Ames Today

The Boone City Council now has a vacancy for one of its Ward 2 seats.

During the April 3 meeting, the council noted that it agreed in January to hold a special election to fill the seat vacated when Steven Ray stepped down to accept a position with the County. Now, B.J. McGinn has stepped down from his Ward 2 seat effective March 31, leaving a second vacancy on the council.

City administrator William Skare told the council during the meeting that they have two options to fill the vacancies and get back to a full council. One option would be for the council to appoint a citizen to hold the seat until the term expires at the end of 2023. The other option would be to hold another special election within 90 days of the vacancy.

Councilwoman Linda Williams commented that she has reservations about a special election.

“I think just the amount of time, it's almost not worth going through all the effort to get a special election,” she said in the meeting. “And I also feel that if Ward 2 is interested, they'll petition for it and we'll be right back to doing the election. But then that's what they've kind of then said it's OK—I mean, they're agreeing to spend the money for that. And supporting us to use the money. But it really is a short amount of time.”

If the council agrees to appoint someone to the seat, Skare said they could invite interested parties who could then submit a resume and letter of interest by noon on April 26. The council could discuss the applicants at their May 1 meeting and make an appointment within 60 days of the vacancy as required by law.

The council agreed that it would be best to make an appointment and save the money for a special election. Ward 2 residents could petition for a special election if they would rather have that.