Czwakiel Appointed Milton Public Library Trustee

After falling just short in two elections, Raymond Czwakiel is now a member of the Board of Trustees.

Czwakiel was unanimously appointed by a roll call vote of the library trustees and the Board of Selectmen at a joint meeting on Wednesday, September 14. Czwakiel edged out Paul Yovino and Tom Martinson for the position, which was vacated on June 28 by Ingrid Shaffer.

Czwakiel, who was a second-time candidate, and Yovino were among  for three positions on the board in the April 2011 . Martinson sought the open position after serving as chair of the Milton Library Building Committee.

Trustees Chair Brendan McLaughlin told the Selectmen that the trustees were looking for a new member who could provide a high level of commitment to the position and the library.

And according to McLaughlin, all three candidates exemplified that quality.

The three candidates submitted information about themselves to the trustees and then appeared before them for a question and answer session on Monday.

 McLaughlin said the questions touched on fundraising, experience, customer service, the library’s issues and working with the other members of the board, among other things.

After a discussion, the current trustees chose to recommend Czwakiel, who McLaughlin said had “very perceptive answers to the problems the library faces.”

Before the vote, the Selectmen were able to review the information submitted by the replacement candidates.

“You’ve got three excellent candidates here and I’m glad you made the recommendation,” Selectman John Shields said, referencing the difficult task of selecting a new trustee.

Czwakiel has lived in Milton for nearly 15 years and calls himself a “proud and frequent patron of the Milton Public Library.” He is currently employed as a business attorney and serves on the Pierce Middle School PTO.

In a submitted to Milton Patch in April, Czwakiel identified the two most important issues facing the library as “setting our strategic direction in the face of rapidly changing information and communication technologies” and “increasing our usefulness to each citizen of Milton.”

Czwakiel will be considered an interim trustee until the 2012 election, where he may chose to run again to complete the term, which expires in 2013.