City Council declines to ratify Pikes Peak Library District trustee nominee after public objections

Colorado Springs City Council on Tuesday declined to ratify the joint committee’s pick for a Pikes Peak Library District trustee, voting 3-6 against confirming Kenny (Kaname) Kuniyuki.

The failure to ratify follows public comment from local residents and a discussion on the dais about the joint appointment process and the qualifications of the nominee.

Why it matters: The library district is a separate taxing entity that serves much of El Paso County; the city’s ratification is prescribed by state statute and the council’s decision sends the choice back to the joint committee that nominated Kuniyuki.

City Attorney Trevor Glass explained the statutory process: “Whenever a term comes up, the city and the county together have created a joint library district. The city appoints 2 members, and the county appoints 2 members to a joint committee… The committee will then select a trustee for the library board. The city council’s role in that after the selection is then to possibly ratify this person with a 2/3 vote.”

Several residents told council they opposed Kuniyuki’s appointment. Carla Powers told members she and others felt they had insufficient opportunity to vet the nominee and questioned Kuniyuki’s familiarity with the library district’s finances. “From his application… it does not show that Kenny understands the underpinnings of the Pikes Peak Library District, how libraries actually work,” she said.

Council member Nancy Hingeam, who served on the joint appointment committee, said the committee interviewed seven applicants and that Kuniyuki received three votes to one during the committee’s selection. She said Kuniyuki was not her top choice and that she would vote against ratification. Other council members raised similar qualms about residency length and board experience.

Kuniyuki, who attended the meeting and spoke briefly, described reviewing budgets and the facility master plan and said he had lived in Colorado Springs for 15 months. He characterized himself as a strategist with budget and planning experience: “I’m a strategist by trade… I worked on the National Military Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, and the Quadrennial Defense Review.”

After debate, a motion to ratify Kuniyuki failed 3-6. Under the statute described by Glass the nomination will return to the joint appointment committee to consider an alternate nominee.

What happened next: Several council members urged the committee to reconvene and consider other candidates; members of the public who had spoken urged a more transparent, rubric-driven selection process.

The council’s action did not appoint an alternate trustee at the meeting; the matter returns to the joint committee under the statutory process.

Ending: The episode highlighted tensions between the joint appointment committee’s authority to nominate and the council’s statutory ratification role, and it drew sustained public comment about transparency and local representation on the library board.