Byron Ames isn’t a new name for Francis City residents.
Ames, who moved to the area in 2012, has served Francis as a planning commissioner, city councilor and mayor before he decided to take a step back from local politics four years ago to focus on his family and growing business.
Now, with two of his three kids off to college and his law firm’s expansion under control, Ames feels ready to throw his hat in the ring for Francis’ top seat yet again.
“It was a very rewarding experience the first time, and I don’t have an agenda,” Ames said. “There are things that are important to me, but I don’t have ulterior motives. To me, I just want to serve, and I just want to do what I think is right.”
Ames was born in Michigan. He grew up traveling between Japan and Utah County, where his parents bought a home to spend their summers in the United States while his dad worked overseas in Japan for most of the year. He graduated from Timpview High School in Provo and eventually earned a law degree from Gonzaga University in Washington.
He and his wife decided to move to Francis more than a decade ago after spending time with his new brother-in-law, who was born and raised in Oakley. At the time, the rural community of the East Side looked much more appealing to Ames than the bright lights of Las Vegas, where his family had settled after he graduated from law school.
Despite his love for Francis, Ames never thought he would run for public office. He thought of politicians as specializing in “maneuvering and manipulation.” Still, a quick visit to the city building years ago to pay his water bill unexpectedly set him on a course to the mayor’s seat after a fellow resident suggested he apply to fill a vacancy on the Francis Planning Commission.
“I started thinking about how this is a small town. It’s probably easier to make a big difference and to have a positive impact on things,” Ames said. “I felt like I was here and I had some time, so why wouldn’t I give to my community?”
His stint on the Planning Commission around 2013 instilled a passion for local service. Ames then served as a city councilor from 2014 to 2017, and as the city’s mayor from 2018 to 2021.
As he puts it, if an “outsider” who grew up all over the world can be elected in Francis, then anyone with good motivations and a desire to help their community should be able to do the same.
Ames said he doesn’t have a specific goal as mayor, and he also said he wouldn’t classify himself as either pro- or anti-development. Instead, his focus is on future planning and listening to residents’ worries.
“We need to make decisions very slowly and very carefully because I think you really only have one shot to get it right, especially with a place like Francis where it’s a blank canvas in many areas still,” he said. “How we as a city choose to deal with that blank canvas will have a lasting impact on whether our city’s a great place or not, so I think we need to be careful about land use decisions, especially if there are unintended consequences.”
Ames said he’s also dedicated to increasing safety for pedestrians. Specifically, he said he understands kids and teenagers like to walk around town to visit convenience stores and hang out in public parks. He wants to make sure kids walking or biking in Francis or to the surrounding East Side towns are as safe as possible.
“My wife’s a teacher at the high school, and I still have a kid at home in middle school, and he’s at the age where he wants to be doing these fun things and getting around and finding independence and getting into regular kid mischief, but that’s a pretty tough thing for kids around here,” Ames said. “It gets really, really difficult and unsafe for kids to move around … so I also want to focus on that quality of life for families and kids here.”
Ames ultimately broke his campaign down into three key points: his lack of a personal agenda, his ability to listen and his passion for planning.
“I know I need the assistance of other people to get this right. I don’t think I know everything, so I don’t have a superiority complex,” he said. “If what you’re looking for is someone to serve our community, I’m your guy.”
Ames is challenging incumbent Francis Mayor Jeremie Forman for the seat. They will both appear on the general election ballot on Nov. 4. Ballots were mailed on Tuesday and should arrive in mailboxes soon.