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Carol Spooner on Pacifica Elections - KPFA, WBAI, KPFK
Carol Spooner's recommendations for the Pacifica Elections at KPFA, WBAI and KPFK.
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“Who is Carol Spooner and why are her views important? Carol is the lawyer who was the lead plaintiff and circulator of the petition representing the many thousands of KPFA listeners who signed onto the law suit that successfully brought KPFA and Pacifica back under listener control when, in 1999, the Pacifica National Board under then chair Mary Francis Berry, threw the KPFA staff out on the street, locked the doors and had the intention of selling off one or more of the 5 Pacifica stations and their assets. After the success of the Listeners' Law Suit, Carol was a long time member of the KPFA station board polling first in most elections in which she competed, and was for several years a member of the National Board. A few years ago she withdrew from KPFA activism to pursue her own career.” - Marc Sapir MD, MPH
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From: Carol Spooner
To: Carol Spooner
Sent: Monday, September 7, 2009 12:48:48 PM
Subject: Pacifica Elections - KPFA, WBAI, KPFK
Hello All --
The five Pacifica radio stations' Local Station Board elections are here again. You should receive your ballot in the next couple of days if you are a member (if you gave $25 or more to one of the stations in the 12 months that ended July 15, 2009).
I have some recommendations for voters at KPFA, WBAI & KPFK, but first I'll tell you why I'm recommending them. If you're impatient, then skip down to the bottom to read my recommendations.
: >)
>From 2004-2008 Pacifica was seriously mismanaged from the top. Several Executive Directors (Dan Coughlin, Greg Guma, Nicole Sawaya and interim EDs Dan Siegel and Sherry Gendleman) and the Chief Financial Officer (CF0) -- with the support or at the behest of the Pacifica National Board (PNB) -- had brought the entire network to the brink of bankruptcy by the end of 2008. There were a number of reasons for this. But the primary two were: (1) WBAI was losing $100k/year and no corrective action was taken, (2) lawsuits at KPFA &KPFK over sexual harassment were mishandled and cost several hundred thousand dollars to defend and settle. There were other reasons, too, including falling listenership and donations at all five stations, and failure to develop new programming to keep and attract listeners.
You can see these financial trends in graphs presented to the National Board last July by the Chair of the National Board Finance Committee here: http://pacifica. org/documents/ 090723_finance. htm
You can see the falling listenership trends according to Arbitron in graphs presented to the PNB last July here: http://pacifica. org/documents/ 090724_listeners hip.ppt.htm
You may wonder why the PNB and top management allowed things to get so bad. I do, too. It's really incredible, but they did. I believe there were two primary reasons -- (1) Race politics. Whenever any attempts were made to make changes, cries of "racism" went up. Since most of Pacifica's station management and the CFO were Black or Latino, it was impossible to replace them without firing people of color. (2) Entrenched staff interests. There was fear that if the National Office took corrective action at one station, then it could take action at any station. So, although it was not in KPFA's interests to have its reserves depleted to cover the debts at other stations, three of the four PNB members from KPFA consistently voted to prevent changes in management at other stations. Their position was "local autonomy" over all other considerations. However, complete "local autonomy" isn't possible at Pacifica stations. Pacifica is legally required to pay the bills wherever they are -- and if WBAI doesn't have its rent money, then Pacifica must pay it from the reserves of some other station. And KPFA is the only station that has had significant reserves. So, KPFA has been "raided" for years. According to the last independent audit, as of 9/30/08 the National Office had accumulated $1.4 million in debt to KPFA, and WBAI had accumulated $991,706 in debt to the National Office -- money it will probably never be able to repay.
It was not until January 2009 -- on the verge of bankruptcy -- that the PNB faced these problems and began, finally, to take corrective action. While there has always been a significant minority on the PNB that wanted to take action, the balance of power did not change until a new PNB was seated in January 2009 with changes in the make-up of the KPFK and WPFW directors' contingents (although 3 of the 4 directors from KPFA remain opposed to corrective actions). In January, Grace Aaron (from KPFK) was elected Chair of the PNB (replacing Sherry Gendelman from KPFA), and she was appointed to act as interim Executive Director. (Nicole Sawaya resigned as ED last September and a new ED has not yet been found.) The CFO was fired and replaced by interim CFO LaVarn Williams. The management at WBAI and WPFW was replaced, and both of those stations have begun to turn around financially. Last spring WBAI had its first successful fund drive since 2003 and they repeated it in the summer fund drive. (Successful = made or exceeded their goal.) The corporate attorney was also replaced.
However, the road back is long and arduous. The network reserves have been depleted. A $300k line of credit (secured by KPFA's endowment fund reserves) taken out in August 2008 had to be repaid in August 2009. Over $100k in back rent for WBAI's studios and broadcast tower had to be paid (WBAI had received a 3-day notice from the landlord!), and there were many other obligations that had to be met due to postponed bills and poor budgeting from the year before.
So, there is a LOT more at stake in this election than the interminable bickering over local programming priorities. This bickering plagues just EVERY community radio station in the country. (I know because I have read the Grassroots Radio Coalition email discussion group for years). Programming issues are important and engaging but, while it is difficult, they can be addressed through local programming councils and committees. But those are small issues in importance when compared to the very survival of the Pacifica network. Bankruptcy could rapidly occur if the balance of power on the PNB shifts back to the old irresponsible crew who are clamoring for the return of the fired management. And a bankrupt Pacifica network cannot improve its programming. Instead, it's broadcast licenses could be sold to the highest bidder by the bankruptcy trustee.
Since the PNB is elected by the five Local Station Boards – each station elects 3 listener-reps and 1 staff rep to the PNB from among LSB members who have served at least 1 year on the LSB -- it is crucial that the LSB majorities be people who will elect responsible PNB members who will support the continued efforts to bring Pacifica back to financial health.
Based on their histories, the following slates have consistently elected PNB members who have opposed responsible financial management: KPFA - the "Concerned Listeners" slate; WBAI - the "Justice and Unity" coalition; KPFK - the "Take Back KPFK" coalition. These groups have consistently cried "racism" and opposed necessary management changes at the National Office, WBAI and KPFK. The cries of "racism" are false. For example, Dan Siegel -- former corporate counsel and interim Executive Director and now a KPFA listener-candidate on the "Concerned Listeners" slate -- states in his candidate statement: "in my opinion the Foundation's leadership is engaged in a campaign of eliminating African Americans from positions of leadership in the Foundation. Since January, Pacifica has fired its Chief Financial Officer, the stations managers at WBAI and WPFW, and the program director at WBAI, all black men." What he fails to state is that the CFO and station managers at WBAI and WPFW, and the program director at WBAI, have all been replaced by black men and women. This kind of inflammatory race-baiting has been a major factor in the decline of Pacifica and needs to be resoundingly rejected by the voters.
Recommendations:
This is a "single transferable vote" election -- so please rank ONLY candidates you want to see elected and do NOT rank any candidate you do not want to see elected. All or a fraction of your vote will be transferred to the next in order of ranking on your ballot if your first preference is eliminated for lack of enough votes or is elected with more than the necessary votes to win. (The necessary votes to win is the number of ballots cast divided by the number of open seats + 1, + 1 vote.)
Note also: There may be some candidates running who are known to be good progressive people, but who are running on slates that have destructive voting records. That's unfortunate. Sometimes people are recruited for slates who have little or no knowledge of Pacifica. But, since these slates historically have voted as blocks in the election of PNB members, even if a candidate is otherwise well-known to be progressive, still please do NOT vote for them.
KPFA
Recommended (in alphabetical order): Banafsheh Akhlaghi, Shara Esbenshade, Sasha Futran** (incumbent), Ann Hallatt, Adam Hudson, Laura Kiswani, Ramahn Jamaal McCreadie, Henry Norr** (incumbent), Andrea Pritchett, Evelyn Sanchez, Akio Tanaka**(incumbent) .
Please rank incumbents highest, as they are eligible for election to the PNB.
Also consider: Jim Curtis, Richard Phelps, Gerald Sanders and Stan Woods.
NOT Recommended -- The "Concerned Listeners" Slate: Pamela Drake, Donald Goldmacher, Conn Hallinan, Mark Hernandez, Jack Kurzweil, Dan Siegel, Mike Smith, Virginia Rodriguez, Andrea Turner, John VanEyck.
WBAI
Recommended (in alphabetical order): Jonathan Asculai, Elizabeth Brown, Mitchel Cohen** (incumbent), Chris Farrell, Andrea Fishman** (incumbent), Andrea Katz, Austin Kelley, Frank Lefever, Lionel Legros, Manijeh Saba, Alex Steinberg** (incumbent).
Please rank incumbents highest, as they are eligible for election to the PNB.
NOT Recommended - The "Justice & Unity" Slate: Nia Bediako, John Brinkley, Carlos Canales, Russell Dale, Miriam Decime, Betty Dopson, Wellington Echegaray, Sarah Klepner, Gil Obler, Terrence Podolsky, Sharonne Salaam, Berta Silva, Lynn Stewart, Nana Camille Yarbrough,
KPFK
Recommended (in alphabetical order): Ken Aaron, Luis Cabrales, Chris Condron** (incumbent), Kim Kaufman, Dr. Chipasha Luchembe, Ahjamu Makalani, Dutch Merrick, Margie Murray, Edgar Toledo, Richard Vega, Bree Walker, John Wenger.
Please rank incumbents highest, as they are eligible for election to the PNB.
NOT Recommended: Kahlid Al-Alim, Chuck Anderson, Refugio Caballes, Luis Garcia, Tej Grewall, Ian Johnston, Joe Lawrence Matthews, Ruby Medrano, John Parker, Rudy Perez, Lawrence Reyes, Fernando Roldan, Sandi Stiassni.
Thanks for reading, and for helping to support alternative radio all these years!
Best wishes,
Carol Spooner
Pacifica National Board Member (Jan 2002-Jan 2005)
KPFA Local Board Member (April 2000-Jan 2005)
Founder, Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board, and lead plaintiff in
the listeners' lawsuit (July 1999-Dec 2001)
“Who is Carol Spooner and why are her views important? Carol is the lawyer who was the lead plaintiff and circulator of the petition representing the many thousands of KPFA listeners who signed onto the law suit that successfully brought KPFA and Pacifica back under listener control when, in 1999, the Pacifica National Board under then chair Mary Francis Berry, threw the KPFA staff out on the street, locked the doors and had the intention of selling off one or more of the 5 Pacifica stations and their assets. After the success of the Listeners' Law Suit, Carol was a long time member of the KPFA station board polling first in most elections in which she competed, and was for several years a member of the National Board. A few years ago she withdrew from KPFA activism to pursue her own career.” - Marc Sapir MD, MPH
-----------------------
From: Carol Spooner
To: Carol Spooner
Sent: Monday, September 7, 2009 12:48:48 PM
Subject: Pacifica Elections - KPFA, WBAI, KPFK
Hello All --
The five Pacifica radio stations' Local Station Board elections are here again. You should receive your ballot in the next couple of days if you are a member (if you gave $25 or more to one of the stations in the 12 months that ended July 15, 2009).
I have some recommendations for voters at KPFA, WBAI & KPFK, but first I'll tell you why I'm recommending them. If you're impatient, then skip down to the bottom to read my recommendations.
: >)
>From 2004-2008 Pacifica was seriously mismanaged from the top. Several Executive Directors (Dan Coughlin, Greg Guma, Nicole Sawaya and interim EDs Dan Siegel and Sherry Gendleman) and the Chief Financial Officer (CF0) -- with the support or at the behest of the Pacifica National Board (PNB) -- had brought the entire network to the brink of bankruptcy by the end of 2008. There were a number of reasons for this. But the primary two were: (1) WBAI was losing $100k/year and no corrective action was taken, (2) lawsuits at KPFA &KPFK over sexual harassment were mishandled and cost several hundred thousand dollars to defend and settle. There were other reasons, too, including falling listenership and donations at all five stations, and failure to develop new programming to keep and attract listeners.
You can see these financial trends in graphs presented to the National Board last July by the Chair of the National Board Finance Committee here: http://pacifica. org/documents/ 090723_finance. htm
You can see the falling listenership trends according to Arbitron in graphs presented to the PNB last July here: http://pacifica. org/documents/ 090724_listeners hip.ppt.htm
You may wonder why the PNB and top management allowed things to get so bad. I do, too. It's really incredible, but they did. I believe there were two primary reasons -- (1) Race politics. Whenever any attempts were made to make changes, cries of "racism" went up. Since most of Pacifica's station management and the CFO were Black or Latino, it was impossible to replace them without firing people of color. (2) Entrenched staff interests. There was fear that if the National Office took corrective action at one station, then it could take action at any station. So, although it was not in KPFA's interests to have its reserves depleted to cover the debts at other stations, three of the four PNB members from KPFA consistently voted to prevent changes in management at other stations. Their position was "local autonomy" over all other considerations. However, complete "local autonomy" isn't possible at Pacifica stations. Pacifica is legally required to pay the bills wherever they are -- and if WBAI doesn't have its rent money, then Pacifica must pay it from the reserves of some other station. And KPFA is the only station that has had significant reserves. So, KPFA has been "raided" for years. According to the last independent audit, as of 9/30/08 the National Office had accumulated $1.4 million in debt to KPFA, and WBAI had accumulated $991,706 in debt to the National Office -- money it will probably never be able to repay.
It was not until January 2009 -- on the verge of bankruptcy -- that the PNB faced these problems and began, finally, to take corrective action. While there has always been a significant minority on the PNB that wanted to take action, the balance of power did not change until a new PNB was seated in January 2009 with changes in the make-up of the KPFK and WPFW directors' contingents (although 3 of the 4 directors from KPFA remain opposed to corrective actions). In January, Grace Aaron (from KPFK) was elected Chair of the PNB (replacing Sherry Gendelman from KPFA), and she was appointed to act as interim Executive Director. (Nicole Sawaya resigned as ED last September and a new ED has not yet been found.) The CFO was fired and replaced by interim CFO LaVarn Williams. The management at WBAI and WPFW was replaced, and both of those stations have begun to turn around financially. Last spring WBAI had its first successful fund drive since 2003 and they repeated it in the summer fund drive. (Successful = made or exceeded their goal.) The corporate attorney was also replaced.
However, the road back is long and arduous. The network reserves have been depleted. A $300k line of credit (secured by KPFA's endowment fund reserves) taken out in August 2008 had to be repaid in August 2009. Over $100k in back rent for WBAI's studios and broadcast tower had to be paid (WBAI had received a 3-day notice from the landlord!), and there were many other obligations that had to be met due to postponed bills and poor budgeting from the year before.
So, there is a LOT more at stake in this election than the interminable bickering over local programming priorities. This bickering plagues just EVERY community radio station in the country. (I know because I have read the Grassroots Radio Coalition email discussion group for years). Programming issues are important and engaging but, while it is difficult, they can be addressed through local programming councils and committees. But those are small issues in importance when compared to the very survival of the Pacifica network. Bankruptcy could rapidly occur if the balance of power on the PNB shifts back to the old irresponsible crew who are clamoring for the return of the fired management. And a bankrupt Pacifica network cannot improve its programming. Instead, it's broadcast licenses could be sold to the highest bidder by the bankruptcy trustee.
Since the PNB is elected by the five Local Station Boards – each station elects 3 listener-reps and 1 staff rep to the PNB from among LSB members who have served at least 1 year on the LSB -- it is crucial that the LSB majorities be people who will elect responsible PNB members who will support the continued efforts to bring Pacifica back to financial health.
Based on their histories, the following slates have consistently elected PNB members who have opposed responsible financial management: KPFA - the "Concerned Listeners" slate; WBAI - the "Justice and Unity" coalition; KPFK - the "Take Back KPFK" coalition. These groups have consistently cried "racism" and opposed necessary management changes at the National Office, WBAI and KPFK. The cries of "racism" are false. For example, Dan Siegel -- former corporate counsel and interim Executive Director and now a KPFA listener-candidate on the "Concerned Listeners" slate -- states in his candidate statement: "in my opinion the Foundation's leadership is engaged in a campaign of eliminating African Americans from positions of leadership in the Foundation. Since January, Pacifica has fired its Chief Financial Officer, the stations managers at WBAI and WPFW, and the program director at WBAI, all black men." What he fails to state is that the CFO and station managers at WBAI and WPFW, and the program director at WBAI, have all been replaced by black men and women. This kind of inflammatory race-baiting has been a major factor in the decline of Pacifica and needs to be resoundingly rejected by the voters.
Recommendations:
This is a "single transferable vote" election -- so please rank ONLY candidates you want to see elected and do NOT rank any candidate you do not want to see elected. All or a fraction of your vote will be transferred to the next in order of ranking on your ballot if your first preference is eliminated for lack of enough votes or is elected with more than the necessary votes to win. (The necessary votes to win is the number of ballots cast divided by the number of open seats + 1, + 1 vote.)
Note also: There may be some candidates running who are known to be good progressive people, but who are running on slates that have destructive voting records. That's unfortunate. Sometimes people are recruited for slates who have little or no knowledge of Pacifica. But, since these slates historically have voted as blocks in the election of PNB members, even if a candidate is otherwise well-known to be progressive, still please do NOT vote for them.
KPFA
Recommended (in alphabetical order): Banafsheh Akhlaghi, Shara Esbenshade, Sasha Futran** (incumbent), Ann Hallatt, Adam Hudson, Laura Kiswani, Ramahn Jamaal McCreadie, Henry Norr** (incumbent), Andrea Pritchett, Evelyn Sanchez, Akio Tanaka**(incumbent) .
Please rank incumbents highest, as they are eligible for election to the PNB.
Also consider: Jim Curtis, Richard Phelps, Gerald Sanders and Stan Woods.
NOT Recommended -- The "Concerned Listeners" Slate: Pamela Drake, Donald Goldmacher, Conn Hallinan, Mark Hernandez, Jack Kurzweil, Dan Siegel, Mike Smith, Virginia Rodriguez, Andrea Turner, John VanEyck.
WBAI
Recommended (in alphabetical order): Jonathan Asculai, Elizabeth Brown, Mitchel Cohen** (incumbent), Chris Farrell, Andrea Fishman** (incumbent), Andrea Katz, Austin Kelley, Frank Lefever, Lionel Legros, Manijeh Saba, Alex Steinberg** (incumbent).
Please rank incumbents highest, as they are eligible for election to the PNB.
NOT Recommended - The "Justice & Unity" Slate: Nia Bediako, John Brinkley, Carlos Canales, Russell Dale, Miriam Decime, Betty Dopson, Wellington Echegaray, Sarah Klepner, Gil Obler, Terrence Podolsky, Sharonne Salaam, Berta Silva, Lynn Stewart, Nana Camille Yarbrough,
KPFK
Recommended (in alphabetical order): Ken Aaron, Luis Cabrales, Chris Condron** (incumbent), Kim Kaufman, Dr. Chipasha Luchembe, Ahjamu Makalani, Dutch Merrick, Margie Murray, Edgar Toledo, Richard Vega, Bree Walker, John Wenger.
Please rank incumbents highest, as they are eligible for election to the PNB.
NOT Recommended: Kahlid Al-Alim, Chuck Anderson, Refugio Caballes, Luis Garcia, Tej Grewall, Ian Johnston, Joe Lawrence Matthews, Ruby Medrano, John Parker, Rudy Perez, Lawrence Reyes, Fernando Roldan, Sandi Stiassni.
Thanks for reading, and for helping to support alternative radio all these years!
Best wishes,
Carol Spooner
Pacifica National Board Member (Jan 2002-Jan 2005)
KPFA Local Board Member (April 2000-Jan 2005)
Founder, Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board, and lead plaintiff in
the listeners' lawsuit (July 1999-Dec 2001)
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Thank you for the information, Carol.
In 2004 Carol Spooner endorsed Rosalinda Palacios and Sherry Gendelman who were both running on the KPFAForward ticket. Carol's endorsement got Rosalinda elected and gave the majority to the KPFAForward folks, who changed their name to concerned listeners for the next election.
In 2006 Carol endorsed four (4) Concerned Listeners, Conn Hallinan, Ernesto Chacin, Phoebe Sorgen, and Andrea Turner all four were elected, and at the same time she told people not to vote for some CLers. They all vote together and I guess she hadn't figured that out yet. A common mistake made by liberals who put personalities before politics. The ones she endorsed were "nice" people she thought, just like Rosalinda and Sherry. Apparently Carol hadn't followed Sherry and Rosalinda's voting record from 2004 to 2006 before she made her recommendations for the election or she didn't care.
Her endorsements undoubtedly helped the CL get the bare majority again in 2006. Maybe Carol has finally got it that Sherry and her folks, CL, can't be worked with since they want total control. Something the PeoplesRadio folks seemed to learn after the first year of observing the "entrenched"on the LSB. Which is why I vote for them.
It is good to see that Spooner is moving in the right direction but not completely. she is endorsing Annie Hallett, who was a candidate with KPFAForward in 2004 and who voted with CL 90+ % of the time in her last term. Why ICR has her on their list is beyond me and every listerner who has followed the LSB that I have spoken to??
In 2006 Carol endorsed four (4) Concerned Listeners, Conn Hallinan, Ernesto Chacin, Phoebe Sorgen, and Andrea Turner all four were elected, and at the same time she told people not to vote for some CLers. They all vote together and I guess she hadn't figured that out yet. A common mistake made by liberals who put personalities before politics. The ones she endorsed were "nice" people she thought, just like Rosalinda and Sherry. Apparently Carol hadn't followed Sherry and Rosalinda's voting record from 2004 to 2006 before she made her recommendations for the election or she didn't care.
Her endorsements undoubtedly helped the CL get the bare majority again in 2006. Maybe Carol has finally got it that Sherry and her folks, CL, can't be worked with since they want total control. Something the PeoplesRadio folks seemed to learn after the first year of observing the "entrenched"on the LSB. Which is why I vote for them.
It is good to see that Spooner is moving in the right direction but not completely. she is endorsing Annie Hallett, who was a candidate with KPFAForward in 2004 and who voted with CL 90+ % of the time in her last term. Why ICR has her on their list is beyond me and every listerner who has followed the LSB that I have spoken to??
To win against the Concerned Listeners, now the majority faction on the KPFA LSB, we need to focus our votes, so that we get some candidates with 1st place votes; very hard to do with so many non-CL running, and the CL with only 10 and a big bloc voting machine.
Non CL candidates total 19.
I agree that we should vote for candidates from ICR and People's Radio, but I put People's Radio's 4 candidates first. Richard Phelps, Gerald Sanders, and Stan Woods have all been on the LSB and various committees. Richard Phelps is one of the most knowledgeable people about KPFA/Pacifica issues and history; it would be a mistake not to have him on the LSB. He is also a lawyer, which has come in handy.
Gerald Sanders is an incumbent, meaning he would be eligible to be a rep to the Pacifica National Board.
All 4 People's Radio candidates understand the issues very well and the 3 former LSB members are tried and true and had excellent attendance. Jim Curtis is from the Northbay and has been very active there. We need to involve the outlying communities in our listening area.
See their statements at http://peoplesradio.net/election2009.htm
Of the ICR candidates, Herry Norr is an incumbent with an excellent record. Looking for "new blood", a good youth representative would be Rahman Jamaal McCreadie, a musician and youth mentor/educator.
Adam Hudson is a black youth activist. (A Black program is sorely needed on KPFA.)
Andrea Pritchett is a well known community activist who started Berkeley Cop Watch, has much community involvement, teaches school and is concerned for youth, understands the issues at KPFA, supports organizational democracy, and will have a large following.
Banafsheh Akhlaghi has great professional and activist credentials, but it is a concern that she has been unable to attend candidate events, since poor attendance from some reps on our side has compromised our voting strength these last few years.
Annie Hallatt is a former CL member, only loosely affiliated with the ICR. The main concern she voices is that LSB reps get along.
There are other good candidates on that slate, but the important thing is to focus our votes in order to win a majority of the LSB seats. Those with great community involvements will continue their great work, but in electing LSB reps, we also need to prioritize past (therefore present) involvement with KPFA, attendance, and the most seriously deficient lack of youth representation at KPFA.
As Carol points out, if we lose we risk losing the recent gains made in snatching WBAI and the entire network back from the brink of disaster. That is why I am writing this, not because I enjoy advocating against any particular allies, past or present.
So besides not voting for any of the CL, do not vote for Voices for Justice Radio--Steve Zeltzer is against the new administrations of Pacifica and WBAI!
(Plus uses "negative rebel" tactics and is prone to attacking his allies!)
Non CL candidates total 19.
I agree that we should vote for candidates from ICR and People's Radio, but I put People's Radio's 4 candidates first. Richard Phelps, Gerald Sanders, and Stan Woods have all been on the LSB and various committees. Richard Phelps is one of the most knowledgeable people about KPFA/Pacifica issues and history; it would be a mistake not to have him on the LSB. He is also a lawyer, which has come in handy.
Gerald Sanders is an incumbent, meaning he would be eligible to be a rep to the Pacifica National Board.
All 4 People's Radio candidates understand the issues very well and the 3 former LSB members are tried and true and had excellent attendance. Jim Curtis is from the Northbay and has been very active there. We need to involve the outlying communities in our listening area.
See their statements at http://peoplesradio.net/election2009.htm
Of the ICR candidates, Herry Norr is an incumbent with an excellent record. Looking for "new blood", a good youth representative would be Rahman Jamaal McCreadie, a musician and youth mentor/educator.
Adam Hudson is a black youth activist. (A Black program is sorely needed on KPFA.)
Andrea Pritchett is a well known community activist who started Berkeley Cop Watch, has much community involvement, teaches school and is concerned for youth, understands the issues at KPFA, supports organizational democracy, and will have a large following.
Banafsheh Akhlaghi has great professional and activist credentials, but it is a concern that she has been unable to attend candidate events, since poor attendance from some reps on our side has compromised our voting strength these last few years.
Annie Hallatt is a former CL member, only loosely affiliated with the ICR. The main concern she voices is that LSB reps get along.
There are other good candidates on that slate, but the important thing is to focus our votes in order to win a majority of the LSB seats. Those with great community involvements will continue their great work, but in electing LSB reps, we also need to prioritize past (therefore present) involvement with KPFA, attendance, and the most seriously deficient lack of youth representation at KPFA.
As Carol points out, if we lose we risk losing the recent gains made in snatching WBAI and the entire network back from the brink of disaster. That is why I am writing this, not because I enjoy advocating against any particular allies, past or present.
So besides not voting for any of the CL, do not vote for Voices for Justice Radio--Steve Zeltzer is against the new administrations of Pacifica and WBAI!
(Plus uses "negative rebel" tactics and is prone to attacking his allies!)
For more information:
http://peoplesradio.net
As a lawyer, Carol Spooner, who claims to not be connected to KPFA anymore, should know better than to say anything now as she is clearly out of touch. By far the best candidate is STEVE ZELTZER. His decades of labor journalism and knowledge of KPFA’s problems demonstrates his superior qualifications. He is running on a slate with JAIME CADER. See their website,
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/index.htm
and their statements at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/candidates.htm#JC
His statement on lack of labor programming at KPFA on Labor Day and all other times is at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/others/sashalilley.htm
and
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/09/08/18621303.php
At
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/09/07/18621104.php
there is more information, in particular, Steve Zeltzer speaks on a short video at:
http://www.blip.tv/file/2567220
The endorsers of the Voices for Justice slate are at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/endorsers.htm
and are
Cindy Sheehan, Anti-war activist
Matt Gonzalez, Former president SF Board of Supervisors
Cynthia McKinney, Former Congresswoman
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of City of Richmond, California
Peace and Freedom Party California
Green Party of Contra Costa County Council
San Francisco Bayview Newspaper
Mary And Willie Radcliff, Publisher, San Francisco Bayview Newspaper
Gray Brechin, UCB Geography Department and Author "Imperial San Francisco"
Genoveva Calloway, Vice-Mayor, City of San Pablo
Jovanka Beckles, The Richmond Planning Commission
Education Not Incarceration, SF Chapter
Idriss Stelley Action and Resource Center (ISARC)
Trent Willis, Vice President ILWU Local 10
Clarence Thomas, Former ILWU Local 10 Secretary Treasurer
Francisco De Costa, Executive Director of Enviromental Justice Advocacy San Francisco
Roger Scott, Past President AFT 2121, Professor San Francisco City College
Bill Carpenter, Professor, San Francisco City College, Videographer
Todd Davies, Lecturer, Stanford University (endorsing Steve Zeltzer only)
Rick Hauptman, Chair, North Mission Neighborhood Alliance
Mary Ellen Churchill, Videographer and media activist
Lotus Fong, Community Activist
Philip Santos, Musician, member of American Federation of Musicians
Ralph Schoenman, Co-Producer Taking Aim
Cynthia Servetnick, Member IFPTE Local 21, Save the Laguna Street Campus
Lisa Milos, UCSF CWA-UPTE Member
Mary Ann Ring, UCSF CUE 9 Delegate
Russ Miyashiro, ILWU Local 34 Assistant Dispatcher
Brad Wiedmaier, SEIU UHW, Architectural Historian, 113 Steuart St. Labor Center Project
Jemahl Ämen
Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai, Physician, Environmental Activist
Charles Smith, AFSCME 444 Chief Steward
Diane Brown, Member of United Teachers of Richmond, CTA/NEA and Progressive Teachers Caucus of Richmond
Riva Enteen, former Chair KPFA Local Station Board
JR Valery, Producer of the Black Report (endorsing Steve Zeltzer only)
Skip Charbonneau, member SEIU 1000
Regina Carey, Community Activist Marin County
Organizations after the names are identification only
People’s Radio also has good candidates at:
http://peoplesradio.net/election2009.htm
People’s Radio candidates are GERALD SANDERS, STAN WOODS, RICHARD PHELPS AND JIM CURTIS
Their endorsers are
Michael Parenti – Author & lecturer
The Peace & Freedom Party of California
The Petaluma Progressives
The Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance
Tony Sustak - Treasurer of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), former Richmond Greens leader, community activist
Jack Heyman – ILWU Local 10 Executive Board member rank & file organizer
Clarence Thomas - ILWU Local 10 Executive Board member
Robert Knight - WBAI & KPFA newscaster, of the Knight Report on Flashpoints
Bonnie Faulkner - Host of Guns & Butter, KPFA
Miguel "Gavilan" Molina - Host of Flashpoints, La Honda Bajita
Francisco Herrera – Musician, KPFA Flashpoints contributor
David Janda - KBBF, member of Voces Cruzando Fronteras, photogapher
Daniel Borgstrom - Author, former Marine against the war, KPFA activist, author http://www.danielborgstrom.com
Anthony Fest - KPFA newscaster, staff rep to LSB -endorsing all People's Radio candidates individually
Henry Norr - KPFA LSB* -endorsing all People's Radio candidates individually
Joe Wanzala - vice chair of the PNB* -endorsing all People's Radio candidates individually
HENRY NORR is also a candidate and his statement, along with all other candidate statements may be found at
http://pacificafoundation.org/cand_list.php
Recap: Good candidates are STEVE ZELTZER, JAIME CADER, GERALD SANDERS, STAN WOODS, RICHARD PHELPS, JIM CURTIS, HENRY NORR.
If you allow Concerned Listeners to prevail as they do now on the Local Station Board, THERE WILL BE NO KPFA. We do not need another NPR, better known as National Petroleum Radio. Concerned Listeners have caused KPFA to be almost destroyed, with the following occurring:
1. $300,000 debt;
2. Police being allowed on the premises to viciously beat up, hot-tie and falsely arrest an outstanding African-American volunteer programmer of many years, Nadra Foster, for no good reason whatsoever;
3. No labor programming on Labor Day and the only labor programming otherwise is 20 minutes on Wednesday morning, grossly insufficient in this Great Depression;
4. Refusing to allow the excellent 9/11 Truth/capitalist crisis expose Guns & Butter alternate with Taking Aim, a similar program broadcast on WBAI although produced locally, as Guns & Butter wishes to have this arrangement;
5. Practically no local programming, the only way the station can have grassroots support.
6. Refusal to comply with the Voices for Justice 11 point program at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/program.htm
and the 10 point program of Peoples Radio at
http://peoplesradio.net/index.htm
Now is the time to get off the dime. The only reason Concerned Listeners won a majority last time is because not enough supporters of Voices for Justice and People's Radio voted. In these elections, there is always barely enough to constitute a quorum. If you are a subscriber, you obviously care, and voting is very easy. You have to act to get anything done; you cannot just sit there and do nothing. Here are the good candidates again:
STEVE ZELTZER, JAIME CADER, GERALD SANDERS, STAN WOODS, RICHARD PHELPS, JIM CURTIS, HENRY NORR
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/index.htm
and their statements at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/candidates.htm#JC
His statement on lack of labor programming at KPFA on Labor Day and all other times is at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/others/sashalilley.htm
and
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/09/08/18621303.php
At
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/09/07/18621104.php
there is more information, in particular, Steve Zeltzer speaks on a short video at:
http://www.blip.tv/file/2567220
The endorsers of the Voices for Justice slate are at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/endorsers.htm
and are
Cindy Sheehan, Anti-war activist
Matt Gonzalez, Former president SF Board of Supervisors
Cynthia McKinney, Former Congresswoman
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of City of Richmond, California
Peace and Freedom Party California
Green Party of Contra Costa County Council
San Francisco Bayview Newspaper
Mary And Willie Radcliff, Publisher, San Francisco Bayview Newspaper
Gray Brechin, UCB Geography Department and Author "Imperial San Francisco"
Genoveva Calloway, Vice-Mayor, City of San Pablo
Jovanka Beckles, The Richmond Planning Commission
Education Not Incarceration, SF Chapter
Idriss Stelley Action and Resource Center (ISARC)
Trent Willis, Vice President ILWU Local 10
Clarence Thomas, Former ILWU Local 10 Secretary Treasurer
Francisco De Costa, Executive Director of Enviromental Justice Advocacy San Francisco
Roger Scott, Past President AFT 2121, Professor San Francisco City College
Bill Carpenter, Professor, San Francisco City College, Videographer
Todd Davies, Lecturer, Stanford University (endorsing Steve Zeltzer only)
Rick Hauptman, Chair, North Mission Neighborhood Alliance
Mary Ellen Churchill, Videographer and media activist
Lotus Fong, Community Activist
Philip Santos, Musician, member of American Federation of Musicians
Ralph Schoenman, Co-Producer Taking Aim
Cynthia Servetnick, Member IFPTE Local 21, Save the Laguna Street Campus
Lisa Milos, UCSF CWA-UPTE Member
Mary Ann Ring, UCSF CUE 9 Delegate
Russ Miyashiro, ILWU Local 34 Assistant Dispatcher
Brad Wiedmaier, SEIU UHW, Architectural Historian, 113 Steuart St. Labor Center Project
Jemahl Ämen
Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai, Physician, Environmental Activist
Charles Smith, AFSCME 444 Chief Steward
Diane Brown, Member of United Teachers of Richmond, CTA/NEA and Progressive Teachers Caucus of Richmond
Riva Enteen, former Chair KPFA Local Station Board
JR Valery, Producer of the Black Report (endorsing Steve Zeltzer only)
Skip Charbonneau, member SEIU 1000
Regina Carey, Community Activist Marin County
Organizations after the names are identification only
People’s Radio also has good candidates at:
http://peoplesradio.net/election2009.htm
People’s Radio candidates are GERALD SANDERS, STAN WOODS, RICHARD PHELPS AND JIM CURTIS
Their endorsers are
Michael Parenti – Author & lecturer
The Peace & Freedom Party of California
The Petaluma Progressives
The Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance
Tony Sustak - Treasurer of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), former Richmond Greens leader, community activist
Jack Heyman – ILWU Local 10 Executive Board member rank & file organizer
Clarence Thomas - ILWU Local 10 Executive Board member
Robert Knight - WBAI & KPFA newscaster, of the Knight Report on Flashpoints
Bonnie Faulkner - Host of Guns & Butter, KPFA
Miguel "Gavilan" Molina - Host of Flashpoints, La Honda Bajita
Francisco Herrera – Musician, KPFA Flashpoints contributor
David Janda - KBBF, member of Voces Cruzando Fronteras, photogapher
Daniel Borgstrom - Author, former Marine against the war, KPFA activist, author http://www.danielborgstrom.com
Anthony Fest - KPFA newscaster, staff rep to LSB -endorsing all People's Radio candidates individually
Henry Norr - KPFA LSB* -endorsing all People's Radio candidates individually
Joe Wanzala - vice chair of the PNB* -endorsing all People's Radio candidates individually
HENRY NORR is also a candidate and his statement, along with all other candidate statements may be found at
http://pacificafoundation.org/cand_list.php
Recap: Good candidates are STEVE ZELTZER, JAIME CADER, GERALD SANDERS, STAN WOODS, RICHARD PHELPS, JIM CURTIS, HENRY NORR.
If you allow Concerned Listeners to prevail as they do now on the Local Station Board, THERE WILL BE NO KPFA. We do not need another NPR, better known as National Petroleum Radio. Concerned Listeners have caused KPFA to be almost destroyed, with the following occurring:
1. $300,000 debt;
2. Police being allowed on the premises to viciously beat up, hot-tie and falsely arrest an outstanding African-American volunteer programmer of many years, Nadra Foster, for no good reason whatsoever;
3. No labor programming on Labor Day and the only labor programming otherwise is 20 minutes on Wednesday morning, grossly insufficient in this Great Depression;
4. Refusing to allow the excellent 9/11 Truth/capitalist crisis expose Guns & Butter alternate with Taking Aim, a similar program broadcast on WBAI although produced locally, as Guns & Butter wishes to have this arrangement;
5. Practically no local programming, the only way the station can have grassroots support.
6. Refusal to comply with the Voices for Justice 11 point program at
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/program.htm
and the 10 point program of Peoples Radio at
http://peoplesradio.net/index.htm
Now is the time to get off the dime. The only reason Concerned Listeners won a majority last time is because not enough supporters of Voices for Justice and People's Radio voted. In these elections, there is always barely enough to constitute a quorum. If you are a subscriber, you obviously care, and voting is very easy. You have to act to get anything done; you cannot just sit there and do nothing. Here are the good candidates again:
STEVE ZELTZER, JAIME CADER, GERALD SANDERS, STAN WOODS, RICHARD PHELPS, JIM CURTIS, HENRY NORR
For more information:
http://www.voicesforjusticeradio.org/index...
Sunday, September 13, 1pm – 4pm
The Women’s Building
3543 18th Street, between Guerrero & Dolores
San Francisco (transportation, directions below:)
**************************
29 Listener Candidates are running
for 9 seats on YOUR elected local station board (LSB)
Listener oversight is crucial on the board – it’s your station!
~ Learn all you can and VOTE ~
Keep Free Speech Community Radio Alive and Well
From !6th Street BART walk to 18th Street, then 2½
blocks west
Or take 14 Mission or 49 VanNess-Mission bus to 18th
Or 33 Stanyan to 18th & Guerrero
For more help getting to forum (public transportation & pick-up locations) contact:
Sally Sommer (election committee) s_sommer[at]sbcglobal.net
Renee Asteria (KPFA local election supervisor)
election[at]kpfa.org ( 510) 848-6767 ext 626 to leave a message
The Women’s Building
3543 18th Street, between Guerrero & Dolores
San Francisco (transportation, directions below:)
**************************
29 Listener Candidates are running
for 9 seats on YOUR elected local station board (LSB)
Listener oversight is crucial on the board – it’s your station!
~ Learn all you can and VOTE ~
Keep Free Speech Community Radio Alive and Well
From !6th Street BART walk to 18th Street, then 2½
blocks west
Or take 14 Mission or 49 VanNess-Mission bus to 18th
Or 33 Stanyan to 18th & Guerrero
For more help getting to forum (public transportation & pick-up locations) contact:
Sally Sommer (election committee) s_sommer[at]sbcglobal.net
Renee Asteria (KPFA local election supervisor)
election[at]kpfa.org ( 510) 848-6767 ext 626 to leave a message
For more information:
http://kpfaelection2009.net
My ranked choices in the KPFA election :
1. Gerald Sanders
2. Stan Woods
3. Richard Phelps
4. Henry Norr
5. Adam Hudson
6. Evelyn Sanchez
7. Lara Kiswani
8. Rahman Jamaal
9. Jim Curtis
10. Shara Esbenshade
LAST FOUR CHOICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
11. Akio Tanaka
1. Gerald Sanders
2. Stan Woods
3. Richard Phelps
4. Henry Norr
5. Adam Hudson
6. Evelyn Sanchez
7. Lara Kiswani
8. Rahman Jamaal
9. Jim Curtis
10. Shara Esbenshade
LAST FOUR CHOICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
11. Akio Tanaka
In a voting system like the one used in this election, there are two related points to keep in mind:
* If you rank candidate A ahead of candidate B, your vote for B will only be counted after A has either been elected or eliminated, so it cannot help B defeat A.
* If you think of the candidates as being divided into two groups, C and D, and you rank all candidates from group C ahead of all candidates from group D, none of your votes for candidates in group D will have any effect on which members of group C get elected. Those votes will only possibly affect which candidates from group D get elected, i.e., they may help some members of group D beat out other members of group D, but not to beat any members of group C.
So it doesn't hurt the good folks if you vote for every candidate, provided you rank all the Concerned Listeners candidates after (i.e., lower than) all the others. (Not voting at all for some group of candidates is equivalent to ranking them all at the bottom of your list, but equally. Personally, I want to rank Mark Hernandez lower than the rest of the C.L. slate.)
Nothing I've said here relates to how you rank the various non-C.L. candidates. I'll take that up later.
Mara wrote:
To win against the Concerned Listeners, now the majority faction on the KPFA LSB, we need to focus our votes, so that we get some candidates with 1st place votes; very hard to do with so many non-CL running, and the CL with only 10 and a big bloc voting machine. Non CL candidates total 19.It's true that, if two groups have roughly equal support, more candidates from the group running fewer candidtes will be elected in the early rounds. But it also means that there will be fewer candidates from that group eliminated in the early rounds, and thus fewer votes transferred from the weaker to the stronger candidates of that group. In the end, if the two groups have equal support, they will have equal numbers elected.
Where the problem does arise here is with people who, after voting for a bunch of their favorite left candidates, either don't vote for any more or vote for some on the other side. Don't do it, folks! Vote for every candidate on the three left slates, in whatever order you choose, before voting for any of the Concerned Listeners candidates!
My own intention, which I will elaborate and probably slightly modify in the next few weeks, is to vote for Peoples Radio and Voices for Justice candidates, along with Henry Norr and Lara Kiswani, in some order, followed by the rest of Independents for Community Radio, with Annie Hallatt last of those. Then I will, at the end of my list, rank most of the C.L. candidates ahead of the dishonest hack, Dan Siegel, and the right-winger Mark Hernandez.
Carol's making factional recommendations. No news there.
But how can she know who *not* to vote for in Los Angeles? Has she met these people, seen them campaigning? Has she even read about them?
All of that makes me wonder what she does know (besides what she's been told) about the people she's endorsing. The truth about Carol is that she hasn't been involved in KPFA or Pacifica for years, except that she's working for one of their contractors.
When participating in these elections, like any elections, it's worth considering the source.
--Leslie Radford
Pacifica National Board Director, representing KPFK
But how can she know who *not* to vote for in Los Angeles? Has she met these people, seen them campaigning? Has she even read about them?
All of that makes me wonder what she does know (besides what she's been told) about the people she's endorsing. The truth about Carol is that she hasn't been involved in KPFA or Pacifica for years, except that she's working for one of their contractors.
When participating in these elections, like any elections, it's worth considering the source.
--Leslie Radford
Pacifica National Board Director, representing KPFK
I have been around Berkeley for many years. I now and then poke my nose into KPFA politics. I read the Planet with my coffee or at home on my computer. I check out IndyMedia and I go to 2-4 Local Board meetings a year to see who is talking trash. This year I missed the January meeting and then tried to find the february meeting which I discovered didn't happen. Now they meet every other month?
From reading the Planet and some Indymedia I have come to the following choices. Richard Phelps seems to have the best understanding and analysis of what is going on. Gerald Saunders and Stan Woods have been active for the right issues for years and peoples radio has been consistent in their politics so I am voting for all of them. Concerned Listeners are a clear no. If I have to explain that you haven't been paying attention to what has been happening.
Independents for Community Radio confuse me. They have some people like Henry Noor who always said good things at the meetings I attended and they have Annie Hallet who mostly sided with the in crowd and often talks out of both sides of her mouth. Lots of new people who don't seem to know much about KPFA from listeneing to the debate last month. I read Sasha Futran's Planet article and I noticed that she only mentioned herself, which is what I hear is her orientation. She wasn't at any of the meeting I have attended in the last two years. Why run if you aren't going to attend the meetings?
I got their mailer and they have a suggested ranking that has Henry Noor near the bottom. He should be first. And I find their anti-slate stuff insulting and silly. They have a joint web page, joint leaflets, joint fundraising and a directed order for voters. Peoplesradio doesn't rank their folks.
ICR is a slate so why act like they aren't? Is this the kind of double talk we will get from them if elected? I will have to wait to see which of them will make my bottom half after peoples radio and Henry Noor. I will try to speak to them directly if I can and ask them if they support Annie Hallet. If they do they won't get my vote.
I can't vote for Steve Zeltzer given how I have seen him and his folks act out at prior board meetings and he often seems to want to attack any and everyone. Judith Gips and Jaime Cader don't seem to know much about what is really going on so I will pass on them. And Jim Weber is not worth discussing.
From reading the Planet and some Indymedia I have come to the following choices. Richard Phelps seems to have the best understanding and analysis of what is going on. Gerald Saunders and Stan Woods have been active for the right issues for years and peoples radio has been consistent in their politics so I am voting for all of them. Concerned Listeners are a clear no. If I have to explain that you haven't been paying attention to what has been happening.
Independents for Community Radio confuse me. They have some people like Henry Noor who always said good things at the meetings I attended and they have Annie Hallet who mostly sided with the in crowd and often talks out of both sides of her mouth. Lots of new people who don't seem to know much about KPFA from listeneing to the debate last month. I read Sasha Futran's Planet article and I noticed that she only mentioned herself, which is what I hear is her orientation. She wasn't at any of the meeting I have attended in the last two years. Why run if you aren't going to attend the meetings?
I got their mailer and they have a suggested ranking that has Henry Noor near the bottom. He should be first. And I find their anti-slate stuff insulting and silly. They have a joint web page, joint leaflets, joint fundraising and a directed order for voters. Peoplesradio doesn't rank their folks.
ICR is a slate so why act like they aren't? Is this the kind of double talk we will get from them if elected? I will have to wait to see which of them will make my bottom half after peoples radio and Henry Noor. I will try to speak to them directly if I can and ask them if they support Annie Hallet. If they do they won't get my vote.
I can't vote for Steve Zeltzer given how I have seen him and his folks act out at prior board meetings and he often seems to want to attack any and everyone. Judith Gips and Jaime Cader don't seem to know much about what is really going on so I will pass on them. And Jim Weber is not worth discussing.
Yes, O B Lefty is right, Steve Zeltzer causes unnecessary dissention among his allies by his indicriminate public attacks, but just as important is that Steve has been defending the recently displaced old regime at WBAI in New York.
Those of us who have been following for years the events at that station realize that it was grossly mismanaged by Bernard White, the Program Director, and his support team of Don Rojas the General Manager, and the "Justice & Unity" slate, which protected him from mandated yearly evaluations and examinations of the WBAI financial records. Subsequent managers and the varioue Executive Directors of Pacifica, if not supportive of this regime, as DAN SEIGEL - yes the present Concerned Listener candidate - was, were either not given authority to deal with the situation, or were intimidated.
The station was a hostile working environment where programmers and volunteers were menaced by goons, and money and equipment stolen and misappropriated. Robert Knight and Gary Null were harrassed and fired for not supporting this management, and people were called "melanin deficient" or not black enough by a Black Nationalist faction which believed WBAI should be a purely Black station.
We can't forget appeals to the PNB such as Robert Knight's, to deal with the situation there. These appeals went unheard by the PNB and Pacifica officers which came under the influence of Justice & Unity, and voted down proposals to evaluate the management and allow inspection of the books, as mandated by in the bylaws.
As WBAI put out unrealistic budgets, failed its funddrives due to degraded programming, put out false financial information, and was unable to support itself or pay Pacifica for services, - uncontrolled by the PNB committees, Chief Financial Officer, - became a disastrous drain on the other stations, as well.
Finally, through regime change which began as WBAI candidates forced a recount of a fraudulent election, which led to an effective PNB, a new Pacifica CFO and interim Executive Director. A visit was made to WBAI by a 5-person team led by the new iED (which consisted of 4 out of 5 peoplle of color). They found a 3-day eviction notice and a 2-month non-payment of transmitter fees, and a coverup of this by the interim General Manager there. Their team paid the rent, replaced the iGM and others, helped create a fund drive which exceeded its goal rather than missing it, helped remedy a lack of effective fund drive and financial record keeping technologies, and rehired the banned and fired, such as Robrt Knight.
The network is not definitely saved, though. KPFAForward and their successors the CL, supported the JUC for many years and CL continues to oppose the new regime at Pacifica and WBAI. (See this article for more: http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-05-14/article/32873?headline=The-Pacifica-Financial-Crisis-Who-is-Responsible- ) The JUC continues to fight their rescue by putting out false information that an autocratic, racist takeover has taken place, and many are taken in by this.
Unfortunately, so is Steve Zeltzer believing these lies.
So a win by either of these slates could still put WBAI, Pacifica, and all the stations including KPFA, back into jeopardy.
Those of us who have been following for years the events at that station realize that it was grossly mismanaged by Bernard White, the Program Director, and his support team of Don Rojas the General Manager, and the "Justice & Unity" slate, which protected him from mandated yearly evaluations and examinations of the WBAI financial records. Subsequent managers and the varioue Executive Directors of Pacifica, if not supportive of this regime, as DAN SEIGEL - yes the present Concerned Listener candidate - was, were either not given authority to deal with the situation, or were intimidated.
The station was a hostile working environment where programmers and volunteers were menaced by goons, and money and equipment stolen and misappropriated. Robert Knight and Gary Null were harrassed and fired for not supporting this management, and people were called "melanin deficient" or not black enough by a Black Nationalist faction which believed WBAI should be a purely Black station.
We can't forget appeals to the PNB such as Robert Knight's, to deal with the situation there. These appeals went unheard by the PNB and Pacifica officers which came under the influence of Justice & Unity, and voted down proposals to evaluate the management and allow inspection of the books, as mandated by in the bylaws.
As WBAI put out unrealistic budgets, failed its funddrives due to degraded programming, put out false financial information, and was unable to support itself or pay Pacifica for services, - uncontrolled by the PNB committees, Chief Financial Officer, - became a disastrous drain on the other stations, as well.
Finally, through regime change which began as WBAI candidates forced a recount of a fraudulent election, which led to an effective PNB, a new Pacifica CFO and interim Executive Director. A visit was made to WBAI by a 5-person team led by the new iED (which consisted of 4 out of 5 peoplle of color). They found a 3-day eviction notice and a 2-month non-payment of transmitter fees, and a coverup of this by the interim General Manager there. Their team paid the rent, replaced the iGM and others, helped create a fund drive which exceeded its goal rather than missing it, helped remedy a lack of effective fund drive and financial record keeping technologies, and rehired the banned and fired, such as Robrt Knight.
The network is not definitely saved, though. KPFAForward and their successors the CL, supported the JUC for many years and CL continues to oppose the new regime at Pacifica and WBAI. (See this article for more: http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-05-14/article/32873?headline=The-Pacifica-Financial-Crisis-Who-is-Responsible- ) The JUC continues to fight their rescue by putting out false information that an autocratic, racist takeover has taken place, and many are taken in by this.
Unfortunately, so is Steve Zeltzer believing these lies.
So a win by either of these slates could still put WBAI, Pacifica, and all the stations including KPFA, back into jeopardy.
For more information:
http://peoplesradio.net
IS THIS THE PACIFICA YOU WANT?
I cannot understand why anyone would support the ousted programmer, Gary Null, and discredit the recently fired WBAI Program Director, Bernard White, for standing up to him. If Null's show attracted hoards of listeners, are they the listeners you want to surround Pacifica?
(Gary Null on the Roy's of Hollywood show, KPFK, airing on October 8, 2009)
[EXCERPTS]
"You've got a program director that's Latino, suddenly everything becomes Latino without any thought or meaning of what that really represents and the vileness of that . . . and unless we stand up against it, it will continue ... until one day you turn on the station and think “Holy Cow!” what happened to all the programs that I enjoyed and was empowered by? Oh! they're all gone. Why? Because the program director decides in his/her infinite wisdom that ... uh ... you're ... that you don't count ... you know ... only their ego and their demented capacity to understand human nature and the meaning and purpose of the station count."
" ... do we want to be as good as we can be? Or are we content in having our West Side Story Serf wars? That the Gays have got their block covered, the African Americans got theirs, the Latinos got theirs, the Native Americans got theirs ... and gee whiz . .. where's the American public? "
[HERE IS THE WHOLE COMMENT IN CONTEXT]
GARY NULL: ... Now there has been very little in the way of enlightened leadership at Pacifica . . . and we all know that. There has been an enormous amount of problems at all of the stations. It's not just WBAI that has gone into the tube tanks ... its all of them ... There's a lot of problems at Pacifica and all of the stations know it. . . The sexual harassment lawsuits, the ... ummm ... cronyism, the racism, the ethnic cleansing in their own way ... which is vile and repulsive ... You've got a program director that's Latino, suddenly everything becomes Latino without any thought or meaning of what that really represents and the vileness of that ... and unless we stand up against it, it will continue. . . until one day you turn on the station and think “Holy Cow!” what happened to all the programs that I enjoyed and was empowered by? Oh! they're all gone. Why? Because the program director decides in his/her infinite wisdom that ... uh ... you're ... that you don't count ... you know ... only their ego and their demented capacity to understand human nature and the meaning and purpose of the station count.
Well how in the hell did that person get there and why don't you throw their worthless asses off? Well we can't ... because we've got all these troops and these fighting camps of extremely violent people willing to either get in your face, get in your brain, or in their own tormented fashion believe that they understand something about human nature. Oh I see – okay – kinda like absolute anarchy? Oh yeah – you got it – you got it up the gazoot ... And you have people who are so utterly incapable of understanding the truth that it would bite them and they still wouldn't get the truth.
... But are we doing the best we can do? ... What would Lou Hill do if he were alive today? ... do we want to be as good as we can be? Or are we content in having our West Side Story Serf wars? That the Gays have got their block covered, the African Americans got theirs, the Latinos got theirs, the Native Americans got theirs ... and gee whiz ... where's the American public? You don't got a block. You're
not in the fight. So its about wars, and conflict and emotional violence ??? It doesn't have to be. ... And what can make a difference in when the public starts to take a stronger sense of input into their stations ... into their programming. ...
... The Programming should not represent – and I think it's a DISGRACE to the programming director – a DISGRACE – Shame on him for taking any form of ethnic issue into account at the station. Lou Hill
and the Pacifica mission would be appalled. . But that's what happened ... and if we're gonna be honest we gotta be honest ... in which case then we have to say -- “Do not be racial, do not be ethnic, do not be cultural ... do not be class ... because if you're gonna start doing that then you're gonna have to realize that you're gonna have to start dicing and cutting this all up based upon other individual specifics of who gets isolated and who gets cut out ... and when you start saying you're not the kind of listener that I want -- then you've become a racist or a bigot -- you've excluded people ...
So let us participate together ... let us send a message to all of the little different gangs that control stations ... the little mutated hybrid thought processes that are so radicalized that there is
no sense of reason, compassion, forgiveness, sensitivity ... the self righteous and the self justifying should no longer be given the power of control.
--Gary Null on the Roy's of Hollywood show, KPFK, airing on October 8, 2009
(Prologue)
The Chairman of the WBAI LSB, controlled by the faction that supports the current Pacifica Foundation administration, just as recently as July 28, 2009 put out a report that included, among other things, a recommendation that the "breach" with Null be "healed". This is what the ousted management at WBAI put up with.
I cannot understand why anyone would support the ousted programmer, Gary Null, and discredit the recently fired WBAI Program Director, Bernard White, for standing up to him. If Null's show attracted hoards of listeners, are they the listeners you want to surround Pacifica?
(Gary Null on the Roy's of Hollywood show, KPFK, airing on October 8, 2009)
[EXCERPTS]
"You've got a program director that's Latino, suddenly everything becomes Latino without any thought or meaning of what that really represents and the vileness of that . . . and unless we stand up against it, it will continue ... until one day you turn on the station and think “Holy Cow!” what happened to all the programs that I enjoyed and was empowered by? Oh! they're all gone. Why? Because the program director decides in his/her infinite wisdom that ... uh ... you're ... that you don't count ... you know ... only their ego and their demented capacity to understand human nature and the meaning and purpose of the station count."
" ... do we want to be as good as we can be? Or are we content in having our West Side Story Serf wars? That the Gays have got their block covered, the African Americans got theirs, the Latinos got theirs, the Native Americans got theirs ... and gee whiz . .. where's the American public? "
[HERE IS THE WHOLE COMMENT IN CONTEXT]
GARY NULL: ... Now there has been very little in the way of enlightened leadership at Pacifica . . . and we all know that. There has been an enormous amount of problems at all of the stations. It's not just WBAI that has gone into the tube tanks ... its all of them ... There's a lot of problems at Pacifica and all of the stations know it. . . The sexual harassment lawsuits, the ... ummm ... cronyism, the racism, the ethnic cleansing in their own way ... which is vile and repulsive ... You've got a program director that's Latino, suddenly everything becomes Latino without any thought or meaning of what that really represents and the vileness of that ... and unless we stand up against it, it will continue. . . until one day you turn on the station and think “Holy Cow!” what happened to all the programs that I enjoyed and was empowered by? Oh! they're all gone. Why? Because the program director decides in his/her infinite wisdom that ... uh ... you're ... that you don't count ... you know ... only their ego and their demented capacity to understand human nature and the meaning and purpose of the station count.
Well how in the hell did that person get there and why don't you throw their worthless asses off? Well we can't ... because we've got all these troops and these fighting camps of extremely violent people willing to either get in your face, get in your brain, or in their own tormented fashion believe that they understand something about human nature. Oh I see – okay – kinda like absolute anarchy? Oh yeah – you got it – you got it up the gazoot ... And you have people who are so utterly incapable of understanding the truth that it would bite them and they still wouldn't get the truth.
... But are we doing the best we can do? ... What would Lou Hill do if he were alive today? ... do we want to be as good as we can be? Or are we content in having our West Side Story Serf wars? That the Gays have got their block covered, the African Americans got theirs, the Latinos got theirs, the Native Americans got theirs ... and gee whiz ... where's the American public? You don't got a block. You're
not in the fight. So its about wars, and conflict and emotional violence ??? It doesn't have to be. ... And what can make a difference in when the public starts to take a stronger sense of input into their stations ... into their programming. ...
... The Programming should not represent – and I think it's a DISGRACE to the programming director – a DISGRACE – Shame on him for taking any form of ethnic issue into account at the station. Lou Hill
and the Pacifica mission would be appalled. . But that's what happened ... and if we're gonna be honest we gotta be honest ... in which case then we have to say -- “Do not be racial, do not be ethnic, do not be cultural ... do not be class ... because if you're gonna start doing that then you're gonna have to realize that you're gonna have to start dicing and cutting this all up based upon other individual specifics of who gets isolated and who gets cut out ... and when you start saying you're not the kind of listener that I want -- then you've become a racist or a bigot -- you've excluded people ...
So let us participate together ... let us send a message to all of the little different gangs that control stations ... the little mutated hybrid thought processes that are so radicalized that there is
no sense of reason, compassion, forgiveness, sensitivity ... the self righteous and the self justifying should no longer be given the power of control.
--Gary Null on the Roy's of Hollywood show, KPFK, airing on October 8, 2009
(Prologue)
The Chairman of the WBAI LSB, controlled by the faction that supports the current Pacifica Foundation administration, just as recently as July 28, 2009 put out a report that included, among other things, a recommendation that the "breach" with Null be "healed". This is what the ousted management at WBAI put up with.
the elections at KPFA are over and I was eliminated by the fifth round or something. I just had to scan the comments here and couldn;t help noting that "Old Berkeley Lefty" named me, and Jaime Cader, as "nont knowing what's going on" with KPFA.
well, MR Old Lefty (take a number and stand in line for that honor) - you are free to your opinion. maybe the amount of time I spentt studying the issues, reading up on the controversies over the Wen, listening to the various sides,s volunteering at the station, and generally informing myslef don;t come off well enough. I entered the race as a virtual unknown, and that's probably what worked against me, and I also received considerable good feedback from programmers and volunteers at the station, and from old friends who called me up to say, "
hey, I heard you on the becates and you came off strong!"
listen Lefty, if you have a substantive comment to make (e.g., "Judith, you need to inform yourself better on the goings-on at WBAI") I'm all ears. I chose to run as a true independent because I felt that joining any slat would be a way of clinging to coattaills. I also made an effort to attend almsot every publc forum and spoke dogently on every broadcast opportunity that was available to us. I have no mnoney to launch a mailer campaign, and so I porbably need a guerilla PR approach if I am to get anywhere beyond the rather dismal showing in this last election.
but I do rather take umbrage at being dismissed by soime anonymous Berkeley lefty as a know nothing.
well, MR Old Lefty (take a number and stand in line for that honor) - you are free to your opinion. maybe the amount of time I spentt studying the issues, reading up on the controversies over the Wen, listening to the various sides,s volunteering at the station, and generally informing myslef don;t come off well enough. I entered the race as a virtual unknown, and that's probably what worked against me, and I also received considerable good feedback from programmers and volunteers at the station, and from old friends who called me up to say, "
hey, I heard you on the becates and you came off strong!"
listen Lefty, if you have a substantive comment to make (e.g., "Judith, you need to inform yourself better on the goings-on at WBAI") I'm all ears. I chose to run as a true independent because I felt that joining any slat would be a way of clinging to coattaills. I also made an effort to attend almsot every publc forum and spoke dogently on every broadcast opportunity that was available to us. I have no mnoney to launch a mailer campaign, and so I porbably need a guerilla PR approach if I am to get anywhere beyond the rather dismal showing in this last election.
but I do rather take umbrage at being dismissed by soime anonymous Berkeley lefty as a know nothing.
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