Yesterday my wife texted me when she dropped off a kid at school asking about voting. She said that apparently there was a vote taking place. I had no idea. There had been no mailers that we got (I don’t think) and no signs out or anything. And what was it for:
Meridian Library District Councilperson.
Yes, we had an election for the people that run our libraries. This is a first for me. I have never even thought about the fact that there are people that are elected, or appointed, to run the library district. I guess it makes sense, and in the current climate of “what books should be on our shelves” I wanted to make sure I voted.
We were to voted for 2 people out of 4 that were running. So, I did a little research and right away and found that there were 2 people that were very “ban all books that have: sex, LGBTQ+…, tolerant speech, etc.” And there were 2 that were more, “Let’s look at why a book should or shouldn’t be put on the shelf” and “It shouldn’t be up to us (the councilperson) to decide what a kid/teen can or can’t read that is the duty of the parents.” Well between those two options the choice was easy – the second group. I don’t want to see books banned. No one should want to see books banned.
When I got to the school to pick my daughter up I went to vote and found out I had to go to my closer (not really) official polling place. I made it over there later in the day and I got the ballot, read it, and went, “Wait these aren’t the names I looked up earlier). I pulled my phone out and realized I had researched the county library district not my city library district. So, a quick read through on the 4 people there and I found there were 2 clear groups as well, but not exactly the same as the other groups. Here I had 2 that were for the most part pro-book, but wanted some oversight, but not to the point of banning books. And the other 2 apparently tried to get all library districts dissolved so that the libraries would close since they weren’t aiding people the way they should be by providing people access to “inappropriate” literature. Again, this was an easy vote – the first group since they actually want libraries.
Why would you run for an office of an organization you want to get rid of? But then again, there are certainly other politicians that run for office with the goal to destroy it from the inside I suppose.
The point of this ramble was to say, “Hey! I voted yesterday for library council-people.”