It is really a question of whether you support the model of a democratic, participatory, community radio. One thing that people like yourself conveniently forget is that programmers get involved in station affairs (as volunteers) in much the same way and for the same reason as people who got involved in saving the station - indeed many of those (us) who got involved were former programmers and volunteers who were purged by the corporate raiders - Pat Scott, Mary Frances Berry & Co. And we got involved to save the station - not to run for office, the whole idea of running for the elected LAB came up years into the struggle when it became clear that democrtic governance, with all its problems was the only way to go.
It seems that people like yourself get involved at the station like everybody else, taking advantage of the fact that KPFA embraces and encourages community involvement and then you want to turn around and close the door once you are in. You have no respect for the very fact that KPFA is a community institution. To be sure, this creates a paradox to the extent that KPFA is also a non-profit entity that needs to be managed well. But the beauty of Pacifica is that it tries to create and foster 'alternative' ways of doing things, to create space for voices that are marginalized from the mainstream. The challenge is to ensure that the station remains vital, and has internal coherence, while at the same time being open and accesible to new ideas and voices. A democratic governance structure is the only way to ensure this.
Joe W.
http://www.glib.com/pacifica_has_bylaws.html
Judge Sabraw has ruled that the Pacifica Foundation has bylaws. He has also ruled that the nominations for elections are to run from September 15, 2003, to November 15, 2003.
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF ALAMEDA
DAVID ADELSON, et al., Plantiffs vs. PACIFICA FOUNDATION, et al., Defendants
ORDER RE: ENFORCEMENT OF SETTLEMENT
The above-entitled matter came on regularly for hearing at 9:00 a.m. on September 12, 2003. Having heard the arguments of all counsel, and the arguments of parties who appeared in pro per, and having read and considered all of the pleadings, including the Opposition Memorandum of Points and Authorities and supporting declarations filed by Margalo Ashley-Farrand, THE COURT HEREBY ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Court GRANTS the motion of Carol Spooner. The Court finds that the "Draft B" proposal for the new Pacifica Foundation By-Laws has been adopted by virtue of the approval by two-thirds majority vote of the interim Pacifica National Board on June 26, 2003 and by virtue of the subsequent approval by a majority vote of three of the five Local Advisory Boards as required by the Settlement Agreement entered in this litigation. The objections of various parties and others to reconsideration by the KPFK Local Advisory Board of the "Draft B" proposal beyond the deadline of July 23, 2003 as provided in this Court's order of July 14, 2003, are not well taken. The Court notes that these proceedings are equitable in nature. The Court has observed on numerous occasions the need of Pacifica Foundation to bring about resolution of the disputes between and among the various members and factions within the Pacifica community. To this end, the Court finds that the reconsideration of "Plan B" by the KPFK Local Area Board on August 23, 2003 is in substantial compliance with this Court's order of July 14, 2003. The Court further determines that with the vote of the KPFK Local Advisory Board on August 23, 2003, the requirement for adoption of the new Pacifica Foundation By-Laws have been met.
2. The process of electing new directors for the Pacifica Foundation National Board shall commence forthwith. The nominations period shall open on September 15, 2003 and shall be closed November 15, 2003.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: September 15, 2003
[signed] Ronald M. Sabraw Judge of the Superior Court
>From: Sasha Lilley <sashalilley at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>Subject: [lbo-talk] KPFA Staff Open Letter to the Local Station
>Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 12:13:34 -0700 (PDT)
>
>I do think the bylaws are a disaster. And even worse
>have been the actions of members on the LSBs who go
>beyond their mandate under the bylaws by trying to
>intervene into the daily business at the stations.
>
>Can you honesty say that having an elected board is
>going to save KPFA and Pacifica from another takeover
>attempt? The actions of those on the LSBs –- engaging
>in bizarre parliamentary manipulations, sabotaging
>essential station business, creating an unsafe working
>environment for both staff and fellow board members,
>slandering staff and management (for which litigation
>may be in process) -- has opened up the stations to
>intervention from the FCC and the state in this very
>hostile political climate. You are probably aware
>that both KPFA’s and KPFK’s licenses are up for
>renewal next year and these sorts of irresponsible and
>self-serving actions could very well lead to
>revocation.
>
>Do the bylaws “empower the listeners” or just the very
>few that have the time and inclination to get
>involved? Is it the voice of all the listeners that
>are represented on the boards or just a small few who
>are harboring grudges dating back decades in some
>cases? Our membership numbers in the tens of
>thousands and our listenership in the hundreds of
>thousands and yet people were elected to the KPFA LSB
>with as few as 400 votes (see
>http://www.pacifica.org/elections/KPFA/details/index.html).
> What good is democracy if it leads to the rule of a
>small faction of people who are not representative,
>either politically or demographically, of the
>listeners as a whole? And you can talk about outreach
>all you like, but built into this system is the fact
>that, unlike those living on pensions, trust funds or
>SSI, the majority of working people don’t have the
>time to participate -- even if they wanted to, which
>itself is dubious from everything I’ve heard from
>listeners, excluding the grey haired 40 people who
>come to every LSB meeting with such regularity that
>you could save seats in advance for them all.
>
>Having lived through the Mary Francis Berry era I am
>concerned once again about the concentration of power
>by Pacifica’s board -- albeit for different purposes,
>but with the same potential for destruction (I’d
>rather not respond to the penis-waving statements here
>about experience in the struggle, except to note that
>I was a volunteer at KPFA at the time of the lockout
>and was out in the streets with tens of thousands of
>other people). One of the key issues during the
>struggle against the old regime was how Pacifica was
>draining the stations of revenue. Yet this year alone
>the costs of the LSBs, the elections, and the Pacifica
>National Board are projected to be $580,000 and it is
>expected that the coming elections will cost much more
>than last year’s, making the next fiscal year's
>expenses for governance even higher.
>
>The June report from Pacifica’s Chief Financial
>Officer states: “The variance which is most worrisome
>is that of the [Local Station Board] elections. It
>shows a negative variance YTD in April of 138k. On
>projection, I have received word that the new
>elections this summer and fall will cost the network
>an additional 160k. This will bring the total
>election costs in this fiscal to a grand total of
>347k. (I had projected 268k by fiscal end but this
>new figure supercedes that number.) This figure is
>347k is 29% of the Network’s working capital figure!
>Governance costs here are actually higher when we
>include National Board expenses (168k), Board related
>legal expenses (50k), telephone costs (15k) – all in
>one fiscal year. This totals 580k!.... Governance
>costs, projected at 580 thousand dollars are 48% of
>our required working capital, and 4.4% of our total
>expenses. This does not include other normal
>administrative expenses, insurance and other
>requirements. We, as a Network, cannot survive this
>kind of expense.”
>http://www.pacifica.org/documents/pdf/Pacifica_CFO_Board_Report_April_and_May_2004.pdf
>
>
>Instead of helping raise money for the stations -– an
>essential part of the LSBs’ mandate -– the governing
>structure has become a big drain on them. As an
>underpaid worker, and someone who routinely has to
>deal with outdated equipment at the station as do 200
>other KPFA paid and unpaid staff, the costs of this
>(volunteer) bureaucratic stratum, intent on
>increasingly consolidating power, is really troubling.
>
>
>
>Joseph Wanzala wrote:
>
> >Clearly Pacifica has been lurching from one crisis to
>the next for
> >years. I have been intimately involved since the
>early 90s with the
> >group 'Take Back KPFA'. Sasha's perpective suffers
>from her being a
> >relative newcomer to the scene and not having had
>firsthand
> >experience of the history she references.
> >
> >Ironically, the people at WBAI that you talk about,
>those making
> >spurious charges of 'racism' and so forth are people
>I have been
> >doing battle with for years (and whose West Cost
>allies of the
> >so-called 'Unity Caucus' are allied with Sasha & Co
>on the question
> >of the role of the LSBs), and who are aligned with
>the Sasha Lilley
> >faction here in their efforts to undermine the
>authority of the
> >Pacifica bylaws.
>
>I find it interesting to learn that I’m an ally with
>the Unity Caucus at WBAI. That’s news to me, since I
>know no one at WBAI except Doug, Amy Goodman, the
>producers of Democracy Now and Free Speech Radio News.
>
>
>While on the KPFA LAB, I worked very intensely with
> >dozens of thoughful and committed people at all four
>Pacifica
> >stations to fashion these bylaws. The main people
>opposed to bylaws
> >that empowered the listeners in a meaningful way are
>by and large
> >the same people trying to undermine it now. Then
>their is the other
> >group - the signers of the Lilley letter, who
>remained aloof from
> >the process, never even showed up to a station board
>meeting ignored
> >or took for granted our efforts to save the station
>(indeed the
> >network) from the corporate raiders and now are
>coming forward
> >essentially to say - thank you very much for your
>help, now go away.
>
>
>=====
>Sasha Lilley
>Producer, Against the Grain
>Pacifica Radio's KPFA
>510 848-6767 ext 209
>www.againstthegrain.org
>
>
>
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