Ask Corpus Christi City Council to reappoint the four incumbents to the Corpus Christi Public Library Advisory Board!
The Corpus Christi Public Library (CCPL) Advisory Board comprises nine seats. Appointments for four seats on the CCPL Advisory Board are being made on Tuesday January 28, 2025, one week after the new Corpus Christi City Council is sworn in. Three incumbents want to be reappointed – Jennifer Anderson from Friends of the Library, Carroll Matthews from La Retama Club, and Dora Wilburn from the West side. Incumbent Alice Upshaw-Hawkins is from our African-American community and served until November 2024, She wants to serve again by filling the vacant seat.
Many in the community were surprised in October 2023 when the City Council changed the practice of making reappointments to the Advisory Library Board by not reappointing three people who wanted to continue serving. They then proceeded to make five new appointments to the Advisory Board, making them a majority. Over the year, it has become evident that all five of these appointments (or the majority) have the same viewpoint and ideology, which are often aligned with those of Moms for Liberty and Citizens Defending Freedom.
We are asking the Corpus Christi City Council to reappoint the four incumbents – Anderson, Matthews, Wilburn and Upshaw-Hawkins – to the CCPL Advisory Board. They will continue to uphold the mission of our Public Libraries to improve literacy, enhance knowledge and create a sense of community by making useful information easily accessible to the Corpus Christi area. We are also reminding them that it is essential for the Advisory Library Board to reflect all groups and viewpoints in the community.
Please join us in sending an email to the new Corpus Christi City Council to let them know you want the four incumbents to continue serving on the Advisory Library Board because public libraries and public library boards are for everyone.