The newest member of the Daviess County Public Library Board of Trustees was approved 3-1 at Thursday’s contentious Fiscal Court meeting.
Tim Kline is an attorney with 15 years of experience and a pastor at the Christ the Redeemer parish, an Anglican church in Owensboro.
His appointment may prove pivotal in an ongoing controversy surrounding how the library handles certain adolescent and young adult books discussing sexuality, gender identity, human anatomy, race, and diversity.
Kline said concerns about those materials have some merit, but did not express the belief that books containing LGBTQ+ themes are inherently harmful to children.
“I’ll look at everything on a case-by-case basis. I think you’ve got to look at what’s being said, how it’s being said, who it’s being delivered to — there are a lot of factors that go into that,” Kline said. “I haven’t looked into any of the books; I don’t really know.”
Thursday night’s appointment was met with a filled court house room, divided down the middle between supporters and critics of Kline’s appointment. Republican State Sen. David Boswell was among those in attendance but left before the meeting’s conclusion.
Local Christian conservatives, spearheaded by activists from the group Daviess County Citizens 4 Decency (DCC4D), and Christian Nationalists have called for over 250 books to be moved from youth sections to the adult sections, arguing their recommendations better protect children from harmful or inappropriate material. Those book challenges made up the vast majority of Kentucky’s 302 challenges statewide last year.
Kline is not associated with DCC4D but did receive support from its members, including its president, Jerry Chapman. He criticized Charlie Castlen’s previous decision to appoint former Republican Judge-Executive Al Mattingly to the library
“This isn't about politics. It is, and always has been, about protecting and nurturing the children of this county. We used to be able to rely upon our public library for that nurturing,” Chapman said during public comment prior to the vote. “I pray each of you will remember that as you vote this evening. Judge Castlen is right on this appointment, however. The library will benefit from an attorney being on on this board, if — and only if — that attorney has integrity.”
Kline’s Selection
Kline was not among the final recommendations sent to Charlie Castlen by the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. Kline told the Messenger-Inquirer earlier this week that Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen sought him out for the appointment, adding that the two have known each other for years.
“I agreed to do so because my family frequently uses the library, and I have a lot of experience on boards. I thought I could be of help, especially in this charged environment,” Kline said.
In 2012, Kline unsuccessfully ran for the District 7 seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Republican, losing narrowly by just five votes. In the wake of the election, Kline said he developed a relationship with Charlie Castlen as well as Al Mattingly, who served as Daviess County Judge-Executive for twelve years and is a current library board member.
Kline was previously president of the Owensboro Rotary Club and served on the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
Kline is also a board member of the Regional Water Resource Agency and previously served on boards with Daniel Pitino Shelter, Alma Randolph Charitable Foundation, and Care Net Pregnancy Center.
Kline acknowledged his role on the board could lead community members to make conclusions about his church as a whole. He aims to be a “measured” decision-maker regardless of how he’s perceived.
“As a Christian, my view is that God is the one who orchestrates all that stuff,” Kline said. “I'm just trying to do my part to help out in the community, take care of my family, and take care of my church.”
Since his nomination was announced, Kline said he’s faced inaccurate accusations about his beliefs, including some online comments that said he’s a “white nationalist.”He rebuffed that claim, in part because of his family history of persecution. Kline said his grandmother survived a Nazi prison camp for three years.
“I've known about that since I was little, her being put there just because of her being a Ukrainian,” Kline said. “So I believe everyone's entitled to dignity and respect. That doesn't mean that I'm going to agree with everybody on everything.”
Charlie Castlen previously told the Messenger-Inquirer that his nomination decision aimed to keep a registered attorney among the library’s board. Former board member Susan Montalvo-Gesser, whose vacant seat Kline will fill, is an immigration lawyer and director of the Diocese of Owensboro’s Catholic Charities.
“Montalvo-Gesser was an attorney, and my staff prepared a list of all those who have ever served on the board since 1995. There has always been an attorney on the board — at least that’s what it looks like to me,” Charlie Castlen told the Messenger-Inquirer. “So, I decided about six months ago, well before Susan’s term expired, that I wanted an attorney on the board.”
Kline initially applied for the board position but was not identified as a final candidate by the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives.
Charlie Castlen declined two rounds of recommendations from the KDLA before he was allowed by law to nominate his own choice.
Opponents of those changes, such as the Coalition for an Inclusive Daviess County, fear it's the start of a more extensive effort to restrict or remove materials based on subjective, often religious grounds.
The coalition is a local activist group that argues “marginalized groups are being targeted by intolerant, extremist groups,” according to its website. It’s made up of 11 organizations, including the NAACP and the American Association of University Women, as well as four religious communities.
Members of the coalition raised concerns over a prayer event held at the library in June 2023, where former leaders at Christ the Redeemer parish attended a demonstration organized by DCC4D criticizing Pride Month celebrations held there.
The Messenger-Inquirer at the time published photos of Father David Goodwin and two other church members attending the protest and praying while wearing church vestments.
However, Kline said he was not involved with the parish at that time and called the criticism “irrelevant.”
Cheryl Brown, president of the Coalition for an Inclusive Daviess County, and spoke out against Kline’s appointment, pointing specifically to Charlie Castlen’s decision making.
“Our public library deserves to be an institution free from political, religious and personal influence, and the First Amendment deserves the same respect as the second,” Brown said during public comment. “Over and over again, this judge exec has overlooked well-qualified KDLA approved candidates and instead used partisan politics and religious extremism in the decision making.”
She and Kline spoke personally following the approval. Kline said he did not promise any decisions as a board member, but said he’d try to show respect and courtesy to both sides.
“I don't have any personal animosity against anyone,” Kline told WKU Public Radio. “I'll do my best. I might not agree with everyone, but I'm going to try to be agreeable.”
Brown said her conversation with Kline did not settle her concerns over the board’s future.
“I’m not sure I was reassured by any of his comments,” she said.
Brown said they discussed how public comments at library board meetings are “out of hand” as attendees often quote bible scripture and take time to peach Christian gospel in ways that “demonize marginalized members of the community.”
She described Kline as "resistant" to that concern as she suggested limiting public comments further.
“I’m concerned about the direction our library is going to be taken in,” Brown said. “I don’t feel like we have people who are open minded being appointed to the library board, so that’s concerning.”
Brown said the coalition’s steering committee will meet soon to discuss next steps, adding that fears the library’s policies will soon change fast.
“I feel like they’ll change policy to make it easier to challenge books. I feel like they’ll start challenging books in the adult section,” she said. “There are a lot of fears from people out there about the future of our library and the people who work at our library. It’s going to create a toxic work environment, valuable employees are going to leave because of it.
“All I can hope is that people will do the right thing for the right reason, but I’m not sure that they’re capable of that.”
A “Flawed Process” to Some
Daviess County Commissioners Chris Castlen and Larry Condor both expressed frustration surrounding the appointment process itself, saying it would benefit from better transparency and commissioner input.
Chris Castlen was the sole vote against Kline’s appointment. He said his vote was not because of ill feelings toward Kline, but the fact that his nomination has proven so controversial.
“I don't know how easy it is to find somebody that wouldn't be, but I would think that we could find a way to get a candidate that we don't have people sitting in here on opposite sides that either are for or against,” Chris Castlen said. “I'd rather have somebody that both sides might be a little unhappy with or a little unhappy or a little happy with somehow.”
Chris Castlen said he would’ve liked more communication about other applicants submitted to the KDLA. He also suggested other methods of attracting applicants to better meet the needs of the board.
“I would like for the judge to be able to say beforehand, ‘We're looking for an attorney to fill a position,’ and then maybe reach out to the Bar Association or something and say, ‘Hey, can you give me some names?” Chris Castlen said. “Or can you tell the Bar what I'm looking for and ask these people to apply? And then that way the library knows who we want to select, and that could be who they submit.”
Condor said he spoke to Kline personally before deciding to vote yes on his appointment. The deciding factor, he said, was a promise Kline made to heal the community divide fostered by the two-year controversy.
“Words, many times can be very cheap. Action is what makes the difference. So we shall see if he does or not,” Condor said. “Is everybody watching? Probably so. But I do know this: the state of Kentucky is; some parts of this nation are watching what we're doing and how this is being handled.
“And if anything can be said of all the people, whether you agree with my decision or not, we have got to start caring about each other better than what national, and to a lesser extent state, narrative that is dividing us so badly.”
Despite his support of Kline, Condor had strong words for Charlie Castlen, who he said “basically has selected that nomination without any regard” for other commissioners.
“No discussions at all with the rest of us, none,” Condor said. “And to a certain extent, earlier this week, we in a hallway talked about a nomination for the hospital board, for the water district board — about 20 minutes, 30 minutes — but crickets on a library board.”
He argued the process needs a major revamp, suggesting that voters should ultimately decide who oversees the tax-setting library board.
“That much selection, that much power in one place, without any other input, is very problematic,” he said. “It is problematic for a taxing entity, which the library board is. That, in my opinion, should be an elected, elected positions. They've taken, what, $7 million a year? $7 million a year, and they're selected by the board.”
Commissioner Janie Marksberry, who also serves as a court liason for the library board, showed strong support for Kline’s appointment. She also chastised critics of the appointment, who she said had mischaracterized both Kline and library critics like DCC4D.
“Appointments to boards are the responsibility of the Judge-Executive, who was elected as a Republican, just like every member of this fiscal court. Republicans are expected to hold conservative values, and all of us ran on that,” Marksberry said prior to the vote.
She said that while Charlie Castlen “did not ask my opinion or engage me in any way” when reviewing potential nominees, she supported Kline due to him being a father to two teenagers.
Marksberry called the continued public concern “a tired way for some people to feel they are in control of someone else's life.”
“When I ran for office, I was open about who I am. I'm a Bible-believing, gun-owning, Christian conservative, and that hasn't changed at all,” Marksberry said. “I will not be pressured or shamed into abandoning my faith or my values, I won't compromise them, and as long as I'm a member of the fiscal court, I will continue to fight to protect the innocence of young hearts and minds.”
Charlie Castlin defended his decision following the vote, adding that regardless of what other commissioners would have recommended, saying “the appointments are mine” by law as judge-executive.
“I thought I had a good nominee whether I had the votes or not,” Charlie Castlen said. “And to Commissioner Condor's piece, I intentionally did not speak to him or Chris or Janie other than send them the name.”
Kline will join the DCPL Board of Trustees for their first regular meeting on October 15.
