Pella voters keep library independent by slim margin following failed 'Gender Queer' challenge

In a tense battle over book censorship, Pella residents voted Tuesday to protect the local library board's independence.

About 51% of voters cast ballots against a measure to give City Hall officials oversight of the library's actions and budget, according to unofficial results. The non-binding referendum reached the ballot after some residents petitioned the library board to remove a graphic novel about gender fluidity, mirroring a national debate driven by conservatives over what books taxpayer-funded libraries should carry.

Just 87 votes separated the two sides, according to unofficial results.

"I feel the same way I did after I defended my doctoral dissertation," said Anne Petrie, a retired Central College professor of music and treasurer for the Vote NO To Save Our Library committee. "It's not euphoria. It's relief."

Tuesday's election served as the culmination of a two-year political fight over LGBTQ rights in Pella, one of Iowa's most conservative communities. The community has continually sent Republicans to the Legislature, and 68% of Pella voters cast ballots for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

But Anne McCullough Kelly, a local mental health counselor and chair of the Vote NO committee, said Tuesday's results reflect the voice of many moderate conservatives who saw library censorship as too extreme. She pointed out that the city hosts not just Central College but also Pella Windows & Doors and Vermeer Corp. — major companies who recruit employees around the world.

She said a team of door knockers tried to convince voters that their side insulated library leaders from political whims.

"The current (library) system we have right now is a far more equitable system," McCullough Kelly said. "It’s not influenced by politics. And that keeps it a resource that serves, that equitably serves, all of the citizens of this community. That was what we had to focus our messaging on, so that the moderate group understood the core of the issue."

The referendum was non-binding, meaning the City Council would have then decided whether to change Pella's laws and give themselves more oversight of the library board.

Under the proposal, the council would have authority to change the library's policies. City Administrator Mike Nardini would oversee library staff and review the library board's spending requests.

Under the current law, the council allocates an annual contribution to the library and appoints seven board members. The unpaid board members meet at least once a month, decide how to spend funds and determine policies — including whether to remove books.

Some residents tried to strip the board of its power after the library's leaders rejected a request to remove or restrict access to "Gender Queer: A Memoir" in November 2021. Maia Kobabe's 2019 graphic novel includes sexual images and explains how the author came to identify outside of the gender binary.

Parents challenged the book's presence in public school libraries at least eight times between August 2020 and May 2023, a Des Moines Register analysis found, with most critics charging that "Gender Queer" is pornographic. Pella library staff had placed the book in the building's adult section.

Residents then asked the City Council in April 2022 to place a referendum on the ballot to poll residents on whether the elected leaders should take more control over the library. The majority of the council declined to take up the issue, according to the Oskaloosa Herald.

The advocates then pushed for the referendum, gathering about 700 signatures in the summer of 2022 to prompt Tuesday's vote.

The election kept Pella's local printers in business, with advocacy groups on both sides of the issue raising a combined $20,000 through Oct. 31. Vote Yes to Save Our Kids, a group advocating to take power from the library board, raised about $10,500. A representative from that group could not immediately be reached for comment.

About half of that money came in the form of in-kind contributions from Tom and Evelyn Nikkel, who bought ads in local publications, printed mailers and rented space at the Pella Memorial Building. Evelyn Nikkel hosts a show on a local Christian radio station.

Vote NO To Save Our Library raised about $9,000 in opposition to the referendum.

While advocates have pushed for book removals at libraries in many school districts, a Des Moines Register analysis found, challenges at city libraries appear to be rare. The Altoona Public Library rejected a request to remove a book in February 2022, while an Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library committee voted against a proposal to restrict access to a book in October 2022.

Because the referendum failed, advocates cannot bring the same issue to a vote for another four years, according to Iowa law.

McCullough Kelly and Petrie said they advocated on behalf of the library because they believed their political opponents would remove more books that supported LGBTQ rights or discussed racist actions in America's past. While the town of 10,000 is overwhelmingly conservative and about 92% white, McCullough Kelly and Petrie said they wanted to ensure underrepresented groups did not feel attacked.

The two became more involved in Pella politics in the summer of 2021, after some in town protested the bathing suit that a trans youth wore to a pool. They began attending City Council meetings and started a private Facebook group to organize locals who supported gay and trans residents, along with other underrepresented groups.

Online discussions eventually spilled over into in-person potlucks. By the time the library referendum reached the ballot, the group had a network of organizers ready to advocate against the change. (As of Wednesday, they said, 262 people were part of the Facebook group.)

The "Vote NO" team pounded the small-town's streets, knocking doors and telling residents that the city's library needed autonomy to keep books on their shelves. Their main argument? The library needs books that appeal to even just small groups in town — even if those same books books offend others.

"This work was really about making sure that we all have access to the things that we want in literature," McCullough Kelly said. "And that we need."

Tyler Jett is an investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett. He also accepts encrypted messages at tjett@proton.me.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa election 2023: Pella Public Library retains independence