Boise-area library boards have elections. Where do candidates stand on restricting books?

Amid a statewide and national push to restrict minors’ access to library books, conservative candidates are now eyeing seats on library boards across the Treasure Valley. Some support removing books from collections.

Voters on May 16 will elect library trustees for seats in Meridian, Ada County and Kuna. In Meridian, where the library district recently survived a dissolution petition, two candidates said they’ll seek increased scrutiny over books accessible to minors. A candidate in Kuna said she would be open to removing material from the library.

But beliefs among Ada Community Library candidates are less clear-cut. Two candidates for the board, referred to as the Ada County Free Library on the ballot, have signaled their political leanings but remained silent on book restrictions.

The board recently voted to remove a handful of books, and one trustee hopes to reclaim her seat.

Challengers propose new policies for controversial books

David Tizekker and Xavier Torres are challenging Meridian library board incumbents Destinie Hart and Josh Cummings.

Tizekker, a financial broker, told the Idaho Statesman that the library board needs new leadership. He said the board should be more transparent about its expenses, and he hopes to curb what he considered “extremism,” by residents who tried to dissolve the district earlier this year as well as among trustees themselves.

Tizekker pointed to the board’s decision to restrict public comment and ask law enforcement to attend its meetings as they grew increasingly contentious last year. Board chair Megan Larsen credited the decisions to “defamatory language, a threatening tone, very disruptive yelling and shouting” by activists seeking to restrict access to library books.

“Both of these actions, although legal and things that those groups can do, I don’t think should be done,” Tizekker said. “It shows the lack of people working together or lack of communication. I would work to bring some cooperation back between the trustees and citizens.”

Regarding scrutiny over books, Tizekker proposed a rating system, similar to the way regulatory bodies rate movies and video games based on their suitability for certain audiences. An advisory group of parents could be responsible for rating the material, he said.

“I think it’s a reasonable request for parents to say, ‘Hey, we would like some sort of filter or some sort of guidance to know about this book,’” Tizekker said.

Similarly, Torres, a sales and marketing specialist, said in an Ada County Republican Party voter guide that district finances should be more transparent, and that he would advocate for “a citizens group to review library policies and books to ensure minors access age-appropriate material.”

Torres said he would “support and optimize existing library programs, while also applying conservative community standards to create an exceptional experience for everyone that visits the library.”

Torres did not respond to an interview request for this story.

What’s Meridian’s book complaint policy?

The Meridian Library District has a policy that governs reconsidering a book in its collection that a patron objects to. Such a complaint triggers a “thoughtful, deliberative process for reconsideration of the library materials” by the library director, according to the district’s website.

“You have the right to object to an item, and you have the right to recommend a reconsideration of an item that you don’t like,” Director Nick Grove said during a November board meeting. “You do not have the right to ban books or segregate access to books that you do not like.”

In the GOP voter guide, Tizekker called the district’s reconsideration policy “inconsistent and subjective,” and questioned whether parents can take responsibility for what their children read if they can’t review books before they’re in the library.

“Libraries refuse to mark or segregate these books,” he said.

Tizekker in the voter guide also praised cooperation between library officials and community members in Boundary County. Last year, Boundary County Library Director Kimber Glidden resigned amid a petition to recall board members and what she called a “political atmosphere of extremism, militant Christian fundamentalism, intimidation tactics, and threatening behavior,” the Spokesman-Review reported.

Tizekker later told the Statesman that he misspoke in his previous statement.

“I do not agree with the citizens harassing directors and trustees to the point of resignation,” he said by text message. “Citizens need to be able to have their voices heard, but no one needs to be berated.”

Meridian incumbents defend library material, reconsideration policy

Hart and Cummings, who were appointed to the Meridian board and are facing their first elections, defended the district’s book collection and reconsideration policies.

Hart, a business owner, said the district has a “solid collection policy” and “effective challenge process” for books in its collection.

“Censorship has no place in our public libraries,” she said in the Statesman’s voter guide. “Free access to information is foundational to a healthy democracy. It is a parent’s role to make decisions regarding their child’s access to library materials based on their own family values and parenting philosophy.”

Hart’s campaign has collected nearly $8,000 in donations, according to the secretary of state’s campaign finance tracker, a relatively high amount for a library board race. Donors include Boise Democratic lawmakers Sen. Carrie Semmelroth and House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel along with Meridian City Council member Liz Strader, a Republican.

No other candidates in the race have collected donations, according to the secretary of state data.

Cummings said the district’s collection management policies have “served our community well and offers a breadth and depth that is something to be proud of.”

“We serve every member of our community and develop our collection with that in mind,” Cummings wrote in the Statesman voter guide. “Nobody has the right to dictate what is or isn’t available to their neighbors in our library.”

Indefinite stances among Ada County candidates

A crowded Ada Community Library trustee race has two candidates who have been silent in public forums on the debate over restricting books.

Deborah Pogue and Reneé Trommler, both business managers and Star residents, are running as a slate for two vacancies. On a shared campaign website, the candidates describe themselves as the “conservative choice for Ada County.”

According to a flyer shared by the Idaho Liberty Dogs, the group that organized protests of the Meridian Library board, Pogue and Trommler — along with challengers in the Meridian and Kuna Library board races — were endorsed by ConservativesOf: Idaho. The group is the state arm of a national political action committee that endorses politically conservative and religious candidates in nonpartisan local races, like library boards.

Pogue and Trommler’s goals include spending transparency and accountability, according to their website.

“We are committed to promoting public education, assisting in creating a library policy that fits the needs of you, the citizens and taxpayers!” the website says.

Pogue and Trommler could not be reached for comment.

Pogue is challenging incumbent Sandra Taylor. Taylor, a Hidden Springs resident, told the Statesman that trustees are “bound to follow the Idaho law regarding materials and their access to minors, but that doesn’t mean we automatically ban or remove them.”

“I welcome ideas from patrons for ways we can protect kids from harmful materials and still have books available for the adults who choose to read them,” Taylor said in the Statesman’s voter guide. “It truly takes a village to make this happen.”

Last month, the Ada County board voted to remove from its collection a handful of books Idaho law would classify as “harmful to minors,” even though libraries are exempt from the law. The decision later was nullified because board members voted in violation of Idaho’s open meeting law.

Taylor declined to say whether she supported the vote to remove the books and told the Statesman she would not answer any further questions about board meetings.

“The minutes of all board meetings are posted on the library’s website,” Taylor said by text message. “I realize that newspapers like to publish inflammatory stories, but I’m not interested in focusing on just one of the many matters our Board of Trustees deals with on a regular basis.”

Board meeting minutes published online don’t include a vote tally. A majority of board members voted in favor of removing the books, but a tally was not recorded, Ada Community Library Director Mary DeWalt told the Statesman by email.

Mary Anne Saunders, of Star, and Melodie Huttah, of Boise, are running against Trommler for an open seat on the Ada County board. Both said the onus is on parents to educate their children and know what they’re getting from the library.

In the Kuna Library board election, incumbent Barbara Powell took a firm stance against removing books from the library’s collection.

“I don’t believe it’s libraries’ responsibility at all to question what kids are taking from the library,” Powell said in response to a Statesman questionnaire.

Challenger Teresa Haldorson said she’s open to removing books after a “critical analysis of the material and its purpose.”

“Library resources and materials need to be in age-appropriate areas and access to questionable materials needs to be in accordance with state laws,” Haldorson said in the Statesman voter guide.

Reporter Rachel Spacek contributed to this article.