Library Committee Nominees Leave Out District 7

The new Library Citizens’ Advisory Committee will review and make recommendations to the Borough Assembly regarding challenged library materials. It was created after Borough Manager Mike Brown halted the review of challenged materials following a meeting of the previous group that devolved into a shouting match.

Of the 23 applications for the new Committee, 13 are from the Upper Valley in Borough Assembly District 7. One applicant is nominated by District 7 Assemblymember Ron Bernier, though it is not one of the 13 from the Upper Valley and is not a District 7 resident.  

Applicants that were nominated by the Mayor include a pilot, a special education paraprofessional, a Navy veteran, a local pastor, and two authors.

Bernier says he nominated a candidate from the Meadow Lakes Community Council. He selected Chad Scott, a local pastor in the Meadow Lakes area who serves as the Safety Chair on the Community Council. 

That Council area spans two Assembly Districts. Scott claims to live within the Meadow Lakes Council boundaries at the Apostolic Worship Center in District 5. He uses the Church for his physical residence and a District 7 address that leads to a strip mall on the Parks Highway as a mailing address for the Library Committee application. 

This leaves the Upper Valley and District 7 unrepresented on the Committee. Mayor Edna DeVries says there is no requirement that each District is represented in the Committee and that she agreed with Bernier’s selection. However, in a previous Assembly meeting she stated that she would make every effort to select one member from each District. The Committee will be made up of seven members and two alternates. Four of the nominations are from the Wasilla area, three from the Palmer area, one from Big Lake, and one from Sutton. 

With 13 resident applicants from District 7, the most of any District, it is unclear why none were nominated. Several of those applicants are teachers or have direct experience in education and libraries. Should Scott’s nomination be approved, he will become the Chair of the new Committee. 

Assemblymembers will vote on the nominations for the new Committee at the Tuesday, May 21st Assembly meeting.