Why I'm running - patron safety, fiscal responsibility, and political neutrality

One of the questions asked most frequently of a candidate running for a position is why he or she is  running. Of course. In general, I think the library has been run conscientiously and competently thus far. While I might disagree with a few board decisions, they generally have been moving in a good direction. That being said, I see three main areas of ongoing concern. And these are what I'd like to bring my voice to. 

1. Oregon, Jackson County, and Medford have a homelessness problem. The library has become a de-facto safe space for lots of homeless people to spend the day, both inside and outside, and sometimes overnight.  That is a fact. It is also a fact that this has made some staff and quite a few of the library's patrons feel unsafe. Many patrons have decided they would prefer not to come to the library, not unreasonably, especially with their children, because it can be unpredictable. Nevertheless, all people have a right to use the library's services and property as long as they adhere to very lenient policies. Maybe those policies are too lenient, considering that some at the City of Medford are considering declaring the Medford Library a nuisance property. For the library to serve its mission, the Library Board must at the least make sure that all people are behaving in such a way as to allow everyone to get full enjoyment of the resources the taxpayers are investing. 

2. While the library has not levied the public at a rate as high as they are entitled to, that may change in the next few years. I am opposed to that notion. I want the library to be open more hours, yet do that while not increasing budgets every year. Using funds more wisely and taking advantage of grants and other funding opportunities, I think it's feasible to maintain our rate of 52 cents per thousand indefinitely, or even drop the rate by a penny. I have proposed such a plan in a Budget Committee meeting and the proposal was not warmly welcomed. 

3. Probably everyone running really likes the idea of a public free library where all can go and get unbiased information to educate, entertain and inform themselves. We have to remain diligent in making sure that the library stays unbiased and does not tend to favor one ideology over another. The library has to remain a place where we can find all views without judgment, and it has to be a place where certain views are not encouraged and others disparaged. Ensuring a non-political and non-ideological stance is crucial to the goal of the library staying a true bastion of democracy where all views are allowed.