Great Neck Library board candidate Francine Krupski was elected to the position of library trustee, and library nominating committee candidates Ian Lustbader and Diane Sandler were elected to the library nominating committee in an uncontested election held Monday.
Krupski garnered 195 votes while Lustbader took in 193 and Sandler received 198.
The election of unopposed candidates for library trustee and library committee candidates with fewer than 200 votes followed a $20.8 million referendum the week before to renovate and expand the Main Branch of the Great Neck Library, which drew more than 4,200 voters. Nearly 70 percent of the voters opposed the referendum following a heated election campaign that included complaints about board members and calls for new leadership.
Krupski, who was selected by the nominating committee, will replace library Trustee Anna Kaplan, who was serving her first term. Kaplan is not seeking re-election due to her bid for Town of North Hempstead District 4 seat.
“I am looking forward to working with the other members of the board,” Krupski said. “Hopefully I will be able to add something to the Great Neck community.”
Krupski is a 38-year resident of Great Neck and retired principal of P.S. 163 in Flushing Heights.
Since retiring five years ago, she has gotten involved in the community through volunteer work for her church in their food pantry, and by teaching children.
Krupski was chosen by a seven-member panel of elected and appointed members of the nominating committee. The chairman is trustee-appointed Tim Lewis, a tax attorney who specializes in trusts, estates, and tax-exempt organizations.
The committee is responsible for identifying and selecting candidates for open positions. Candidates are selected at meetings in April, May, and June. The first step is a letter of interest, with a resume and any other applicable information, followed by an interview with the nominating committee.
Elected for a three-year term on the nominating committee is Ian Lustbader, in place of nominating committee member Stacee Bernstein.
Lustbader is an internist with five children.
“I think everyone has a good vested interest in the library thriving,” he said at an earlier meeting.
His goal is to join the board with no preconceived notions, and identify qualified candidates by examining their credentials and motivation for seeing office.
Also nominated for a three-year term on the nominating committee is Diane Sandler, in place of nominating committee member Julius Mendel.
Sandler is a fifth grade English Language Arts and social studies teacher in Plainview-Old Bethpage. Her charitable activities include fundraising for the American Heart Association, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Relay for Life. She is a member of Second Stage Theatre in Manhattan.
“I am a firm believer in a strong library system for a community,” Sandler said. “Through the library nominating committee I feel I can make a contribution by picking candidates who will make a difference in the community.”
