Denton City Council members voted 4-2 to reject a conservative nominee for the city’s Library Board, with one Democrat councilman calling her a “book banner” for challenging age-inappropriate books in public and school libraries.
During a special city council meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth nominated conservative activist Debi Scaggs to serve on the seven-member Denton Library Board.
Mayor Hudspeth and Councilmember Joe Holland voted to approve Scaggs, while Council Members Brian Beck, Vicki Byrd, Paul Meltzer, and Brandon McGee voted against her.
Beck, who supports Democrat candidates and causes, objected to Scaggs’ nomination, saying he found it “troubling, problematic, and even potentially dangerous—especially to vulnerable communities.”
Before Tuesday’s meeting, Beck had complained about Scaggs in a post on his official Facebook page, claiming her challenges to books with inappropriate content made her a “book banner.”
“I find it sad that nonpartisan politicians are very partisan,” Scaggs wrote in a statement posted on social media following the vote to keep her off the board. “Because I believe in protecting our children from sexually explicit and vulgar content, I’m deemed a radical.”
Scaggs is a mother and grandmother who has lived in Denton since 1979 and raised five children in the city. She says her family frequently visited Denton’s public libraries over the years.
Recently, she has been sounding the alarm about sexually explicit and age-inappropriate books found in the city’s three public libraries and the Denton school district’s campus libraries. Scaggs also ran for school board in May.
Mayor Hudspeth nominated Scaggs after she brought the book “Let’s Talk About It” to the city council’s attention at a July 16 meeting.
The book is filled with graphic illustrations and descriptions of sex organs and sexual activities and encourages minors to explore casual sex, sexting, kinks, and online porn.
“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some porn; it’s a fun sugary treat!” the book reads on page 165.
The book’s pictures were so explicit that Scaggs was instructed to cover them so they would not be visible to the public.
Scaggs had asked the city librarian to move the book from the teen section—which targets readers ages 11 to 17—to the adult section, where it would be less accessible to children. When the librarian refused, Scaggs appealed to the city council.
Hudspeth shared Scaggs’ concerns, but council members like Beck wanted the book to stay accessible to young readers.
Beck claimed Scaggs “refuses to follow library science best practice” and wants libraries to remove books “for unconstitutional grounds.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, Hudspeth defended Scaggs as a qualified candidate for the position, but a majority of council members sided with Beck.
“I answered the call to be a volunteer along with six other citizens on the Denton Library Board,” Scaggs responded in her statement.
“I would be ONE vote on a board of seven,” wrote Scaggs. “Why are some, especially Councilman Beck who has belittled me on social media, so reluctant to having all voices in this city represented? Isn’t diversity the value that is uplifted in this city? Or is it only voices some agree with that are valued?”
Beck, a former instructor at Texas Woman’s University, nominated TWU Assistant Professor Kerol Harrod to serve on the Library Board.
Harrod told local media earlier this year that he supports kids having “freedom” to read what they want and believes book challenges and laws to keep sexually explicit materials out of school libraries are censorship.
Scaggs wrote that she believes the community has a role in protecting children from harmful material.
While I’m a firm believer in parent’s rights, I also feel society, and particularly taxpayer-funded facilities, should play a part in protecting our children from harm. That is one reason I have challenged books at the public school that were sexually explicit or educationally unsuitable.
It is the policy of Texas to keep educational materials that are obscene, vulgar, and educationally unsuitable out of publicly funded schools. Of the 82 books that have been reviewed by the schools, 37 were removed due to being sexually explicit or educationally unsuitable, and 24 were placed in “Parent Permission Only.”
Scaggs concluded, “Today in Denton, Texas, a mother and grandmother was told your conservative values are not welcome here. So much for diversity and inclusivity.”
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