During public comment at the April 15 library board meeting, Virginia Larmore stepped up to the podium to call for accountability.
“It’s quite clear that many of us don’t see eye to eye on a lot of issues. That said, when I leave these meetings, I have the reasonable expectation that I can continue to live my life in relative peace,” she said.
Larmore is a member of Indivisible Northern Nevada who often speaks in support of library staff. She was referring to Jacks’ yearlong pressure campaign against Justine Overacker, a Washoe County resident who’d criticized the controversial trustee. Jacks repeatedly demanded Overacker retract her comments, beginning with unsolicited emails and escalating to physical mail sent to Overacker’s home.
Library supporter William Puchert independently told KUNR that Jacks harassed him, too.
“I cannot imagine leaving a library board meeting, and waking up the next morning to an email demanding that I retract something I said while using my First Amendment right to free speech,” Larmore continued. “And then having that happen again. And again, and again, and again, and again and again and again and again. Nine times.”
Several other community members joined Larmore in speaking about the investigation.
And although Jacks was there, she never acknowledged their criticism. But outgoing board chair Ann Silver did — by denying any knowledge of the issue.
“There seems to be some understanding of something that happened. But, I don’t know that any of us are aware of it,” she said. “I’m not. So I’m not sure I can address it.”
In reality, Silver had been made aware of the allegations before they were published.
KUNR reached out to her for comment on March 24, two days before the investigation came out. The emailed request included a detailed account of Overacker and Puchert’s complaints and asked Silver whether she believed Jacks’ behavior was appropriate.
Silver replied minutes later, but didn’t directly respond to the allegations or questions in the original email.
Even if Silver had admitted she knew about Jacks’ behavior during the April 15 meeting, it’s unclear whether she’d be able to do much about it.
A spokesperson for Washoe County told KUNR that if a county employee filed a complaint about a board member, human resources would open an investigation. The process doesn’t extend to members of the public, however.
And while library trustees are appointed by county commissioners, their role is defined by state law. The only way they can be dismissed is if they miss three meetings in a row.
