The Mount Vernon Library Board has abandoned its duty to serve the people of this city. Instead, its members have allowed Board President Hope Marable to trample on the First Amendment rights of Mount Vernon citizens — silencing voices, manipulating process, and turning the board into little more than a kangaroo court.
A Captive BoardThe only trustee with the courage to vote against stripping the public of its right to speak was Loretta Thomas, who now finds herself the likely target of a censure effort engineered by Marable. That tells you everything you need to know: dissent is punished, obedience is rewarded, and public input is erased.But what of the other board members?
- Cynthia Crenshaw — No one has milked “public expression” more than Ms. Crenshaw, whose dulcet tones could be heard all the way in Scarsdale each time she took the podium at a school board meeting, an opportunity she took each time it was offered. Yet the moment other citizens seek the same right she so greedily consumed, she slams the door in their faces. The hypocrisy isn’t just brazen, it’s grotesque.
- Kim Harper — Since her election, Ms. Harper has done nothing but carry water for Hope Marable. Not a question, not a challenge, not even a hint of independence. Her role on this board is little more than nodding along like a ventriloquist’s dummy. When Marable speaks, Harper’s only response is the obedient squeak of “yes, ma’am.”
- Cynthia Dickerson — Once praised as the “Most Compassionate Monitor” at Grimes Elementary, Ms. Dickerson now shows all the compassion of a stone wall. She brands herself an “advocate” for programs and funding, yet votes without hesitation to strip the public of its voice and to squander taxpayer dollars on the folly of 101 Summit Avenue. An advocate? Hardly. What she advocates is silence, waste, and blind loyalty to Marable.
A Sham DemocracyThis rush to rubber stamp whatever nonsense falls out of Marable’s mouth isn’t governance. It is betrayal. Hope Marable campaigned hard for Crenshaw and Dickerson, and it shows: their votes are thoughtless, their allegiance absolute, their independence nonexistent. Together, they form a bloc that does not deliberate, does not listen, and does not serve.
The Smokescreen of VictimhoodWhen confronted with criticism, Hope Marable does not defend her actions. Instead, she unleashes a nearly incoherent barrage of half-truths and irrelevant factoids, spewing them across emails like so much word-vomit. Even if every claim were true, what possible difference would it make that one critic once chaired the Charter Commission, or that the Commission failed to adopt a final report seven members supported? What bearing does it have that another critic once ran for public office? None. Absolutely none.
But this is Marable’s playbook: avoid the issue, smear the critic, and then wail as though she is the victim. The reality is the opposite. Marable is not the victim, she is the victimizer. She has a long history of weaponizing personal attacks to silence opposition, including creating an entire website to target two would-be trustees because she knew they would not rubber-stamp her nonsense. This is not leadership. This is character assassination masquerading as governance. And it is the overused playbook of every Mount Vernon politician.
A Board Without LegitimacyThe Mount Vernon Library Board is supposed to safeguard a public institution. Instead, it has become judge, jury, and executioner, stripping away rights, ignoring rules, and mocking those who demand accountability. The board is a disgrace to the city, an insult to the community, and an embarrassment to the very idea of public service. The state should be ashamed. Westchester County should be ashamed. And Mount Vernon citizens should be ashamed.We all deserve better than this self-serving cabal. We deserve trustees who understand that they were elected to serve the public, not the whims of Hope Marable.
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