MERIDIAN, Idaho — This story first appeared in the Idaho Press.
The Concerned Citizens of Meridian is attempting to dissolve the Meridian Library District, but its members have also gotten involved in many of the most polarizing local controversies over the past few years.
Along the way, the group has drawn the ire of many Republican elected officials who support the library, especially in Meridian, further showcasing the divide in the Gem State between the right and the far-right. But members of the Concerned Citizens of Meridian have signaled the library isn’t their end goal.
“We’ve got a growing group of people, the Concerned Citizens of Meridian, and we’d love to get every concerned parent as involved as possible,” members of the group said on former Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s podcast last fall. “We’re not stopping in Meridian, so the rest of the libraries need to take notes. We’re coming to your library next.”
Yet some officials aren’t as concerned about the group’s actions, pointing to high community support as well as several times previously where the group has said it will do something and then not done it. For example, a Facebook post shared by a co-founder promised in November to have high-level elected officials at a library board meeting. No one showed up.
On that same podcast, the members said their next step was to recall the Meridian Library Board, which hasn’t happened.
“They’re an organization that have shown, to me, time and time again, that they’re focusing more on things they are saying and doing very little action,” said Meridian City Councilmember Luke Cavener. “And when action occurs, they’re reliant on so many other people in order for that to happen.”
Why this has happened
Almost 20 pages of signatures, some loopy, some scrawled, some in perfect, clean handwriting, accompany the petition submitted by the Concerned Citizens of Meridian. Of the around 119 signatures, 93 were approved.
Despite the small number, the Concerned Citizens of Meridian is inextricably tied to broader political forces than just local trends. The members of what is now the Concerned Citizens group have been involved in issues ranging from the controversial appointing of Ryan Cole to the Central District Health Board to the Meridian City Council’s 2018 ordinance banning discrimination based on gender or sexuality.
These issues showcase the polarization of Idaho society and how some have reacted to changing norms and values.
For example, the Meridian City Council in September 2018 began a meeting the way it always does, with bland but important municipal items like appointing people to commissions and approving a fee schedule. Then, the fireworks began.
On the docket was an ordinance to protect against discrimination based on gender or sexuality. And the testimony against the ordinance showed how some Meridian residents were feeling about changing social norms. One man said he was concerned about what lay beyond “opening this door.”
“I don’t want to hear their sexual orientation. I don’t want to hear anybody’s sexual orientation. If that becomes a public thing then — then I think we are going wrong as a society in the first place,” said another man at the meeting. “This is playing something called identity politics.”
Some of those who signed the library petition testified at the meeting against the ordinance.
Fear of the unknown can be much worse than the fear of a specific thing, said Cavener, who was present for that meeting and ultimately voted in favor of the ordinance.
“I was telling this to my oldest the other day, I said, when you were born there was something that clicked on inside of my head, that I had to protect you from everything. I had to keep you safe and free from anything that could do you harm and it causes me to worry all the time,” Cavener said. “Fear can be a motivator.”
However, Cavener said there’s no one thing that is causing groups like this to be pushing forward against libraries. There are topics that have become more mainstream that some people find uncomfortable, he said.
Another issue is in some ways tied to polarization.
Plenty of new Meridian residents have come from coastal cities, “fleeing” from what they consider unappealing cultural values, he said. Once here in Idaho, they remain in a conflict mindset, Cavener said.
“If you’re a hammer, then everything is going to be a nail,” Cavener said.
This mindset seemed to be similar to the one David McLeod, one of the founders of Concerned Citizens of Meridian, described on McGeachin’s podcast.
“Well, I lived in California for probably 22 years and moved to Idaho in 2017 thinking that this was a much more conservative place,” said McLeod, who added that he joined Conservatives Of Meridian, which endorsed Mike Hon in his 2021 council run. “I started noticing what was happening.”
Who is involved in Concerned Citizens of Meridian?
There are five reported co-founders of the group: Hon, McLeod, Mike Luis, Jon Eisfelder and Phil Reynolds, though not all of them signed the petition. The Concerned Citizens of Meridian declined to comment through a spokesperson.
Some people who signed the petition also appear more involved than others.
The entity itself is a new chapter of 1776 Sons of Liberty, “an organization formed to oppose the unjust government measures against the constitution of the United States of America.” It appears to be based in Hanford, California, according to its Facebook page.
In November, 27 people emailed the city of Meridian asking for co-founder Hon to be appointed to the city council to replace Sen. Treg Bernt, R-Meridian. Hon had previously run for city council, running to the right of another Republican candidate.
Of those 27, seven have since signed the petition to dissolve the Meridian Library District, including co-founders McLeod and Eisfelder.
The concerned citizens say some of the books offered by the library district are offensive and should not be available to children.
Another two who supported Hon, co-founder Luis and resident Brenda Gilchrist, are known to be associated with the anti-library movement though their signatures were not included in the petition. Gilchrist declined to comment for this story.
Gilchrist has filed requests for reconsideration to the Meridian Library for the books “What Girls Are Made Of” and “All American Boys.”
She also recently emailed the city of Meridian to complain about a Jesse Tree grant to prevent evictions. She identified herself in the email as a subject matter expert in homelessness. Her LinkedIn profile said she works in human resources. In 2020, Gilchrist donated to the Boise mayor recall effort, from a California address.
Riqui Peterson signed the petition and also sent in requests for reconsideration to the Meridian Library.
Hon, an associate broker and developer, is originally from New York City. He moved to the Treasure Valley in 1991, as previously reported. He has run unsuccessfully for Meridian City Council and the Idaho state House. He has donated to candidates like Ammon Bundy.
McLeod appears to be a life coach, according to his LinkedIn. He has donated to candidates like Steve Keyser and Doug Traubel, the latter of whom ran for Ada County Sheriff and has publicly espoused anti-semitic views such as blaming Jews for Soviet violence.
Luis previously attended a Meridian City Council meeting to express his concern with the council’s decision to switch city council districts. McGeachin said he was “unique” because he has two children in the West Ada School District.
“We moved here in 2015. And I didn’t get too involved with any politics. I was just living my life,” Luis said on McGeachin’s podcast. He added that the book “Gender Queer” started his trip down the road of attempting to restrict books.
Eisfelder has donated thousands to Edward Humphreys, a far-right, long-shot candidate for governor. Eisfelder also submitted requests for reconsideration to the Meridian library against the books “Sex is a Funny Word” and “Gender Queer.” He appears to work in real estate, though the website Zillow said no sales have been reported in the last 12 months.
Reynolds has donated to Traubel and Bundy as well, and to Ryan Spoon and Dorothy Moon. Spoon ran for the College of Western Idaho board as part of a conservative slate. Moon lost her bid for secretary of state last year and has since become chair of the Idaho Republican Party.
“I would just tell the elected officials to pay attention,” one of the co-founders said on the podcast. “You guys are allowing this in your city.”
Libraries in the Treasure Valley serve communities with books, much more
The Meridian Library is “fighting for its life,” according to a City Cast Boise podcast title. Library Director Nick Grove appeared on the podcast to talk about what would happen if the petition is successful.
Essentially, the library would be completely dissolved, all assets would be liquidated and if there was a new petition to restart, a library would have to be restarted from scratch.
“The petitioners want to just get rid of leadership,” Grove said on the podcast. “If it dissolves, everything goes away completely.”
Grove said the group has lied before and is trying to spin the move differently.
“We do not serve as the parents,” Grove said. “I talk to my children about what they’re reading, what they plan to read.”
Meridian Library Board of Trustees Chair Megan Larsen said the library stands against censorship.
For Larsen, the petition runs counter to the support she’s seen in the community. More than 45,000 people have library cards, she said. And just four years ago, 67% of voters passed a $14 million levy for the library to renovate, expand and build a new branch.
“This group is a small group, and they’re not representative of Meridian, broadly, and I know that because because I encounter people that are using library all the time,” Larsen said. “I think Americans, generally, Idahoans, generally, value library services.”
Other Treasure Valley library directors said they can’t speak to what’s happening in Meridian but said libraries in general are important.
“Libraries are such a valued, trusted institution for our modern digital age,” Boise Public Library Director Jessica Dorr said. “And they really serve the whole community at all points of their life.”
For example, library staff can help people find out if websites are legitimate or emails are scams. She said nationally, study after study shows how much people support and believe in public libraries.
Nampa Library Director Claire Connley said libraries have changed a lot over the years. Libraries went from just providing books to now providing electronic resources. The library is a “community living room,” she said. People study and meet in the library.
Canyon County has a large Hispanic population, and the library is trying to meet that need with Spanish-language collections. Connley said the library’s goal is to turn it into a world languages collection. They’ve already added Ukrainian books to the shelves because of Ukrainian refugees coming to Idaho.
Every few months, she said someone will come in and complain about the content of books. But the library hasn’t had a formal request for reconsideration in years. There’s been some attempts by the state legislature recently to pass bills that would hold librarians liable for book content. But Connley, sitting at a long conference table with snow-covered mountains behind her, said she’s not concerned.
Outside, cars were driving past the library, through downtown. Inside, a boy crouched to grab the book he wanted from a lower shelf. A mother stood with three children, who were all waiting expectantly at the front desk. Students were studying on the third floor.
“We have nothing to defend ... we’re operating for this community and doing our best for this community,” Connley said. “We’re trying to be the very best for Nampa. And so as soon as I realized that, I just totally relaxed about the whole thing.”
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