Trustee

There are two seats on the 2026 ballot for a Geneva Public Library Board of Trustees for five year terms beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2031.

Nominating petitions for the Board must be filed in the Geneva Public Library, 244 Main Street, Geneva, New York, not later than April 28, 2026 at 7 pm.

Geneva Public Library Board of Trustees candidate petition and voting information:

• Trustee Position Description
• Trustee Candidate Information​
• Trustee Candidate Petition
• Trustee Candidate Biography Request

Candidates:

Donald Cass

My adult life has been invested in our Geneva Community. As a young man my parents instilled in me the importance of being active and engaged especially for those that may not have the opportunity to do so. 

I have served as a Police Officer, a Little League coach, a volunteer fireman, a Board member of the Center of Concern, President of the Kiwanis Club of Geneva and was a small business owner in downtown Geneva. I also ran an e-waste facility in Geneva. 

I have served on other Boards and currently serve as Chair of the FLCC Board of Trustees, a member of the Geneva Public Library Board of Trustees and Chair of the City of Geneva Planning Board. I was also elected to the 3rd Ward Council seat and served two terms as Mayor of Geneva. 

Public service and volunteerism have been a cornerstone of my life, and I would be honored to continue as a Trustee for our great public library. Our family has always been supporters of our library. The library truly serves our entire community as a resource for educational endeavors, the arts, community events and so much more. Our children grew up using our library and my family continues to make use of the library. 

My goal is to use my knowledge and experience to continue to work together with the Board of Trustees and the Executive Director to keep our Geneva Public Library the shining example of community advocacy that it is.

Judith McKinney

Judith McKinney has lived in Geneva since 1979, when she moved here to join the Economics Department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She retired from the Colleges in June of 2019. A life-long library enthusiast, she enjoys having even more time to read and participate in activities at the library than she did before retirement.

She is currently finishing a five-year term as a trustee of the Geneva Public Library, during most of which she has served as President of the Board, and she has recently started her second term as a member of the Board of the OWWL Library System. A proud holder of the gold library card — which means she visited all 42 libraries in the OWWL System last year — she is delighted with the ways the Geneva Public Library serves as a vital center for the community and looks forward to contributing to its continued evolution.

Other volunteer activities have included serving on the Site Councils at each of her daughter’s schools (North Street School, Geneva Middle School and Geneva High School), serving on the board of the League of Women Voters of Geneva, chairing the Adult Education Committee at the Presbyterian Church in Geneva, and serving on the steering committee of the LWV’s Court Watch program.

She lives with her husband, Scott, and her dog, Piper, and is eagerly awaiting the birth of her first grandchild.