city of Albany school district Archives

Library trustee vote

APL budget passed!

As I noted, the trick with the library trustee vote for Albany Public Library on May 19 was that I found at least six of the candidates to be credible choices.

The vote totals for the nine trustee candidates were:
1. Kathryn Bamberger with 1,263 votes
2. Kayli McTague with 1,251 votes
3. Matthew Reed with 908 votes
4. Sarah Macinski with 865 votes
5. Leslie Dykeman with 751 votes
6. Smriti Sinha with 750 votes
7. Lori Kochanski with 701 votes
8. Jenna Kersten with 515 votes
9. Kenneth Louzier with 443 votes

Kat and Kayli were elected to full five-year terms, while Matthew Reed was elected to a partial one-year term.

I ended up voting for Kat, who I knew had been deeply involved in our public schools for years, in part because she came to my house and got my signature. Retail politics at its finest.

I also voted for Sarah Macinski, whose great job as the current board president cannot be overstated. And the truth is that I’ve known her personally for more than two decades. She and I have kids who are a year apart in age. She is good at trustee administering but only so-so at campaigning; I got a few people to sign her petition.

Also: “Albany voters approved the Albany Public Library 2026-27 budget May 19 with a final tally of 2,412 to 646. The $9,661,856 million budget was approved by 79% of the voters.” YAY!

“‘The approved budget erases our deficit and stabilizes our fund balance for rainy-day capital needs. This vote protects current branches, hours, and services, as well as library jobs,’ said APL Executive Director Andrea Nicolay.”

The City School of Albany’s votes went as I had hoped.

Not incidentally, I went to the city school district building and voted on Monday because I would be out of town on Tuesday. That IS a thing one can do!

FFAPL

The Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library book reviews and author talks on Tuesdays at 2 pm at the Washington Avenue branch, large auditorium.

May 26 | Book Review | The Fear and the Fury: Bernie Goetz, the Reagan ‘80s, and the Rebirth of White Rage by Heather Ann Thompson. Reviewer: James Collins, PhD, Prof. emeritus, Anthropology Dept, Program in Linguistics & Cognitive Science, U at Albany, SUNY.

June 2 | Book Review | Citizen Cowboy: Will Rogers and the American People by Steven Watts. Reviewer: Jonathan Skinner, PhD, retired statistician & amateur classicist. (This is a replacement for the talk scheduled earlier.)

June 9 | Illustrator Talk | Marcus Kwame Anderson, Deputy Director, Underground Railroad Education Center, discusses his most recent graphic novel, written with David Walker, Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined. (Rescheduled from February.)

June 16 | Book Review | The Gift of Fear: Survival Signs That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker. Reviewer: David Guistina, “Morning Edition” anchor & senior producer, WAMC, and adjunct professor, U at Albany, SUNY.

June 23 | Book Reviews | Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart and The Shadow Gospel: How Anti-liberal Demonology Possessed U. S. Religion, Media, and Politics by Whitney Phillips and Mark Brockway. Reviewer: Frank Robinson, JD, philosopher, author, & blogger.

June 30 | Author Talk | Molly Dunn discusses & reads from her psychological thriller, The Circuitry We Share.

Yikes! I’m going to need an absentee ballot!

library and school votes in ALB and statewide

I was going to be away starting on Tuesday, May 19, for the day. But I thought I could vote for the Albany school board, the library board, the school budget, and the library budget first thing in the morning, i.e., 7 a.m. But yikes! Because my travel plans changed, I’m going to need an absentee ballot! What is that process?

I need to go to the City School District of Albany headquarters, 1 Academy Park, Albany, NY, United States, 12207. This is the building northwest of Albany City Hall, south of Elk Street. And I need to go when the building is open, weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Not incidentally, New York State voters: you should check to see if there are budget and or board votes on May 19.

My next issue is deciding who to vote for in the library trustees races. Other than Sarah Macinski, I still don’t yet know which three of the nine candidates to select. I was impressed with them as a collective. I’ve asked people whose judgment I trust, and they were in similar straits. This is actually a good problem to have. I’m voting for both budgets and both school propositions. There will be a ZOOM candidate debate for the school board on May 18 at 6 pm, but I will have to have voted by then.

I ALWAYS vote, dammit!

If you are voting at the polls in Albany on May 19, go to page 10 of this document for the location.

My wife said that she’s impressed by my commitment to voting. I probably said something like, “The franchise has not been available to everyone, and I’m certainly not throwing away my opportunity.” It’s also true that I believe local races are often more significant than larger races, yet participation rates are generally pathetic. It’s simple math: other people’s apathy gives my vote more impact.

ICE discussion Thursday, May 14

Off topic, except for the venue:

Come join the NYCLU Capital Region community for an annual meeting on Thursday, May 14, at 5:30 pm in the Large Auditorium at the Albany Public Library Main Branch, 161 Washington Avenue, Albany.

The Topic is Constitutional Rights & Immigration

Led by Lauren DesRosiers, Assistant Professor and Director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the Edward P. Swyer Justice Center at Albany Law School, alongside Diego H. Alcalá Laboy, Assistant Professor at Albany Law School, this session is designed to help participants understand their rights in encounters with law enforcement or immigration officials. Topics include stops and seizures, customs and border protection, protesting and filming, as well as practical tips for being prepared in a range of scenarios.

Refreshments will be provided. Free and open to the public.

RSVP here:

https://secure.ngpvan.com/1Z0zBn2w9UWcO07tOpbsVg2

Albany PL Trustee Candidates Forum May 5

May 19 voting locations may differ from the general election

Swiped from here about the Albany Public Library: “The Trustee Candidates Forum is a moderated Q&A with the candidates running for Library Trustee.” It will be held on Tuesday, May 5, at 6 p.m., in the large auditorium at the Washington Avenue branch, 161 Washington Avenue.

“The questions and answers are prepared in advance, and the forum is moderated by a current trustee. The purpose of the forum is to give candidates a chance to share their views on libraries with the community, and for the community to hear the candidates out in preparation for the Library Budget Vote and Trustee Election on May 19.”

“Nine candidates will be on the May 19 ballot vying for three seats on the APL Board of Trustees. The following library trustee candidates submitted valid nominating petitions to the City School District of Albany and will appear on the ballot in this order, which is determined at random by the district:

1. Kathryn Bamberger
2. Lori Kochanski
3. Matthew Reed
4. Jenna Kersten
5. Smriti Sinha
6. Kayli McTague
7. Sarah Macinski (incumbent)
8. Kenneth Louzier
9. Leslie Dykeman

“This year, there are three open trustee seats: two full five-year terms and one partial one-year term. The two candidates who receive the highest number of votes are elected to the five-year terms, and the third highest vote-getter is elected to the one-year term.”

“This event also includes a brief Community Report & Budget Information session with APL Executive Director Andrea Nicolay.”

Here are the current and proposed library budgets.

Exercising the franchise

I will say there is one candidate I’m definitely voting for on May 19 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and two who are likely, but I will wait until the forum to decide for sure. I’m very excited that there are so many candidates.

Also, I’m voting YES on the library budget. The increase is due in part to the usual demands on a system. Also, in some years past, before the current library director took over, the budget was NOT submitted to the public. The upside was that the previous year’s budget was automatically passed at the same level. But the downside was that the income didn’t keep pace with expenses.

I’m voting YES on the school budget and the two propositions.

There are three candidates for two slots on the school board:

Tabitha Wilson (incumbent)

Quinn Lee, who is involved in public health

Serena White Lake, an attorney at Albany Law School

The three candidates will debate virtually on Monday, May 18, at 6 pm; the link should be available on the school district website in a few days.

If you are looking for where to vote, which is likely DIFFERENT from where you vote in primary and general elections, go here.