With two seats opening on the Port Washington Public Library Board of Trustees, four Port residents are running in the election on April 10. Tania Danielson, incumbent Michael Krevor, Stephanie Salzbank and Sima Vasa vie for the five-year term seats of Krevor and trustee Thomas Donoghue, who will not be seeking reelection.
The League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset hosted the four candidates during Meet the Candidates Night at the library on March 22. Moderated by Judy Jacobson, the candidates explained to the community why they are running, what they hope to accomplish and answered questions from the community.
Danielson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Cum Laude from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and a Master in Library Science from Queens College. She has worked as a professional librarian for 20 years and has managed libraries for several large law firms. Danielson explained that she hopes to keep the library a safe space for young adults and challenge them with new programs.
“I think we’re all up here for the same reason because we really want to serve on this very forward-looking board and we really want to serve our community in ways that are unique to our skills,” said Danielson at Meet the Candidates Night. “What I bring to this table is that I have had professional experience for 20 years. My first job at NYU was shelving books at the library and frankly I never left. I’ve shelved books, checked in serials, I do research and I manage libraries. I’ve created budgets, curated collections, I’ve dealt with technologies, the varying demands on our resources. The other thing that I think uniquely qualifies me to be a trustee is that I deal with vendors. I know how to look at contracts and clauses.”
Incumbent Krevor has a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a law degree from Fordham University. He was a former director and president of a cooperative apartment corporation and is a retired attorney. He has experience dealing with financing, maintenance, capital spending and employment issues. Krevor explained that if he were reelected, he would continue to work with the other trustees to keep the library fiscally responsible, environmentally friendly and work on renovations and repairs to the building.
“Back around 2009, I attended one of the board meetings because I was interested in the process,” said Krevor. “I found it interesting and went to every meeting after. I thought I could contribute because of my training and experience as an attorney in areas that were useful. I was previously the director of residential co-op and dealt with similar issues like budgeting questions, whether to spend money on property maintenance, renovation decisions, oversight function over personnel that worked there. I’m running because I like being on the board. They encouraged me to run again.”
Salzbank graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University in 1979 and currently works as a substitute teacher in a private Hebrew Day School. She previously served as an acting librarian at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, where she learned how to manage the day-to-day running of the library, and is the yearbook advisor for the senior class. Salzbank explained that she hopes to get the library back to the basics by creating more programs that get more kids involved with reading.
“Since my children are no longer at home, I decided that it was important for me to become active in our community and not just talk about what I want to see happen but actually act and become involved,” said Salzbank. “All I know is that I love our Port Washington Library and want to make sure that it continues to function as an efficient establishment for our community to enjoy. I want to make sure that the library continues to change and grow with the new and updated technologies.”
Vasa earned her MBA in finance from NYU’s Stern School and her undergraduate degree in business administration from Drexel University. She is a business owner and entrepreneur who has managed budgets, served as a board member for multiple corporations and hosts her own podcast Data Gurus. Vasa explained that she hopes to continue to explore ways the library can be relevant and create more cross-generational programs.
“When I saw this opening, I saw it as a way to give back to the library, an institution that is really the hub of our community and it’s played such a vital part in my and my family’s lives,” said Vasa. “In the ever-changing world of technology, I can bring technology and digital experience to the table in terms of strategic input in the digital age. I hope to be a support to the library itself and the director and navigate for the changing times and work with the other trustees, providing input on strategic vision and key operating decisions.”
Residents can vote for the trustees along with the budget at the Port Washington Public Library located at 1 Library Dr., Port Washington from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on April 10.
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