Incumbent Mary Gallagher, left and her challenger Gail Askoff, right. Two women with strong ties to the community square off for a seat on the Babylon Village Library Board next week.

Theelection is Tues., April 14. Longtime Trustee and former Library Board President Mary Gallagher faces opposition from Gail Askoff. Gallagher has served on the board for 20 years and is seeking another five-year term. Thisis Askoff 's first bid for public office.

"I don't like to see any candidate run without opposition," said Askoff, a 55-year resident of Babylon. "Thatis not healthy and you are essentially giving up a right when you don't have a choice at the polls."

Gallagher agreed that voters should have a choice and said she welcomes the challenge. She said, however, that her experience makes her the best candidate.

Askoff said she's also running because she believes Gallagher has served long enough, and that it is time for a change. "People get set in their ways and I think 20 years (on the board) is sufficient," said Askoff. "That's why I decided to run."

"I am the longest serving board member and we have a relatively new director, so I am the institutional memory for the Library," countered Gallagher.

During Gallagher's tenure, the Library completed a major renovation and brought technology to library users. The Library systems were automated and every collection now has expanded materials, she said.

"I was President at the time the Library presented a referendum to the public asking its approval for funding to renovate the Library," said Gallagher. "That was an important move because the building was old and we had a lot of problems in terms of the physical plant."

Askoff said though she is a regular Library user she is not privy to the day-to-day workings of the Library but is anxious to learn. "It would be foolish of me to say I would do certain things when I do not know enough about them," she said. "But there are a lot of things I believe the Library can and should be doing and will look into them, if I am successful," she said.

One thing she knows she would do, however, is ensure that the public is given more information about the annual Library budget vote. After attending a recent budget hearing where the budget was not available to the public, she raised the issue. "How can they (the board) expect the public to comment on a budget that they have not seen," she said.

Gallagher said that the budget was not made immediately available because it was still a work in progress. However, when Askoff raised the question, it was Gallagher who asked that the proposed spending plan be distributed at the meeting.

Gallagher is a retired Amityville School teacher, a former Village Board Trustee and the charter President of the Pilot Club. She has also worked with the Babylon Beautification Society and other local organizations.

Askoff is a member of the Babylon Business and Professional Women's Association and served as President of the Good Samaritan Hospital Baxter Guild, where she was a longtime volunteer. Her husband is a former Babylon Village Mayor, Republican Town leader and local attorney.