Mitch Jeserich Endorsements for KPFA LSB Election

Dear KPFA Subscribers and Friends (and detractors who undoubtedly will respond with their own polemic),

Many of you have or will soon receive ballots for the kpfa local station board. I fully endorse the candidates below and I hope you will vote for them. They are all strong supporters of Letters to Washington. From the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the rise of right wing activism to major natural disasters around the world to the unnatural disaster in the Gulf Coast, it is vitally important that kpfa and the voices and perspectives it brings to the air remains a part of the public discourse during these intense times. I believe these candidates will push kpfa in a direction not just to ensure our survival but to makes us strive.

Mitch Jeserich endorses (find their bios at savekpfa.org):

§ Dave Saldana

§ Suzi Goldmacher

§ Matthew Hallinan

§ Margy Wilkinson

§ Mal Burnstein

§ Tanya Russell

§ Terry Doran

§ Donald Goldmacher

§ Mark Hernandez

§ Jack Kurzweil


It is commonly acknowledged by those who have worked in a non-profit organization that a healthy functioning board helps set out a broad direction for the organization to meet its mission and it helps raise necessary funds to keep the organization running optimally. That is why I support the candidates listed above.

We have a board that is democratically elected by listeners who donate $25 or more to the station. This is a good thing. But we are in danger of turning a democratic process into a mockery--or as I like to say, a demochery. We have a system where barely 10% of eligible voters cast ballots. I doubt any would argue that is a healthy model for a democracy. If that was the case for any country, it would be laughed at, ridiculed and considered an illegitimate election. That, unfortunately, is exactly what we have. When only 10% of those eligible vote do so, it allows unqualified candidates to conduct a modest amount of organizing to get themselves elected to a board that governs a very important organization.

Let me present this analogy to explain what that looks like. Have you ever been to a baseball game and witnessed the beer drinking belligerent fan in the bleachers heckling the ball players for the entire game? Imagine if that belligerent fan, with little actual first hand experience in the game, were suddenly made the boss of those very same ball players. That is what it feels like for many of us who work at kpfa. That is why it is so important that if you get a ballot in the mail, that you fill it out and put it in the mail asap. Yes, I hope you will vote for the people listed above. I believe that they will serve responsibly and that is what we need in these critical times. But even if you vote for others, I still implore you to vote. At least make this democratic process a legitimate one. One that ensures listeners are truly represented.