Verbal Attack on Chappaqua Library Board Member Was Unwarranted
I’m writing in response to Martin Wilbur’s article on the July 21 Chappaqua Library Board meeting in order to add some essential second-hour details to his informed recap of the first. Had Mr. Wilbur reported further into the meeting, readers might be inclined to upgrade this “spat” into something more significant—and get closer to what seems to be at the heart of it: two board members doing their due diligence in policy and fiscal matters seemingly at odds with those who want fewer rules and a little less scrutiny.
Reporting the business of running our town’s public library is just one function of these board meetings; the other is to convey the message that its trustees are above the kind of petty back-and-forth and personal attacks we see all too often in social media. A meeting of a professional organization needs to remain professional, even when recording at home. Not seeing your audience doesn’t mean we aren’t there—and this viewer was shocked when Board President Pamela Wright attempted to discredit a fellow board member, personally and publicly, and then purposefully delayed that member’s response.
But the strategy backfired with policy oversights Ms. Diamondstein cited, including non-compliance with state education laws and a library-funded book signing that benefited a private business, where one community member was turned away for not buying the book. Ultimately, the efforts of board members Ronni Diamondstein and Liz Haymson, as they work to keep our library on fiscal and procedural track, seem necessary. And perhaps this is the real source of their board president’s frustration with them.
Stephanie Andreassi
Chappaqua
