The First Amendment protects the public’s right to criticize the government and public officials. As a matter of fact, every public meeting in Nevada MUST include a public comment period.
But last year, multiple Washoe County residents say a member of their local library board started harassing them for expressing their views.
The alleged harassment was the subject of a recent investigation by KUNR's Public Radio's Bert Johnson.
He told KNPR's State of Nevada that he's been keeping his eye on Washoe County Library Board Trustee Gianna Jacks for the last couple of years.
"This is supposed to be a non-partisan position," Johnson says. "It's a volunteer board. They're just supposed to advocate for the library, its staff and its policies. But when I started digging into it, I found that she was privately identifying as a Republican. I found a recording of a meeting where she spoke to the Republican Women of Reno. And not only that, she was advocating against a ballot measure that would have renewed some dedicated library funding ... which was about to be on the ballot that year."
Currently, library board members are appointed by county commissioners. The only way a member can be removed is if they miss three consecutive meetings. Johnson said he's focused on covering the appointment process going forward.
"Jacks has about a year left on the board, and then it's up to the county commissioners to decide if they want her to stay," Johnson said.
Guest: Bert Johnson, senior correspondent, KUNR Public Radio
