Disturbing Details Emerge: NEW Library Director’s “Sweetheart Deal” & Lawsuit Against Lewiston Library Raise Concerns - Conflicts Of Interest And Future Lawsuits? — Did M&M Set Up CLN To Fail?
When They Said The Library Would Become “The Next NIC”, that was a THREAT, not a “warning.”
(Post Falls, Idaho) — Disturbing new details have emerged about the Community Library Networks new director that was recently installed by embattled incumbents Judy Meyer and Regina McCrea. The appointment of Alexandria “Alexa” Eccles as CLN’s director came just 11 days before the May 16th election; an election that both Meyer and McCrea clearly suspect they will lose.
The new library director’s name is Alexa Eccles, and for our subscribers living in the Moscow/Lewiston area, you may remember her from her tenure as Director of the Lewiston City Library.
Who Is Alexa Eccles?
Eccles was onboarded to the Lewiston City Library in July 2012 after previously working as “Managing Librarian” of the Summit and Orting branches of the Pierce County Library, on the outskirts of Seattle. She was praised by the local media, making appearances on local TV Shows, and was treated to glowing reviews in the newspaper.
The city had just started a project to move the library across town in the hopes of modernizing, and increasing usage of the libarary and its programs. At the time, Eccles said "There's just a tremendous energy right now for the library revitalization and I'm just really excited to be a part of that.[…] I've worked in libraries for 22 years, I love what I'm doing. I don't see myself doing anything else as long as I can."
Unfortunately for the City of Lewiston, and library goers, the exact opposite occurred. The library’s renovation experienced several delays, and the location that was chosen for the new library was not easy to find parking at.
Eccles began taking heavy criticism from residents, library users, as well as former elected officials. The red flags began waving in early 2018 when people began taking to social media, and coming to public meetings, criticizing Eccles’ management of the City Library. A post on Facebook lamented the un-helpful attitudes of employees at the Lewiston library compared to the more rural libraries. The post went viral, and according to the Lewiston Tribune:
“More than 80 people commented on the post, many complaining about negative experiences and swearing off the Lewiston library in favor of other local libraries.”
Shortly after this incident, the library announced it would be cutting its hours.
By April of 2018, even the Media began criticizing Eccles’ handling of the City library. In an editorial titled Is this any way to run Lewiston’s library? the author states in no uncertain terms:
“The harshest assessment of Lewiston City Library Director Alexa Eccles’ job performance isn’t coming from her critics on the outside.
It’s coming from within the Lewiston library.”
Circulation was down: “Lewiston’s circulation in 2016 was 20.8 percent lower than it was four years earlier.”
Classic books in the collection were being removed: “Lewiston’s collection 27.1 percent smaller than it was four years earlier.”
At one public hearing retired District Judge John Bradbury levelled harsh criticism of the Director and the direction the library had taken over the past several years saying "No amount of good will can change what I and several people in Lewiston see as problems with the library.” His criticism continued, according to the Lewiston Tribune, summarizing that:
”A sharp increase in interlibrary loans is evidence that the Lewiston library simply doesn't carry the books people want to read. In 2012, the library got 1,620 books and other publications from regional libraries. That number spiked to more than 36,000 loans last year, an average of more than 100 books per day.”
As the library faced a sharp decline, Eccles’ salary increased from $71,456, to $117,000; a 63% increase. She was getting paid more, while the library was unable to hire on full-time staff.
After all of these allegations that “current leadership is squandering community goodwill and the city's multi-million dollar investment in a new building” Eccles was fired.
Eccles then went on to apply for a job as Director of the library in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They passed on hiring her.
Instead, Eccles moved to Texas. By 2020 she was working at the McAllen Library as the Assistant Director, underneath the tutelage of Library Director Kate Horan.
Eccles also landed a job as a real estate agent with Glass House Real Estate.
But what was she doing between 2018 and 2020?
She was busy filing lawsuits against the Lewiston Library after her firing. This was widely covered, even the Coeur d’Alene Press picked up the story, even though they made no mention of it when they parroted back the CLN Press Release. According to Local News 8:
A former library director has sued the city of Lewiston over her termination two years ago, alleging sexual harassment, a hostile work environment and other charges dating back to when she was hired in 2012.
Eccles' attorney April M. Linscott filed the lawsuit Friday in federal court, the Lewiston Tribune reported.
Eccles said in the lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted by then-City Councilor Dennis Ohrtman, and reported the incident to the city's human resource director.
"To my knowledge, all of her previous claims have been investigated and discredited," Ohrtman said.
The lawsuit also claims employees made derogatory comments toward her and that her rights to due process were violated, including the denial of several procedures like a pre-termination and post-termination hearing and a notice of all claims made against her.
The lawsuit comes after an earlier claim for damages exceeding $1 million was dismissed by the Idaho Human Rights Commission in 2019.
The city unsuccessfully attempted a mediated settlement with Eccles after the commission concluded its process, city attorney Jana Gomez said.
Months had passed between when Eccles was placed on leave and when she was fired, because "there was a thorough process that was followed," Gomez said.
Aside from the GIANT RED FLAGS that have come in the past due to Eccles alleged performance in Lewiston, the fact that she would turn around and file not just one, but MULTIPLE lawsuits against her previous employer raises concerns. When you add to that fact that her lawyer, April Linscott runs a law firm in partnership with current library trustee Regina McCrea? That’s a recipe for disaster…
We spoke with Alexa Eccles over the phone, and she told a reporter from the Idaho Tribune “I won the lawsuit. It was found in my favor.”
However, according to the Lewiston Tribune, the lawsuit was actually settled… to the tune of $200,000.
Nobody likes a liar…
Contract Concerns
Eccles’ new contract with the Community Library Network was negotiated behind the scenes during a slew of executive sessions, and the public was not made aware of the finalists during the search for a new director. Just 11 days before the election, one day before incumbent trustees Meyer and McCrea were upstaged at a debate, the Library Board, behind closed doors voted to approve the new contract with Eccles in a 4 to 1 vote.
According to the Bushnell Report, there are some extremely concerning stipulations in the contract.
It is a two year contract.
The annual salary of $128K is ~$20K/year more than the last director.
Moving stipend of $15K
If the director is terminated for cause the director receives 6 months severance pay, etc. Keep in mind this is even if she fails to do her job or show up. If her and the trustees mutually agree to terminate her contract she still gets 6 months severance pay.
It will take an affirmative vote of 4 of the 5 trustees to fire the director if she does not live up to board expectations, despite the normal vote being a majority.
Does that sound familiar? A 4/5 majority to fire? Kinda sounds like North Idaho College President Nick Swayne, doesn’t it?
And, of course, you’ll remember who used to be a trustee at North Idaho College, right? That’s right. Judy Meyer. Her husband Stephen Meyer still serves on the board of the NIC Foundation, overseeing it’s $30+ million dollar bank accounts.
This all sounds like a setup, right?
Call the opposition (who is likely to win) “extremists,” and then bring in a litigious library director who has the law firm of one of the incumbent trustees on retainer?
There MUST have been a better choice for library director. Someone who isn’t sue-happy, that is actually willing to serve the conservative community of North Idaho, instead of foisting “new values” on our community, in an effort to turn us all into “good global citizens.”
Honestly, once Tim Plass and Tom Hanley win, their best course of action would be to fire Eccles before she begins. God knows what kinds of accusations will fly if they don’t.
Tenure in McAllen Texas
If the corrupt, sketchy deal to get Eccles hired by the unresponsive, corrupt board wasn’t enough of a red flag, just wait until you see what the McAllen Library was up to while she was working there.
First of all, there’s her former boss, McAllen Library Director Kate Horan’s tweets:
Then, you can look at the kinds of programs they were offering at the McAllen Library, like their age 16+ LGBTQIA “History Lessons.”
Or their “Reading Rainbows” LGBTQIA+ book club.
Or their “Banned Book” week, where they’re giving kids “banned books” at the recommendation of the Marxist Controlled American Library Association.
Books that are explicitly promoted by the American Library Assocaition’s “Office for Intellectual Freedom” include Gender Queer, Lawn Boy and This Book is Gay, just to name a few.
Eccles has even spoken at ALA and Texas Library Association sponsored conferences, including one just last month.
The conference also featured over a dozen conferences about “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” how to “Develop an Inclusionary Library Ideology,” and more.
In fact, the keynote speech was titled “Libraries as Sites for Social Justice.”
The title for this conference is almost entirely ripped from the headlines of a Canadian Antifa website that released an article on January 18, 2023 titled “LIBRARIES AS SITES FOR ANTI-FASCIST RESISTANCE.”
Considering who Eccles just spent the past few years working with, do you think she’s going to be ok with this kind of agenda, or oppose it?
Even if everything goes in favor of conservatives tomorrow at the polls, this fight is NOT over. There is still a long, hard road ahead if we want to seriously reclaim the institutions from the Marxists that have taken it over.
