Library Board of Trustees President Varda Solomon and Trustee Jodie Pizer were re-elected Monday night in an uncontested election, maintaining the makeup of a board still short-handed after the resignation of the its vice president, Martin Sokol.
Solomon captured 150 votes, and Pizer received 145. Norman Rutta received five write-in votes for Pizer’s seat, as well as one vote for Solomon’s presidency; Margery Binder and Muriel Weinstein each took solitary write-in votes as well in each of the elections.
Stacee Bernstein and Andrew Dorf each won unopposed seats on the library’s nominating committee, which is in the process of identifying candidates to replace Sokol. Bernstein won 158 votes, and Dorf took 148.
Vote totals were down since last year’s trustee vote, when Francine Krupski took the seat vacated by now Town Councilwoman Anna Kaplan with 195 votes in an uncontested election days after more than 4,000 residents voted down a $20 million plan to expand the library’s main branch.
“I’m very happy to be re-elected and that others shared my vision for what the library could be,” Solomon said.
Solomon’s next term is likely to hold significant change for the library. Searches for a new library director and a replacement for Sokol are in their initial stages, and plans to commission a design for a renovation of the library’s Main branch are moving forward.
The board is also overseeing the expansion of the Parkville branch, which recently rented out additional space.
Solomon said that her tenure so far had been marked by an openness to public input and advice.
“One of the things that I see as a major mind shift is that the board is very open to reaching out to members of the community who have special expertise,” she said.
The election, originally scheduled for Oct. 29, was delayed after Hurricane Sandy forced the closure of the library and knocked out power throughout Nassau County.
Though the library’s bylaws contain no provision for rescheduling elections, Solomon said she consulted with legal counsel and the rest of the board when deciding when to hold the vote.
“[The election] ensures the continuity of the governing structure,” Solomon said at Tuesday night’s library board meeting, after noting that the board needed to hold elections before the January expiration of two members’ terms that would have left the board without a quorum to conduct business.
Reach reporter Dan Glaun by e-mail at dglaun@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
