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Mayor Removes Library Trustee After Hearing Officer Recommends Removal Over Alleged Deportation Comment
Summary
Mayor William Portman removed library trustee Susanna Viscomi immediately after a hearing officer, Jonathan Cohen, found it "more likely than not" she made a remark suggesting a storyteller "be deported." The decision followed an independent library investigation and public comment split between supporters and critics.
Mayor William Portman removed library trustee Susanna ("Sue") Viscomi from the Red Bank Library Board immediately after the borough's labor attorney, Jonathan Cohen, acting as hearing officer, recommended removal following an investigation into an alleged remark about a storyteller's immigration status.
Cohen told council he reviewed the library's investigative materials, interviewed Viscomi and other witnesses, and weighed credibility among accounts. He summarized the central allegation as arising from a December 2023 or January 2024 storytelling event in which Julie Castillo shared a family story about her father's deportation. According to the former library director, Elini Glickis, and another witness, Cohen said, Viscomi responded to a question about how Castillo could be in the United States by…
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