Mattingly Appointed to DCPL Board in Controversial 3-1 Vote by Fiscal Court

Al Mattingly says the public library gave him the determination to be more than just a “poor boy” and that public libraries were one of the great equalizers of the 20th century. That was a driving factor in applying for the vacancy on the Daviess County Public Library Board. He was appointed to the position Monday after a controversial 3-1 vote by the Fiscal Court, during which comments about each other became heated.

Mattingly was one of two names submitted by the Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives (KDLA) to current Judge Executive Charlie Castlen to fill the unexpired term of Chris Gendek, who resigned in August. Dariush Shafa was the other name submitted by KDLA.

“I always loved the library,” Mattingly said in an interview after his nomination. “When I was a little kid, my dad would take me to the Carnegie Library on Frederica and 9th Street and drop me off. Sometimes I’d be there for four hours, sometimes all day.

The library absolutely took a poor boy, one of 12 (children), and filled his brain with wonderful ideas, and really gave me the determination to be something other than just a poor boy. It taught me that you don’t blame anyone but yourself.”

Mattingly continued, “Growing up, I worked with young people—Cub Scouts, Little League, T-ball, softball. If they needed guidance, they could get it at the library. I think that, along with free and public education, the free and public library was the great equalizer in the 20th century.”

Mattingly said the divisions that have emerged over the past year at DCPL were not a major factor in his decision to apply, “because who in their right mind would want to join a board that is constantly under fire?”

He noted that as a former Daviess County judge-executive, he knows what the DCPL board does and what it should do.

“I appointed a lot of members. My goal was to diversify the board, and I did,” he said, pointing to current and recent board members representing a variety of ethnicities, ages and backgrounds.

“In my (application) statement, I said, ‘I think you should put an old white baby boomer guy in there to balance it out.’ My generation, of all people, knows the library because we hung out there because we didn’t have things like that,” he said, holding up his phone.

Still, Mattingly said he hopes to bring some peace to the library.

“I think I could tone down the rhetoric a little bit,” he said. For example, although there were some comments about him during the vote, he didn’t let them get to him. “It was very easy for me to stand up and defend my integrity. I just thought it was better to be a better person.”

Mattingly was referring to comments made during the vote by County Commissioner Janie Marksberry, who was the lone “no” vote.

Marksberry read a lengthy, prepared statement in which she accused other members of the Fiscal Court of excluding her from the discussion and questioning what she believed were Mattingly’s intentions.

Marskberry first criticized the process by which Mattingly’s potential nomination ended up on the Fiscal Court agenda.

“I find it intriguing — that’s what (Judge-Executive Charlie) Castlen told me about Al Mattingly filing for a seat on the library board,” she said. “Well, I find it intriguing that Chris Castlen and Larry Conder knew he filed, but I didn’t. I also find it intriguing that the judge didn’t find out until the same day I did. I found out we were voting on this today from the media calling me on Friday and asking me what I thought about it. Yes, the media knew about it before I did.”

Marksberry also said she believed a former elected official should not be allowed to serve on the DCPL board.

“I think this position should be filled by a private citizen who has not been an elected official before,” she said. “It’s for the people, and doing this just reinforces the idea that Owensboro is run by a ‘good old boy network.’ Hell, the fact that I was not on the board when a woman was on the commission proves that it’s a ‘good old boy network.’”

Marksberry subsequently claimed that Mattingly had malicious intent in running for the position.

“This candidate will intimidate other board members with his still perceived authority,” she said. “In my opinion, he will completely take over this board. He has also shown that he is very closely aligned with one side of this controversy through his record as a former executive judge.”

Marksberry then pointed out that Mattingly’s positions on divisive issues while in office should disqualify him from being a candidate. While Marksberry said a candidate should be objective, she also noted that she relied on conservative values ​​to make her decision.

“I think we need an objective voice on this board. Are we confident that he will be objective? Interestingly, he voted for the integrity ordinance, he opposed the passage of Resolution 2A on guns, he removed a statue from the courthouse early this morning when most of us were still asleep. To have him on our agenda at the last minute without warning seems a bit like that,” she said. “This candidate has been on the last few library board meetings. I question his motives, so I’m voting against his nomination to the library board. If I have to stand up for conservative values ​​on this court alone, I will.”

Conder, who participated remotely from his computer, spoke next and did not directly address any of Marksberry’s comments. Instead, he focused on his reasons for supporting Mattingly’s nomination.

“Al Mattingly and I have known each other for a while, since 2008 to be exact,” Conder said. “One thing that is quite similar about Judge Mattingly and I is that we are both very opinionated. But when it comes to actually solving people’s problems, how agencies should be run properly and for the right reasons, there aren’t many people like Al Mattingly, who know his information and know what he needs to do and how to do it. He will separate business from pleasure and not take it personally, as much as possible.”

Chris Castlen initially spoke before Marksberry but said only that he was grateful to anyone who applied for a position on the board of a public company.

However, in response to Marksberry’s comments, Castlen took the microphone back after Conder spoke.

“I feel like I’ve been directly accused of wrongdoing,” Castlen said. “Al Mattingly and I had met at a fundraiser a few days before, and that’s when he told me he had applied for the position. There was nothing dishonest about it. He applied. He told me that, and anyone who knows Al doesn’t have to do any research or take the time to look him up or find out anything else about him. You either know you’re going to vote for him or you’re not.”

Marksberry asked for an answer, and Charlie Castlen hesitated but allowed her to speak again.

“I appreciate you sharing that with us, but you knew I was the liaison to the library board, and I still think it was unfair that I didn’t find out until the media found out,” she said. “We created an unofficial plan. We got it Wednesday morning around 11:00, and at 8:00 that night I got a text message from the judge saying (Mattingly) had submitted a motion to the library board. Less than 15 hours later I was talking to another staff member about something else that we were voting on, making sure everything was clear, and as soon as I gave him the OK that I was voting on that other item, I got a call from the media. Al Mattingly had been put on the show. He hadn’t been on the show less than 15 hours before. That’s my problem with that, the lack of transparency.”

Charlie Castlen disagreed with Marksberry’s description of the process.

“First of all, Commissioner Marksberry, I’m going to read my response to you (regarding your) criticism of the unofficial program that was released and what you just shared with the public,” he said. “You sent that email to 17 staff members who received that unofficial program.”

Caslten read her email, saying, “Commissioner, prior to each Fiscal Court meeting, various staff members send information to the Fiscal Court members regarding the items that will be on the agenda, pending final approval by the Judge-Executor. A preliminary agenda is sent to each meeting to allow staff to ensure that anything they intended to include on the agenda has not been omitted or overlooked. This is the sole purpose of the preliminary agenda. The official agenda is established no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting to meet the required media notice. The preliminary agenda was sent at 10:56 a.m. on September 12. My letter from the KDLA was received on September 12, 2024 at approximately 2:15 (p.m.) and I did not see it until approximately 4:30 p.m. I sent a copy of the KDLA letter to all of you at approximately 8 p.m. I did not make a decision to add the meeting you mentioned until about 11 a.m. (September 13). Unlike other candidates I might nominate to the board, this candidate does not need to be vetted, so time should not be a factor. If any member of the Fiscal Court wishes to vote against this nomination, that is their prerogative, as with all nominations.

Charlie Castlen also responded to Marksberry’s complaint, which alleged that she did not know Mattingly had filed the motion, while Chris Castlen and Conder did.

“I know you didn’t say ‘Charlie,’ but I didn’t know that Chris or Larry knew,” he said. “I knew that Chris knew when he was quoted in the (Messenger-Inquirer) and the Owensboro Times. … I was curious as to why he might have known, but I didn’t have any misconceived ideas about why he might have known. I’ll accept what he said as his explanation. I don’t know and I don’t care how Commissioner Conder knew.”

He then defended Mattingly as a dedicated public servant.

“When I was a city commissioner, I honestly thought I was doing a better job of being a city commissioner than anyone I served with,” Castlen said. “I don’t want to be offensive, but I was committed, I did my homework and I tried to serve my fellow citizens well. Honestly, when Al joined me as city commissioner, I was embarrassed by what I thought was a good job. He circled around me with the energy that he had, that he brought to the table. His knowledge and his depth of understanding of both sides of the issue, I admire that, honestly.”

Castlen spoke for several minutes, citing specific examples of Mattingly’s accomplishments and emphasizing that while they did not always agree, Castlen respected the way his predecessor handled issues affecting the community.

Castlen concluded by saying that while DCPL board members expressed support for Mattingly’s nomination, it had no impact on the decision to hold the vote.

“The truth is my decision was made based on my knowledge and 14 years of working with Al Mattingly,” he said. “I respect your opinion. I respect the opinion of the other commissioners.”

Mattingly addressed Marksberry’s comments only briefly in an interview after the meeting.

“She knew Friday, Saturday, Sunday,” Mattingly said of Marksberry’s knowledge that there would be a vote on his nomination. “She didn’t bother to call me, she didn’t bother to talk to me. This morning at 10:00 she texted me and said she wanted to meet with me at 10:30. Well, I was in Hopkinsville trying to get back to that (meeting). All I have to say to everybody is bull hockey.”

Mattingly was sworn in immediately following the Fiscal Court hearing. His term will run until September 13, 2026.