The anticipated Smithtown Library District elections have resulted in no net change to the Library Board.
Elections were held on Tuesday, October 10, at the Commack, Nesconset, Smithtown, and Kings Park branches of the Smithtown Library District.
Incumbent Trustee Barbara Deal and Board President Brianna Baker-Stines were re-elected and candidates Theresa Stabile and Christopher Vargas were elected on the same slate, representing ballot positions 1, 3, 5, and 7.
Baker-Stines said at a meet-the-candidates night on October 3: “The library has always been a safe space for me, I hope that I can show other members of the community how it can be a safe space. I want to be on the board because I want to keep the library the way it is. It’s a paragon of intellectual freedom. Libraries provide resources, and parents can choose which resources they want“Censorship is not only morally ambiguous, it’s potentially illegal. It’s costly, and it’s time-consuming for our taxpayers.”
Barbara Deal received the most raw votes, clocking in at 1,882 votes, followed by Baker-Stines who received 1,833. Stabile received 1,814, while Sarvis received 1,757.
The challengers, some of whom include perennial candidates such as JoAnn Lynch and Hector Gavilla, gave a spirited effort with Lucian Durso and Vanest Avergel, but all ultimately came up short at capturing any one seat on the board.
JoAnn Lynch ran unsuccessfully for Smithtown Library Board in 2022 and Hector Gavilla ran two campaigns against Susan Berland (D) in the Sixteenth District for the Suffolk Legislature in 2017 and 2019.
Lynch ran on a platform of reinstating transparency and returning power to the parents. She also ran against a board endorsed by the American Library Association (ALA), alleging Marxist tactics employed by the nationwide union.
Gavilla ran on age-appropriate content being removed from the children’s section, citing local examples of a book called Genderqueer that featured highly suggestive and borderline-pornographic imagery and topics.
Durso ran on his thirty-five year career as a schoolteacher, teaching health and anatomy, sex education, and physical education, as well as controversial topics in biology.
Avergel ran on her status as a parent to three children and her long community involvement in schools and extracurriculars, citing the need for more community-oriented events held at the public libraries.
All candidates voiced their concerns with a seven-member board who typically all voted in the same direction. All pledged to bring change and discussion to the board.
Lynch received the most votes of the opposing slate, clocking in at 1,123 votes. Gavilla came in second, with 1,017 votes, with Durso narrowly trailing him with 1,012 votes. Avergel received the least amount of votes of the pack, coming in at just 956 votes.
The victorious slate received 7,286 votes, while the opposing slate received 4,108 votes, accounting for a final percentage of 64% for the victorious and half-incumbent slate, a 36% for the challengers – a twenty-eight point margin.
The Nesconset library recorded the most votes of the four branches, bringing in 5,082 votes.
The budget also passed by a large margin, with 2,122 voters approving of the $17,292,960 budget, and 685 opposing – nearly a 75% – 25% split.
