Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen, one of Ames’ current at-large representatives, is running for re-election to the Ames City Council.

She was first elected to office Nov. 5, 2015, with her term expiring Dec. 31, 2019. 

Beatty-Hansen said her interest in politics began at an early age. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science at Iowa State.

After living in Ames for a number of years, Beatty-Hansen said she first chose to run for office because of her love for Ames. She also saw the position as an opportunity to combine her interests in both politics and community involvement.

“My goals in my next term would be to continue to lead Ames to be both a cooler and more inclusive city,” Beatty-Hansen said. “But I would also like to focus a lot on climate this term to see what we can do as a city to combat climate change.”

Ames has recently begun the greenhouse gas inventory process, which will obtain data based on greenhouse emissions around the Ames community.

“It will be easier to look at what areas need our attention and where we can make the most impact,” Beatty-Hansen said.

Beatty-Hansen’s focus is on affordable housing and transportation.

“For Ames in general, two of the biggest [problems] I see […] would be housing that’s moderately priced is hard to find — an issue for the student population and residents too,” Beatty-Hansen said. “The other issue I see for Ames is to continue to improve our transportation systems. I want them to be good for convenience sake and more encouraging for folks to bike or walk or bus and get out of the car-centric culture we live in.”

In addition to holding one of the at-large representative positions, Beatty-Hansen serves on several committees for the Council and works at Wheatsfield Cooperative to deal with sustainability issues.

Beatty-Hanson is also a member of Squaw Creek Watershed Management Authority, an environmental committee whose mission is to engage, educate and encourage citizens to improve the health, stewardship and resiliency of watershed resources.

She also currently serves as a member of the Ames Pride Board.

While at Iowa State, Beatty-Hansen was the president of the LGBTA Alliance (now known as The Pride Alliance) and a member of Student Government. 

After being in office for nearly four years, Beatty-Hansen said one of the achievements she is most proud of is dedicating more money to pedestrian infrastructure when she was first elected.

Beatty-Hansen said pushing for the community solar project pretty early on is something she is excited to see finally taking shape.

Additionally, she said she is proud they accomplished the adoption of the Complete Streets Policy, a plan to provide complete streets for everyone, no matter who they are or how they travel.