Library Board Candidates Spar on Forum Location

B-PAC and PROLibrary, both fielding campaign slates, have differing opinions on the proper place for a candidate forum. As a result, two separate events for the library board election will take place this week.

The Library Candidates Forum, a formal event sponsored by the Morton Grove Public Library (MGPL), will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the library on Thursday and will be moderated by the Union League Club of Chicago (ULCC). When this event location was not moved from the library in recent weeks' planning, B-PAC organized an event for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center in Morton Grove.

Mark Albers, a B-PAC candidate, said that the organization does not consider the library a neutral site for such an event. "Basically it’s a government entity controlled by the current library board and supporters who want to keep those other candidates in office," he said. "This debate should be between candidates. We never agreed to do a debate at the library. If the mayor of Morton Grove held a trustee debate in city hall what would your readers think about that?"

Albers is among eight people running for either one of three six-year-term seats or the lone two-year-term seat on the library board. The B-PAC  slate also comprises Paul Berg, David Calimag and Catherine Peters, while the PROLibrary slate has Bernadette Fahy, Laura Frisch, Lawrence Levin and Renee Miller, a write-in candidate. 

"To suggest the library is not a politically neutral location is simply wrong," said library board president David Levin. "Libraries are, at their core, politically neutral institutions and have often served as a location for election-based debates and discussions.

"As it relates to the candidate forum, all eight library trustee candidates have been treated identically and given the same information at the same time," he added. "The Union League Club of Chicago has a sterling reputation for integrity and neutrality, and it is an honor that they've volunteered to moderate and provide the format of the Forum."

Levin said that he first contacted the ULCC to moderate a forum and invited all the candidates. All the candidates said March 24 would work for a date to hold the forum, but members of B-PAC said they had reservations about the location being the public library.

In an e-mail to library board candidates, the ULCC's director of public affairs, David Kohn, said: "I would note that, in my experience, public facilities such as libraries are commonly used for such events...Since a public facility has been designated and all eligible candidates have been invited to participate, I will moderate the March 24 forum as planned."

It's uncertain who will show up at the two events. PROLibrary coordinator Dan Hoffman said that none of the PROLibrary candidates received invitations for Tuesday's forum.

"What we read on Patch is what we know," Hoffman said. "We have a campaign event planned for March 22, so I don't believe PROLibrary candidates will attend but I cannot speak for them."

On the phone Monday evening, Albers said a formal letter about the Tuesday event was sent to board president Levin. "They should have been advised by their board president, who they interact with all the time," said Albers. He also said he mailed reminder invitations to the PROLibrary candidates that should arrive in their mailboxes on Tuesday, the day of the event.

Albers was uncertain if there would be a moderator for Tuesday's event, mentioning that candidate Catherine Peter's husband Gilbert Peters had volunteered.

"I’m hoping all the candidates on the ballot show up at the Civic Center on Tuesday," said Albers.  "Voters can ask tough questions and get answers and then go vote."

Library director Ben Schapiro issued a statement Monday to Patch in which he writes:

"The Morton Grove Public Library is providing all eight candidates for library trustee a place and time to present their views and opinions concerning the future of the library before the Morton Grove community. This is in keeping both with the mission of the library and its long tradition of service of providing residents opportunities to learn about issues and events that impact their lives.

"The library has arrange for a respected  and experienced organization, the Union League Club of Chicago, to moderate and staff have volunteered their personal time to help make the event a success. I hope that all library trustee candidates will demonstrate their commitment to a strong library and participate in the MGPL Candidates Forum [on] Thursday, March 24."