Endorsement; Boyer, DeSmidt for Bartlett Library Board

The Bartlett Library Board race is one of those tough choices that is good for the community but not fair to at least one of the candidates.

Three outstanding candidates are running. Problem is, there only are two 6-year terms on the ballot.

Two of the candidates are incumbents, longtime residents Lynn DeSmidt and Margaret "Peggy" Bucaro, the current vice president on the board. They are experienced, well-versed on the library's challenges and opportunities and involved in the community. Normally, that would make this an easy call.

But in Monica Boyer, the voters have an opportunity to broaden and diversity the representation on the library board in important ways.

She is a professional librarian who understands firsthand the impact libraries can have. "Libraries," she told our editor in a touching account of how her life has been intertwined in them, "changed my life."

No one who listens to that story can doubt either Boyer's devotion or that she belongs on the board. She offers youthful and ethnic perspectives to a board that would benefit from both.

Both Bucaro and DeSmidt have a lot to offer. It's hard to choose between them. Bucaro offers solid judgment; DeSmidt offers enthusiasm.

Ultimately, DeSmidt's unrelenting involvement in the community is hard to ignore. She is active in all aspects of Bartlett's civic life.

Our endorsements go to Boyer and to DeSmidt. Our regret is that we cannot endorse Bucaro too.