LIBRARY CENSORSHIP AN ISSUE IN SUPERVISOR'S RESIGNATION FROM REPUBLICAN PARTY

In a letter to the editor (Leesburg Today, 6-7-95), Supervisor James Burton (I) stated that he left the Republican party in 1991 because "I felt that the party had become dominated by people with extreme views who had little or no tolerance for the views of others." Burton also expressed concerns over a member of the Loudoun Republican Committee who wanted to "ban certain books and materials from the libraries."

Burton was interviewed in l991 by the search committee chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee. Mr. Burton states that the first question he was asked, was, "…whom would I appoint to the library board?" Surprised, Burton inquired why this question was asked. The chairman replied that there were some materials in the libraries that needed to be removed. "The persons who serve on the library board can have some influence on the types of books and types of tapes in the library. There are some tapes in the library that are not fit to watch, in my opinion." (Leesburg Today, 8-7-91) Mr. Burton said that he found this person's inquiries "rather disturbing."

Burton went on to state, "It's an indication of some of the right-wing extreme views that some of the committee members hold. Despite attempts by the Republican Committee four years ago to down-play the issue of banning books as simply the view of one misguided member of the committee, recent events [removal of ALA Bill of Rights] indicate that Loudoun libraries have been targeted all along, and that my original concerns were valid."

Supervisor Burton ran successfully for office in 1995 by defeating the incumbent Republican supervisor who had appointed one of the most controversial Library Board trustees. While campaigning for office, he was highly critical of the actions of the Library Board, and handed out bookmarks as palm cards. "Use this bookmark in any book you choose. Jim Burton opposes censorship in our schools and libraries."