News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The Alpena County Board of Commissioners conducts business during Tuesday’s Finance, Ways, and Means Committee meeting. During the meeting, the commissioners voted to appoint two new library board members. After the vote, some threatened to begin a recall campaign.

ALPENA — Supporters of the Alpena County Library Board threatened to recall the Alpena County commissioners who voted to approve two new appointments to the library board.

Several people also pledged to find residents to run against them when they are up for reelection in four years.

The Alpena County Board of Commissioners voted on the two new appointments for the library board during Tuesday’s Finance, Ways, and Means Committee meeting. Both appointments say they believe some books in the children and teen sections are too sexually graphic for minors and should be moved.

The appointments were on the consent agenda at the meeting and the commissioners voted to approve them without discussion or rationalizing their decisions.

The commissioners appointed Julie Byrnes to replace Lauren Mantlo for a term that will expire in 2029 and Traci Collins to finish up the term of Michelle Cornish who resigned from the board, a term that goes to the end of 2027.

Supporters of the library were miffed why Mantlo wasn’t reappointed because of her experience and knowledge about libraries. She is currently the library director at the Alpena Community College and has a wealth of knowledge on library operations, business, and laws that govern them.

Diane O’Conner, who applied for the appointment but was not selected, made public comment at the beginning and end of the meeting. After the vote to approve Collins and Byrnes, she warned the commissioners that their action could have political consequences down the road.

“I think you feel comfortable in your positions because you got reelected, but you essentially got reelected because you had no opposition,” O’Conner said. “The last thing I will say is you feel safe in your positions, but you are not because there is always the ability to recall. I think any of you who vote for a library board member, who is an agitator, need to be recalled.”

The commissioners will take their oath of office for their next term in early January and a recall cannot take place during the first year of the term or the final year.

Several people encouraged the commissioners to follow through on their appointments and maintain that the books in question still need to be moved into a different part of the library, where they aren’t easily accessible to children.

Several people who made comments claimed during the peak of the debate between the commissioners about the children’s books, Byrnes parked her van in front of the library and protested the books which some people believe are sexually graphic. People said she placed a sign outside the library that had the word groomer written on it and urged people to vote against the library renewal that was going to voters in August.

A photo provided to The News by Assistant Library Director Jessica Luther shows Byrnes sitting in a van outside the library with the sign on the driver’s side.

Byrnes said she never wanted the books banned, but wanted them addressed in one way or another. So, she said, she took advantage of her right to protest the books and tried to hold the board accountable.

“The signs were asking the community a question about books being selected at the library, with the hope that the voters would investigate the questionable books,” Byrnes said. “Many people seem to have formed an opinion without reading the questionable books. Just like the paper we could not print a sexually explicit quote in a letter to the editor, asking the voters a question. So, we put an actual quote on a sign for the voters to see.”

Interim Library Director Tina Markowski sent The News a copy of the letter she sent to the commissioners addressing their appointments. She said the outrage over the books and the protests about them have impacted employees at the library. She said it is her job to protect them.

“My staff had to endure walking by a vehicle outside the library with the ‘groomer’ accusation sign plastered to the side,” she said in her letter to the county. “Many of my staff are experiencing PTSD and burnout from the groomer campaign that threatened their livelihood. Library staff deserve a safe environment. My deep concern is allowing those same individuals who created a hostile environment for library staff during the ‘groomer’ campaign onto our Library Board.”

Earlier this year, after the commissioners reviewed the controversial books, some of them said they should be moved behind a counter or into the adult section of the library. They also considered replacing all of the members of the library board in one swoop, but after being threatened with litigation, the commissioners decided to make appointments as terms expired or if there were resignations. The commissioners said at the time that they wanted a board that was diverse and made up of people with different beliefs, opinions, and backgrounds. However, Collins and Byrnes have both said they are in favor of the books being moved.

The two appointments to the board could shift the direction of the library in the future, as it seems there is now a majority of the five-member board in favor of moving the books.

At times during the meeting, things became testy, as library supporters and residents who supported the commissioners’ appointments mumbled during public comment and shushed one another. A deputy from the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office was standing at the back of the room to make sure the meeting remained peaceful and wasn’t severely disrupted.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.