Kalamazoo Public Library Board Elects 3 Incumbents and 2 New Trustees

KALAMAZOO, MI – Voters have chosen two new board members and three current members. Kalamazoo Public Library Board of Trustees.

Incumbents Lisa Godfrey, Jenny Williams and Dorla Coleman-Bonner and newcomers Takisha Johnson and Brenda Hughes won the general election on Tuesday, November 5, according to unofficial results.

Johnson, Godfrey, Hughes and Williams were elected to full four-year terms, while Coleman-Bonner will serve a partial term ending in 2026. That same night, Johnson was also elected to the Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Trustees.

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In the race for a four-year term, Hughes was the top vote-getter with 21,446 votes (18.85%) and Godfrey came in second with 21,296 votes (18.7%). Williams received 19,332 votes (17%) in the race, and Johnson received 19,196 votes (16.9%). The two candidates who were not selected were Chelsea Pinto, who received 16,919 votes (14.9%), and incumbent Cori Jock, who received 14,029 votes (12.3%).

In the two-person race for a partial term, Coleman-Bonner received 22,958 votes (62.2%), defeating Jeff Messer, who received 13,295 votes (36%).

The newly elected board will be tasked with selecting a new library director when the ongoing search for a leader resumes. The library district has been searching for a new director since late 2022, when the previous director Ryan Wieber resigned to take a similar position in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Since then the council has two unsuccessful searches for the new director.

In January, three current and two newly elected board members will serve alongside current trustee Emily Greenman Wright.

Second seat on seven-member library board remains vacant after resignation former trustee Linda Mah in August. The vacated Mach seat and Wright’s seat expire in 2026.

KPL Board President Christy Roth chose not to seek re-election. Her term expires in December 2024 and will be replaced by one of the newly elected board members. The new board will be sworn in this January.