NIAGARA FALLS — Mayor Paul Dyster’s plan to appoint former city council candidate Alicia Laible to the Niagara Falls Library Board is getting pushback from some members of the city council, including two lawmakers who ran against Laible last year.

Dyster has asked the council to allow Laible to replace outgoing library board Trustee Robert Restaino, whose term has expired.

Laible was the odd person out in last year’s three-way race for two open city council seats. Her former opponents — council members Robert Anderson and Glenn Choolokian — are questioning her appointment, saying they believe the library board could use a minority representative.

Anderson said he also plans to vote against it because he believes the appointment is politically motivated.

“I won’t be part of a payback,” he said.

Laible, a 28-year-old who made her first bid for public office last year, said her interest in the post has nothing to do with politics and is purely motivated by a desire to help maintain and improve the library system. She said it was a “shame” individuals like Anderson and Choolokian viewed it differently.

“I look at it as someone young who is interested in bettering the community,” Laible said. “I’m not getting money for this. I’m not going to be able to run for mayor after being on the library board. Personally, I think they are just making this about revenge. This is just another perfect example of why young people are hesitant about getting involved in this city. It’s a shame. It really is.”

Laible is a social worker with the Health Association of Niagara County, Inc. and has a bachelor’s of science in political science and international relations from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a master’s degree in social work from the University at Buffalo. She said she also interned at the library of Niagara Falls High School when she was a student there. She said she offered to serve on the library board after consulting with current Director Michelle Petrazzoulo who told her she thought she’d be a good candidate for the job.

“This is something that I wanted to do and that I’ve been interested in and done a lot of research on,” she said. “It’s a very important part of the community and we want to keep it relevant.”

The city Democratic Party Committee endorsed Laible during her council run and she received public support from Dyster, who encouraged residents to vote for her while he was seeking re-election. Dyster said he recommended her for the library board because he believes she would add a fresh perspective moving forward. He also said he thought her strong showing in the council race was an indication of her acceptance by a significant segment of the Niagara Falls community. If approved, Laible would serve on the board for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2015.

“I was looking for someone from a generation below the Baby Boomers who was interested in the future of libraries,” Dyster said. “She obviously had a lot of support out there in the community.”

The resolution calling for Laible’s appointment also includes a request to re-appoint current library board Chairperson Delores Marino for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2016.

Anderson said he would have preferred separate requests for both individuals, saying his opposition to Laible’s appointment will leave him no choice but to vote against Marino’s re-appointment as well.

“I can’t modify it so I’ve got to vote ‘no,’ ” Anderson said.

Anderson said he has nothing against Laible as a person, but would prefer a minority candidate be considered.

Choolokian said his concern about Laible’s appointment has nothing to do with politics, but is based on the lack of a minority representative on the library board.

“We are trying to get all walks of life on different boards and different organizations,” Choolokian said.

Dyster said he is currently conducting a search for a minority candidate that he plans to appoint to the library board as a replacement for former Niagara Falls School District Superintendent Carmen Granto, whose term has also expired. Dyster said he wants Granto to continue to have a role in library operations as part of a task force he plans to create that would be charged with developing a long-term plan for the physical infrastructure of the library system, including the Earl Brydges branch on Main Street.