Pearson, Medal win seats on Arlington Hts. library board

Carole Medal, executive director of Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin, will join longtime Trustee Kerry Pearson on the Arlington Heights Memorial Library board.

Medal won a six-year seat on the board through a write-in campaign, according to the Cook County Clerk's office, which released vote totals for the race on Wednesday.

Pearson, a board member since 2003 and the only candidate whose name was on the April 7 ballot, received 5,081 votes, according to unofficial tallies.

Write-in votes counted Wednesday showed Medal with 702 votes, Stephan Tucker with 243, and Patricia Turner with 96.

When not enough people filed to run for the two seats on the library board by the deadline, Medal and the other write-in candidates joined the race.

"It was something I had never experienced before, but we knew at least one of the write-ins would be elected," said Medal, who added that she campaigned mostly via word-of-mouth.

She said she is excited to be sworn in as a board member and get to work.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know the Arlington Heights Memorial Library even better in a different role," she said. "I already know it is a tremendous library that is a rich, rich resource for our community."

Medal has led the Gail Borden Library since 2004, and was named the recipient of the 2013 Illinois Library Association Librarian of the Year Award. She said that experience will help her as a board member.

"I understand how library boards work with staff. I feel my experience will add a great deal to the library board and what they are hoping to accomplish in the coming years," she said.

All results from the April 7 election are unofficial until they are formally certified on April 30.