I left the Olympia Timberland Regional Library earlier this year. The administration at the time broke our union contract in order to lay me off.
I felt targeted. When community pressure forced them to rescind the layoffs, I left anyway because I couldn’t work for people who would do that. Thankfully, after I left, that administration was removed.This sparked a massive shift in TRL’s culture. Andrea Heisel is working diligently to repair the strained relationships with staff and the community. Staff feel free to do the work they know is needed to support their communities. It feels like a fog lifted and there’s finally a path forward. But the path will halt if the levy lid lift doesn’t pass.
The past administration left our libraries in an abysmal financial position that should have been addressed decades ago. We must act now to sustain our libraries. I will be voting yes on Prop.1 this fall and dropping my ballot off before Nov. 3. If the levy lid lift passes, I know that our libraries will have fresh life breathed into them, quite literally, with more staff, open hours, and community resources.
