Yesterday, Washoe County commissioners voted against reappointing Trustee Al Rogers to his seat on the county’s library board in a split 3-2 decision. 

The commission’s Vice Chair Jeanne Herman, Commissioner Clara Andriola, and Commissioner Mike Clark collectively approved the motion to reject Rogers’s reappointment while the commission’s Chairwoman Alexis Hill and Commissioner Mariluz Garcia dissented in support of the incumbent library board member.

Prior to the decision, public commenters had noted dissatisfaction with the library’s controversial drag queen story hour and advocated for the appointment of a new trustee from Washoe County’s fourth district, which includes the areas of Sparks and Spanish Springs, to the board.

Commenter Joni Hammond stated, “I’m requesting that you look at the representation on the library board. I live in District 4, and District 4 does not have a library board trustee. Please do not reappoint Al Rogers. Please consider other applicants, especially from District 4 . . . so we have better representation from all our districts.”

Commissioner Clara Andriola also spoke to the issue of representation on the library board. “The way that it has fallen or transpired is that we have, essentially, four representatives from District 1 and one from District 3…the fact is, is that, we have three districts out of five districts that aren’t represented,” Andriola noted.

Commissioner Mariluz Garcia, on the other hand, dismissed the complaints of representation, claiming, “This isn’t really about representation of districts. If it were, we would be more cognizant of maybe some. . . racially or ethnically diverse candidates that have come before us in the past. This isn’t about representation. This is the polarization of our library system.”

Because Trustee Al Rogers failed to be reappointed to the Washoe County Library Board of Trustees, the county will consider applications from the public to fill his seat. Rogers’s current term will officially end on Sunday, June 30.