Six vie for four seats on Guilderland library board

The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Guilderland Public Library leaders symbolically broke ground in 2020 for an expansion and renovation.

GUILDERLAND — Six candidates are running for four vacancies on the Guilderland Public Library Board of Trustees.

Guilderland school district residents will vote May 18 on the library’s proposed $4 million budget for next year as well as for the trustees.

Incumbents Herb Hennings and Philip Metzger are challenged by Michael Hawrylchak, Vanessa Threatte, Antonio Rivera, and Norina Melita.

Last year, in a five-way race for three seats, two newcomers ousted incumbents Hennings and Metzger. Both were later appointed by the board to fill vacancies created when Barry Nelson and Bryan Best resigned.

The library board this year faced difficult decisions on offering services in the midst of both the pandemic and an $8 million expansion project that is now expected to be completed 11 months early, by Aug. 31, 2021 rather than the original end date of July 2022.

The posts on the 11-member board are unpaid. The terms are typically five years but, because of resignations, just two of the seats this year carry five-year terms.

The two top vote-getters will win the five-year posts. The candidate who comes in third will serve a four-year term, and the candidate who finishes fourth will serve a three-year term.

The library has posted information provided by the candidates, which is excerpted here. The candidates will appear on the ballot in this order:

 

Vanessa Threatte 

“I feel very strongly about issues of access, diversity of experience and voice (not only honoring it but learning from it). I can’t think of a better place than the library to have an impact in those areas,” says Vanessa Threatte. “Building on the amazing services and impact GPL already provides, I hope to offer my perspective and experience as a Black woman, parent, educator, reading specialist, helping professional, artist, student, operations leader, and avid DIY-er.”

With a liberal arts degree from Dartmouth College, and master’s degrees in art therapy, special education, and literacy, Threatte works as the assistant deputy chief operating officer at the State University of New York. She also volunteers in the Guilderland schools and is the Community Service chair for the Greater Albany Chapter of Jack and Jill of America.

 

Michael Hawrylchak

“I have always loved browsing libraries and sampling books from a wide variety of topics …,”says Michael Hawrylchak. “I and my family have benefited greatly from the variety of services the library provides. I would like to help ensure that the library continues to serve as a resource for the community through traditional lending as well as more innovative programs and services.”

Hawrylchak, who formerly clerked for a federal judge and worked as a software engineer, is currently an attorney at O’Connell and Aronowitz. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a law degree from Harvard.

He coaches Guilderland recreation soccer and is a youth wrestling volunteer.

 

Antonio Rivera

“Since I have school-aged children, I would explore more synergistic opportunities between schools and GPL,” says Antonio Rivera. “Libraries offer many services that help make the community more equitable, and some of those services could be used to counter the academic learning losses over the past year. I would also like to explore the potential to develop other community services, such as community gardens, maker spaces with 3-D printer and expand classes and seminars on retirement, personal health and saving for college.”

Rivera, a pharmacist, also works as a lecturer at SUNY Schenectady and as an ad hoc consultant. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from Binghamton University, a doctor of pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science, and is working on a healthcare MBA at Clarkson University. He is a Guilderland girls’ softball coach.

 

Herb Hennings

“Our library is at a crossroads,” says Herb Hennings. “A lot of good things can come out of the construction project to bring the Guilderland library into the 21st Century. I also look at the needs of the community to have continued access to library services and programs and the problems raised for libraries by the COVID pandemic.”

Hennings, a retired insurance fund hearing  representative, has a bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College and a master’s degree from Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University at Albany. He is a longtime Public Employees Federation activist.

He is currently a member of the Guilderland Planning board and also serves on the board of the Upper Hudson Library System, which he says allows him to “absorb the best practices of the other libraries.” 

 

Philip Metzger Jr. 

Philip Metzger, who is married to a librarian, says, “Having this inside connection to the world of libraries, I have become acutely aware of their importance in our society and I understand their needs and challenges in our current environment. By running for the library board of trustees I hope to support the library administration in setting goals that build a stronger community in Guilderland centered around our library, providing the services that drive even more people to take advantage of everything that the library offers.”

Metzger, who studied computer science at Stony Brook University, works as a lead systems analyst managing information technology projects for RR Donnelley, a multinational business communications company. 

He has served as a temporary Guilderland library trustee twice to help fill vacancies, and hopes now to serve in an officially-elected position.

 

Norina Melita

“Libraries give me and my kids a sense of peace and calm,” says Norina Melits. “There is something homey and safe about spending the day at the library. I also love Guilderland. I'd love to combine my work and education experience with my love of books and our community, to help in any way I can.”

In law school, she enjoyed working at a library circulation desk. She has a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and law from York University.

Melita works as a confidential law clerk for a judge in Montgomery County. She is Third District representative for the New York State Bar Association and serves on the Community Impact Committee for the Berkshire Farms Center for Youth and is secretary and treasurer for the Montgomery County Bar Association.

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