corrieri

Corrieri began serving Ames on the City Council as an at-large rep. in 2014. She ran originally to “bring the perspective of the human service world and things that happen in our community besides economic development.”

“We need to talk about housing and how we care for vulnerable populations,” Corrieri said. 

Corrieri helped found the Story County Housing Trust Fund in 2017.

“Those funds address affordable housing needs throughout Story County,” Corrieri said. 

She was also involved in the construction of Miracle Park, and served on the committee “for several years and raised funds.”

“Miracle Park is accessible to people of all ages and abilities and has a giant playground structure and the Miracle League Field, which is essential for a baseball team for kids and adults with disabilities,” Corrieri said. 

Looking at another term, Corrieri also mentioned upcoming projects.

“We have a number of projects in the works,” Corrieri said. “We have the new Ames Animal Shelter, the Aquatic Center under construction, we’ll be building a recycling center, we have a downtown Ames guiding vision,” Corrieri said. 

“We love hearing from all our constituents,” Corrieri said. “We want students to feel like they can call Ames home.”

Refer to the Daily’s guide for voter registration, early voting and absentee ballot information for more details on the upcoming election.