Roundup: Community Library Network trustee candidates
The following candidates are seeking election to the Community Library Network Board of Trustees. The library network includes libraries throughout Kootenai County, except the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, so these candidates will not be on Coeur d'Alene voters' ballots.
Editor's note: We will publish similar profiles about the highway district commissioner and hospital district trustees later in the week.
All candidates were asked the same questions and given the same deadline and number of words per answer.
Judy Meyer, Community Library Network trustee incumbent candidate
• How long have you lived in the district?
50 years.
• What experience would you bring to the position?
I’ve been a trustee of the library system since 1984. I bring a rich history of our library successes. Our library has grown from one to seven branches. During that time, I have also been elected to the North Idaho College Board five times, appointed by the governor to the State Board of Education and served as its president, elected to the Blue Cross of Idaho Board of Directors, elected to the Cd’A Chamber Board, and many others. I’ve done senior management searches, done due diligence on candidates, evaluated auditors, plowed through innumerable paragraphs of goals and objectives, struggled with complex employee problems, written and rewritten annual plans, set and revised budgets, done performance reviews on senior management. I’ve listened to public feedback, and tried to figure out compromises when different factions have passionate differences. On the private sector side, I’ve been part of starting businesses, nurtured businesses through tough times, participated in large investment decisions, evaluated risk for new ventures and been able to weather the peaks and valleys of economic cycles. I believe I bring a strong history of management experience and skills to the library district.
• What is the No. 1 reason you are seeking election?
My goal is to protect our libraries. Our wonderful library system is filled with different ideas, open to all to explore, learn and understand. There is a role for core content of the library to be rock solid. Other topics are trendy – popular novels, political topics of the day, cultural priorities. Steering the library ship through the icebergs of popular passion is complex and difficult. Over 1/3 of the library circulation is kids’ materials. Your library has sections for kid books, (0-11), teen books (12-15) and adults. Parents must choose the age range for their children’s library card. There are voices in this election shouting to remove books they don’t like. Others feel like their religious preferences should dominate. In some cases, their claims are overstated or not true. Some don’t like LBGQT books and others want them. I believe we let the users choose. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. But you shouldn’t dictate that someone else can’t read it. The trustees’ role is to listen, to consider, and work collaboratively to find the right mix. I have a long history of dealing fairly with controversy. I’d like to be your library trustee.
Regina McCrea, Community Library Network trustee incumbent candidate
• How long have you been a resident of the district in which you are seeking election?
I graduated from law school in 2003 and relocated to this area. My husband and I initially settled in Post Falls, but when I secured a job at an insurance defense firm in Spokane, we moved to the valley. In late 2007, I accepted a position with Owens & Crandall, which prompted us to return to Idaho in 2011.
• What experience would you bring to the position?
First, I am a library user. My mother took my sister and I to the library practically every week when we were kids, and we checked out stacks of books each time. I continued this tradition with my own children, both of whom love to read. Second, I am a practicing attorney with 20 years of experience in civil litigation. Given this background, I am qualified not only to identify and analyze problems, but also to develop effective solutions to resolve them. Moreover, my legal knowledge includes a deep understanding of the constitution, the contours of the first amendment and its application to public libraries, and the limited/proper role of government. Third, as an incumbent seeking re-election, I am well-versed in the roles and responsibilities of trustees as outlined by Idaho Code. Moreover, I adhere to appropriate practices expected of elected officials, including requirements relating to open meeting laws and government transparency.
• What is the No. 1 reason you are seeking election?
I am in this fight because our libraries and library staff are under attack. I listened to community concerns about objectionable material available to minors and worked with my fellow board members to create limited access library cards. The kid card will restrict checkouts to the children’s collection (appropriate for ages 0 to 12) and the teen card will increase that access to include books intended for 13- to 15-year-olds. Material with more mature themes is in the process of being re-categorized as adult. This policy directly addresses the books that the public has raised concerns about, many of which have already been moved to the adult sections of our libraries. This fact notwithstanding, Mr. Plass and Mr. Hanley continue to paint this race as being about “good vs. evil.” This rhetoric is alarming and, if elected, I believe their tactics will cause constitutionally protected expression to be suppressed. Further, they will likely cancel existing programs with which they do not agree. I respect the rights of individuals and will continue fighting for the library to be open and available to all and for parents to retain the ability to choose age-appropriate books and programming for their families.
Tom Hanley, Community Library Network trustee candidate
• How long have you been a resident of the district in which you are seeking election?
I decided Kootenai County would be my future home 25-plus years ago. It was then that I purchased my property. Upon completing my military career, I built my house and became a district resident in 2010, 13 years ago.
• What experience would you bring to the position?
Between service to my country (military) and community service (nonprofit organization), my experience has well prepared me for the library trustee position. My career focused on four main areas.
Logistics/supply chain management: Book inventory management.
Financial Management: Trustees are responsible for developing and approving the budget.
Human resource director: The library has a staff of over 100 (Full Time Equivalent).
Facilities & Fleet Management: The library has seven brick-and-mortar structures and several outreach vehicles.
The above, coupled with an undergraduate degree in business management and a graduate degree, appear to be an ideal mix of experience and education for a successful term as a qualified trustee. And as icing on the cake, I am a recent retiree from the workforce with the time to devote to the position.
Tim Plass, Community Library Network trustee candidate
• How long have you been a resident of the district in which you are seeking election?
I have been a resident of Kootenai County for 26 years. We moved here in 1994 but were away for about three years while I worked in Oregon and western Washington from 2017 to 2020.
• What experience would you bring to the position?
I worked as an electrical engineer for almost 44 years at Hewlett Packard, Agilent, and most recently at Blue Origin where I designed the radios on the New Glenn rocket that will launch next year. I retired this year. I am prepared academically with a Bachelor of Science in
Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. I started my own company in 2009, Velocimax Wireless, the first family safe internet provider in the state of Idaho. I grew this successful business without borrowing funds, managing facility contracts and capital equipment purchases, to serve hundreds of happy customers in the area. I sold the business in 2017. I am a published author and hold a U.S. patent. I taught math for five years in a private high school, coached basketball teams, started and ran an alternative scouting program for seven years, and served as an officer in a men’s church service organization. I was heavily involved in selecting classic books for children and teens in our own family library.
• What is the No. 1 reason you are seeking election?
As a grandfather of nine, I am concerned about the types of books that our CLN libraries have been offering the children of our county. It is highly disturbing that it is possible for children in the county to be exposed to obscene, sexually explicit books in the CLN libraries. This type of material is banned from dissemination to minors by Idaho statutes, but libraries were given a loophole to have human biology instructional books when this code was passed in 1972. The CLN policy must be changed to reclassify these fiction books so only those over 18 can access and check them out. It is not about my religion, morality, book banning or censoring books. My intent is to use the Idaho Code 18-1513 through 18-1517 to determine which books to reclassify and make inaccessible to minors. In addition, I would like to put policies in place to restore proven classic books for children and teens that families want, yet have been systematically removed from CLN libraries over the last 15 years in favor of an overwhelming number of new, unproven books published in the last 10 years.
