ORANGE : Library Board Chairwoman Quits, Citing Loss of Authority

The chairwoman of the Library Board of Trustees has quit in disgust, she said, over the council election results and a perceived loss of authority over the city’s beleaguered library system.

“This council and the last council don’t give a damn about the library,” said Mara Brandman, the library chairwoman and a losing candidate in the council race. “It’s just a political football to them.”

Brandman was one of 10 contenders for the two council seats, which went to incumbent Mark Murphy and realtor Dan Slater.

She said council members had stepped into the library board’s scope of authority when they decided to set up an ad hoc committee of outside professionals as advisers. She had hoped that an election victory for her would signal stronger community support for the library. Instead, she came in fifth in the race.

Joanne Coontz, who beat Councilman Fred L. Barrera for the mayor’s seat, said Brandman is “politically motivated.” The ad hoc committee will give professional perspectives on the library, which has suffered from cutbacks in staff, hours and high-tech equipment, she said.

The ad hoc committee should be appointed within a month, said City Manager David F. Dixon.

“They will not be empowered to do anything but give recommendations,” he added.

Murphy, who was top vote-getter, said the library board has no reason to be angry.

“I don’t see anything adversarial at all about the ad hoc committee just trying to put more minds on a challenging issue,” he said.

Library Trustee Carolyn Cavecche, who moved into the chairman’s seat last week, said: “I want to work with the City Council, but I will be very firm trying to get what we need for the library. I’m not going to take a huge adversarial position, but I’m not going to lie down and die either.”