Al Mattingly says the public library gave him the determination to be something other 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 Daviess County Public Libary Board vacancy. He was appointed to the position Monday following a contentious 3-1 vote by Fiscal Court during which comments toward one another 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’ve always enjoyed the library,” Mattingly said in an interview following his appointment. “As a young kid, my dad used to take me to the Carnegie Library at the corner of Frederica and 9th Street, and he dropped me off. Some days I’d be there 4 hours, some days I’d be there 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 anybody but yourself.”
Mattingly continued, “As I grew up, I worked with young people — Cub Scouts, Little League, T-ball, softball. If they need some direction, they can get direction from the library. I think next to free and public education, that a free and public library was the great equalizer in the 20th century.”
Mattingly said the divisiveness that has occurred regarding DCPL over the last year was not a big factor in his decision to apply, “because I mean who in their right mind would want to join a board that was constantly under fire?”
He noted that as former Daviess County Judge-Executive, he knows what that DCPL board does and should be doing.
“I appointed lots of members. My goal was to diversify the board, and I did,” he said, pointing to current and recent board members representing various ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds.
“In my (application) statement, I said ‘I think you ought to put an old baby boomer white dude on there to balance it out.’ Of all the people, my generation knows about the library because we spent time in the library, because we didn’t have these kinds of things,” he said, holding up a phone.
Still, Mattingly said he hopes to bring some calm to the library.
“I think I could dampen down, perhaps, that rhetoric,” he said.
Prior to the vote, County Commissioner Janie Marksberry, the lone “no” vote, read a lengthy, prepared statement accusing other Fiscal Court members of leaving her out of discussions and questioning what she believes are Mattingly’s intentions.
Marskberry first criticized the process by which Mattingly’s potential appointment came to be on Fiscal Court’s agenda.
“I find it intriguing — that’s what was said to me by (Judge-Executive Charlie) Castlen about Al Mattingly submitting an application to serve on the library board,” she said. “Well, what I find intriguing is that Chris Castlen and Larry Conder both knew he had applied, but I did not. I also find it intriguing that the Judge only found out the same day that I did. The way I learned we were voting on this today was from the media, who called me Friday and asked me what I thought about it. That’s right, the media knew about this before I did.”
Marksberry also said she doesn’t think a former elected official should be allowed to hold a DCPL board position.
“I believe this appointment should be filled by a private citizen who is not a prior elected official,” she said. “It’s for the people, and doing this only reinforces the perception that Owensboro is run by the ‘good ol’ boy network.’ Heck, just the fact that I was out of the loop as the woman on the commission proves this is the ‘good ol’ boy network.’”
Marksberry then claimed Mattingly has ill intent in seeking the position.
“This nominee will intimidate other board members with his still-perceived authority,” she said. “He will completely take over this board, in my opinion. He has also shown to be very aligned with one side of this controversy by his record as past Judge-Executive.”
Marksberry then indicated that Mattingly’s stance on divisive issues while he was in office should disqualify him from being a candidate. While Marksberry said the nominee should be objective, she also noted that she’s relying on conservative values when making her decision.
“I believe we need an objective voice on this board. Do we have confidence he will be objective? Notably, he voted for the fairness ordinance, was against passing a 2A gun resolution, he removed the statue from the courthouse in the early morning hours when most of us were still asleep. Slipping him in last minute on our agenda with no notice feels a little like that,” she said. “This nominee has attended recent library board meetings. I question his motive, so I’m voting no for his appointment to the library board. If I have to stand alone for conservative values on this court, then I will.”
Conder, who attended the meeting remotely from a computer, spoke next and did not directly address any comments by Marksberry. He instead focused on why he supported Mattingly’s appointment.
“Al Mattingly and I have known each other for some time, 2008 to be specific,” Conder said. “One thing about Judge Mattingly and myself that is pretty similar, is we are both very stubborn. But when it comes to actually solving the problems of the people, of how agencies should be run right and for the right reason, there are not many people out there like Al Mattingly who will know his information and know what he needs to do and how to do it. He will separate business from pleasure and not make it personal as much as possible.”
Chris Castlen initially spoke before Marksberry, but only made a simple statement that he was thankful for anyone who applied for a public board position.
However, in response to Marksberry’s comments, Castlen took the mic back after Conder’s remarks.
“I feel like I was directly accused of wrondoing,” Castlen said. “Al Mattingly and I saw each other at a fundraiser a few days before and he let me know then that he had applied for the position. Nothing underhanded. He applied. He told me, and anybody that knows Al doesn’t have to do any research or have any time to review or know anything else about him. You either know you’re going to vote for him or you don’t.”
Marksberry then requested to respond, and Charlie Castlen hesitated but allowed her to speak again.
“I appreciate you sharing that with us, but you knew I was liaison to the library board, and I still think it’s underhanded that I did not find this out until it was out to the media,” she said. “We did an unofficial agenda. We got that on Wednesday morning around 11 a.m., and at 8 o’clock that night, I received a text message from the judge showing that (Mattingly) had applied for the library board. Less than 15 hours later, I was speaking with another staff member about something else we were voting on, making sure that everything was understood, and as soon as I gave him the OK I was voting on this other item, then I get a call from the media. Al Mattingly was put on the agenda. He was not on the agenda less than 15 hours before. That is my problem with this, is the lack of this transparency.”
Charlie Castlen took issue with Marksberry’s description of how the process.
“First of all, Commissioner Marksberry, I’m going to just read my response to you (regarding your) criticism of the unofficial agenda going out and what you just shared with the public here,” he said. “You sent that email to 17 staff members who received that unofficial agenda.”
Caslten read his email to her, saying: “Commissioner, prior to every Fiscal Court meeting, various staff send the Fiscal Court members information about items that will be on the agenda, pending the Judge-Executive’s final approval. The pre-agenda is sent out each meeting to allow staff to make sure that something they meant to include on the agenda has not been missed or overlooked. That is the sole purpose of the pre-agenda. The official agenda is set no later than 24 hours before the meeting to meet the required media notice. The pre-agenda was sent out at 10:56 a.m. on 9/12. My letter from KDLA was received 9/12/24 at approximately 2:15 (p.m.) and I did not see it until about 4:30. I texted a copy of the KDLA letter to all of you around 8 p.m. I did not make a decision to add the appointment that you mentioned until around 11 a.m. (on 9/13). Unlike other candidates that I might nominate for board appointments, this candidate needs no vetting, so time should be of no concern. If any Fiscal Court member wishes to vote no on this nominee, that is their prerogative, as with all appointments.”
Charlie Castlen also addressed Marksberry’s complaint that she didn’t know Mattingly had applied while Chris Castlen and Conder did.
“I know you didn’t say ‘Charlie’ but I did not know either that Chris or Larry knew,” he said. “I knew Chris knew when he was quoted in the (Messenger-Inquirer) and Owensboro Times. … I was curious as to why he might know, but I didn’t have any ill-conceived notions about why he might know. I take what he said as his explanation. As to how Commissioner Conder knew, I don’t know nor do I care.”
He then defended Mattingly’s record of being a dedicated public servant.
“Quite honestly, when I served as a City Commissioner, at the time, I thought that I did a better job of being City Commissioner than anyone I served with,” Castlen said. “I don’t mean any disrespect to anyone, but I was involved, I did my homework, and I tried to do a good job of serving my fellow citizens. Quite honestly, when when Al joined me as a City Commissioner, I was embarrassed by what I thought was a good job. He ran circles around me with the energy that he had, that he brought to the table. His knowledge and his in-depth ability to discuss issues on either side of an argument, I admire it quite honestly.”
Castlen continued for several minutes, citing specific examples of Mattingly’s accomplishments as well as how even though they didn’t always agree, Castlen respected how his predecessor dealt with issues involving the public.
Castlen finished by saying that while members of the DCPL board expressed approval of Mattingly’s nomination, it played no role in him calling for the vote.
“The reality is, my decision was made based on my knowledge and working with Al Mattingly for 14 years,” he said. “I respect your opinion. I respect the opinion of the other commissioners.”
Mattingly only briefly addressed Marksberry’s comments during his interview after the meeting.
“She knew Friday, Saturday, Sunday,” Mattingly said of Marksberry’s knowledge there would be a vote on his appointment. “She didn’t bother to call me, didn’t bother to talk to me. This morning at 10 o’clock, she sends me a text and would like to meet me at 10:30. Well, I was in Hopkinsville trying to get back to this (meeting).”
He said he could have stood up and defended his integrity but instead thought the better approach was to ignore any negative comments.
Mattingly was sworn in immediately following the Fiscal Court meeting, and the term runs through September 13, 2026.
