Meanwhile, at WBAI (KPFA's sister station in NY)

> From: Mitchel Cohen
> Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:03:14 -0500
> Subject: [HelpFixWBAI] WBAI: Please come to Court Thursday --
> WBAI elections case to be heard
>
> If you're interested in witnessing first-hand the arguments around
> the WBAI elections and the denouement for yourself (I recommend it,
> if you have the time), please come to Court Thursday. I recommend
> getting there by 9 a.m., even though the case in the small courtroom
> is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
>
> Thursday, January 24, 2008. 9:30 a.m.
> 80 Centre St., Part 23 (Room 320 - 3rd floor),
> Judge Braun's courtroom
>
> Should be interesting, to say the least.
>
> Plaintiffs: Mitchel Cohen, Bob Goldberg, Alex Steinberg, Patty
> Heffley, Frank LeFever, James Ross, Gail Blasie, Linda Zises and Sidney
> Smith.
>
> Defendants: Pacifica Foundation/WBAI Radio, Casey Peters and Dale Ratner
>
> Lawyer for Plaintiffs: Tom Hillgardner
>
> Lawyer for Defendants: Dan Silverman
>
> History: On November 16, 2007, NY State Supreme Court Judge Richard
> P. Braun signed a Temporary Restraining Order that Plaintiffs had
> submitted. He ordered that WBAI's returned ballots be impounded as of
> November 15th (as per the Pacifica bylaws) and placed in a sealed
> box. WBAI's elections supervisor Dale Ratner ill-advisedly waited
> until November 19 to do this.
>
> We (Plaintiffs) initially asked the Court for several reasonable things:
>
> - That those eligible voters who notified the Election Supervisor by
> November 15 that they had not received ballots be sent them.
> (Hundreds of listeners -- particularly recognizable listener
> activists -- and perhaps 30% of the staff did not receive ballots.)
>
> - That they be given a sufficient amount of time to cast them (one
> week after receiving them is fine by us, even less), and that they be
> added to the box, but that until such time nothing gets counted.
>
> That was basically all we were asking -- no penalties, no money, just
> minor legal fees. Pacifica, meanwhile, is spending thousands of
> dollars in illegitimately fighting this case, where a settlement was
> more than possible and even within reach at one point. Whose interest
> does that serve?
>
> The Justice and Unity faction at WBAI, and Pacifica's attorneys (who
> have been acting as though they are J&U's attorneys, even meeting
> with J&U in a court meeting room and not allowing other listeners in
> (!) ), are using every trick in the book to delay the election so
> that they can retain their narrow majority on the LSB, the Delegate
> Assembly, and as Directors on the PNB.
>
> I believe that in doing so their interests have diverged from the
> interests of Pacifica and in favor of a particular faction; they
> could have settled this case right off the bat. Dan Siegel's and Bob
> Lederer's fingerprints are all over this procrastination "strategy",
> as well as local WBAI lawyer Dan Silverman.
>
> We now go before Judge Braun this Thursday, January 24 -- just in
> time for the Pacifica National Board meeting that begins in Newark the
> following day -- and have asked for further relief, including:
>
> - a ruling on who has the right to vote for Directors to the PNB in
> the interim, and which Delegates are eligible to be Directors. (Our
> claim is that those whose terms have expired cannot legally vote (or
> run) for Director seats on the PNB, nor conduct business as
> delegates, nor continue to serve on the Local Station Board until the
> elections are resolved.
>
> - a disqualification of ballots sent to anyone who was not a member
> of WBAI as of Aug. 31, 2007 -- the cut-off date stipulated in the
> bylaws.
>
> For a return to fairness,
> Mitchel Cohen