i’ll be voting yes on A&B in large part because it's good for our community and in no small part because i believe in our democratic process. i hope that many of you will reflect on these proposals and vote yes too, for us, for our children, and for the democracy we all believe in.

ann arbor deserves a main public library branch that is a shining beacon to our community. a place that can flourish as an essential and thriving communal space, that is a crucible for our grand ideas, that helps mitigate our housing crisis, *and* that continues to be a bulwark against fascism.

"People who love literature have at least part of their minds immune from indoctrination. If you read, you can learn to think for yourself."

like many of you in this room, i strongly believe that public libraries are essential to the lifeblood of our democracy.

“A public library is the most democratic thing in the world. what can be found there has undone dictators and tyrants: demagogues can persecute writers and tell them what to write as much as they like, but they cannot vanish what has been written in the past, though they try often enough."

my parents emigrated from an authoritarian, totalitarian state so i am especially attuned to listening for the footsteps of fascism. i think often about what nobel laureate doris lessing said:

regarding the commenters afraid of an erosion of our democratic process: ann arbor voters spoke in 2018. time has passed, new ideas have formed, and new information has been learned. what is more democratic than hearing and heeding the needs of our community *now*?

ann arbor, like so many places, deserves a main public library branch that wows and welcomes and has space to hold all of our grand ideas. if you agree, vote yes on A and B this august (and get involved at supportaadl.com/)!
#a2council @aadl.org @mollyak.bsky.social @jessicaletaw.bsky.social

walking around and soaking in BPL's atmosphere, i felt an incandescent disappointment and sadness for those lobbying to vote no on ann arbor's proposals A and B. i wish more folks weren't afraid to dream big.
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov

as with so many of our public libraries, it's more than just a book repository. courtyard to breathe fresh air? ✅ art galleries? ✅ reading room? ✅ cutting edge radio station with live broadcasts? ✅
and that's *barely* scratching the surface.
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov

walking in behind a parent and their children, i overheard them say, "this is one of the best buildings in Boston!”
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov

what an utterly gorgeous testament to public space that connects and informs while bridging the past, present, and future. i saw people of all ages sharing a communal space to learn, work, play, and relax.
#a2council @aadl.org @bpl.boston.gov