Fresno leader pushes conservative culture war over children’s books at libraries | Opinion
It is ironic that a new layer of Fresno County government was just created by a conservative elected official.
Steve Brandau is the county supervisor who successfully pushed through a proposal to create a review panel for children’s books at Fresno County libraries. Before Brandau entered elected office, he was active with the Central Valley Tea Party, the right-leaning populist group known mostly for opposing taxes.
The review panel idea sparked a sharp division among the public, with many decrying the need for such a screening group. Opponents voiced their view that parents should regulate what books their children can look at and check out, not an 11-member panel of appointed citizens. Supporters pushed back that county librarians were displaying books about gender and sexuality that were inappropriate for children, particularly younger ones, and that their rights as parents were being ignored.
My colleague Marek Warszawski wrote compellingly about how the county Board of Supervisors’ decision leads to censorship, a troubling aspect of this controversy.
The board’s decision also reflects trends in conservative politics in America and California. Here is a breakdown:
Don’t trust experts
Conservatives influenced by former President Donald Trump reflect distrust in experts. Recall Trump’s questioning and ignoring of health officials in his administration during the COVID pandemic. He promoted hydroxychloroquine, a drug to treat malaria, and a livestock dewormer, invermectin, as COVID treatments. Neither helped fight the virus. But actual results and learned expertise did not matter to Trump. His own opinion did.
Opinion
Brandau is questioning the county’s librarians and the books they choose for young people. This despite the fact the county requires anyone applying to be an entry-level librarian to have a master’s degree in library science from an accredited university. In other words, the librarians hired by Brandau’s own county government know more about books and their impacts than he does.
It must be remembered that the children’s books issue grew out of a Pride month display at the county’s Clovis branch library that some parents found offensive. The librarians were simply trying to display books about transgender people to reflect that moment.
Parents rights
Brandau’s decision to call his resolution the “Parents Matter Act” falls in line with a specific campaign by the Republican party in California to push for parents’ rights in local school districts.
Exhibit A of that strategy is the Chino Hills district, which earlier this year passed a policy that requires school staff to notify parents anytime a child changes gender identification or wants to use pronouns other than those for their biological sex. The forced notification could put some children at risk from parents who become irate about their gender identity.
The district’s policy is suspended pending a court hearing. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued Chino Hills over the policy.
While the legal wrangling occurs, it is noteworthy that conservatives on the board were able to pass the policy.
California’s Republican Party leadership has created a program called “parents revolt.” Its purpose is “recruiting and supporting strong Republican candidates to run for local education offices, including County Boards of Education, Community College Boards, High School Boards, and Elementary or Unified School Boards. By doing so, we give parents a voice in their children’s education.”
The campaign creates fear from nothing. Parents have always had a voice in their children’s education. They just need to use it.
Brandau’s irony
The usual job of a conservative political leader is to reduce government’s reach, not extend it. But that is not what Brandau did; rather, he used his position in government to further the conservatives’ culture war.
An 11-member committee that will review children’s books for what Brandau called “sketchy” material — namely anything exploring sexuality and gender identity.
A book deemed “age inappropriate” by the committee will be removed from “ready access,” but not the library. A parent who wants one of the “inappropriate” books will need to check it out.
As stated in Brandau’s resolution, the committee is required to “review all current, proposed, or new Children’s books and other materials procured for County Libraries by the County Librarian or staff that may contain Age-Inappropriate Content before the books or other materials are placed in the County Libraries or facilities.”
The committee is to meet four times a year and additionally, if necessary. Meetings are to be open to the public.
In addition, the county librarian will present to the committee any new books under consideration for children’s sections. “The Committee shall determine by majority vote of the quorum present if the books and other materials presented meet the community standards of acceptance for Fresno County or whether they should be subject to the parental or guardian consent provisions of this Resolution.”
That reads like another layer of government, indeed.
Parents lose
The supervisors could have directed the county librarian to hold a public meeting so those concerned about children’s books could testify about their worries. The county librarian could have then reported back to the supervisors and proposed any changes to address the concerns.
There is, of course, a whole lot of residents who don’t believe there was anything wrong to begin with., and they would have likely said so.
Instead, following Brandau’s lead, Supervisors Buddy Mendes and Nathan Magsig joined in to pass the resolution. Now the American Civil Liberties Union threatens to sue over constitutional violations.
Brandau called his resolution the “Parents Matter Act.” But parents have always had the ability to govern whatever their children were taking from the local library. Questions for Brandau: Just what type of parents matter? Only conservatives?
By creating a committee to first review materials, the supervisors show they don’t trust their own staff, and parents really don’t matter at all. But it was a win for the political right in the culture war.
