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Issues in this Election 2006
People's Radio is a caucus devoted to Listener Democracy at KPFA.
We support democratic functioning, transparency, and accountability
in all areas: financial, programming, and governance. We are dedicated
to preserving and expanding KPFA's decades long role as a ''Voice of
the Voiceless'', a genuine alternative to the half truths, distortions,
and lies of the corporate media .
We first formed as a slate in the 2004 Local Station Board election.
We won six out of nine listener seats up for election that year. But
we are struggling with a situation in which those who have long held
power at the station do not want to give up their de facto power to
shared decision making with listeners representatives.
Some keywords & phrases used by our opposition are "micromanaging"
- referring to the Local Station Board's role as overseer of fulfillment
of the Mission Statement; "too much democracy" - referring
to the court mandated system of shared decision making; "administration
vs. governance", meant to downplay the responsibility of the LSB
to oversee programming in general; and "civility and consensus
building" - meant to downplay lack of acceptance of what we call
"entrenched staff" as the sole decision makers at the station,
and the oppositional tactics used by their representatives to prevent
effective governance from proceeding.
This election we hope to win a clear, strong majority so that, along
with our allies, we can begin to carry out our 10 point program for
progressive growth and reform at KPFA and Pacifica.
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from: Marc Sapir
Subject: FW: WDRC for KPFA event Sunday September 24
Please share this news that the Wellstone Democratic Club has endorsed
a slate of candidates for KPFA Board promoted and supported specifically
by core staff, and will raise funds at an endorsement party.
I was under the impression that fundraising was not an approved part
of the Board elections, but apparently I was wrong. I was also under
the impression that Staff elect their own reps and listeners their own.
The message below *[invitation to fundraiser for Concerned Listeners
slate hosted in part by certain staff members] is transparent in making
clear that core staff is publicly presenting their own slate of listener
candidates. There may be only a fine line between individual staff members
endorsing particular candidates and a group of staff putting forward
an entire slate of candidates but I think there is, nevertheless, a
distinction between the two ideas and actions.
Apparently the staff who are promoting this slate and raising money
for them see no conflict of interest in their actions, but are they
not attacking the fundamental fairness regarding governance that was
adjudicated and agreed upon within the court settlement?
* Dear WDRC,
Enclosed is a flyer inviting all supporters of a renewed KPFA to come
to
a campaign kick-off event and fundraiser for the slate of candidates
endorsed for the KPFA Local Station Board by the Wellstone Club and
our
partner organization in this effort, the Concerned Listeners for KPFA.
This is an opportunity to meet the candidates and shmooze with
some
of the on air staff that is supporting their candidacies, including
Larry Bensky, Bonnie Simmons, Phil Maldari, Sasha Lilley, and Mark Mericle.
[Italics ours.]
The event will be this Sunday September 24th from 3-6 at Conn
Hallinan's home (one of the candidates) , 3033 Dana st. (near Prince)
in
Berkeley. The same large beautiful home where Jerry Mc Nerney held his
fundraiser last Saturday.
Hope to see you there.
John Katz
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WELLSTONE MEMBERS, WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WHO YOU HAVE ENDORSED FOR
THE KPFA LOCAL STATION BOARD, OR DO YOU CARE THAT YOU ARE ENDORSING
THE JOE LIEBERMAN AND PATRICK BUCANAN OF THE KPFA INCUMBANTS?
About two months ago, I and two other LSB members met with John Katz,
Kathleen Lilley and Matthew Hallinan to discuss KPFA. We had heard that
Sasha Lilley and others had come to you to build a slate to support
some of the staff against the listener activists. During the discussion
it became clear that much they had been told was not true. Our main
concern was with your support of Sarv Randhawa and Mark Hernandez. We
don’t know your other candidates.
Both of them vetoed a resolution supporting the Berkeley Honda
Strikers more than once. This was communicated to the trio
we met with. Did they tell you this when they asked you to endorse them?
At our meeting we were told in no uncertain terms that we would be allowed
to speak to your organization prior to any endorsement. We never got
a call? Seems more like DNC politics that Paul Wellstone or Pacifica,
“Free Speech Radio”. Were they afraid of the facts?
Sarv Randhawa has a history of voting on the Pacifica National Board
against transparency. Randhawa consistently voted to support the former
Executive Director’s fight to stop Director’s Inspections,
which is an “Absolute right” per the Bylaws and State law,
Corporations Code section 6334. He was joined in these obstructions
by the Justice & Unity faction that has control of the WBAI LSB
and has almost destroyed WBAI, they need 90+ days of fund drive and
they still don’t make their budget. After stalling for two years
and threats of lawsuits to stop the obstruction, the former ED resigned
and inspections discovered that over $65,000 worth of radio equipment
was missing from WBAI. Democratic process and transparency or patronage
and cronyism? Which side are you on? Randhawa consistently voted to
delay Director’s Inspections. What “progressive” is
against transparency?
On three separate occasions Randhawa has literally gotten in other
board members faces at the end of meetings, nose to nose, and wouldn’t
back off until several people yelled at him. The first was with La Varn
Williams, a slender African-American, then I, and recently Max Blanchet.
Max is from Haiti and during his response to Randhawa’s provocation
the boy friend of one of Randhawa’s and Hernandez’s allies,
Debbie Speer, KFCF Representative, yelled out at Max “are you
Ton-Ton Macoute”, the secret police of Papa Doc. Max has lost
relatives to them. The man who said it was white. Randhawa has never
apologized for any of these provocations nor for the racist comment
by his ally’s friend. Is this who progressive democrats want to
support?
Randhawa and Hernandez both objected to having “one” listener
activist, African-American Joe Wanzala, speak at a KPFA LSB Town Hall
Meeting along with several entrenched staff (the people that came to
you for help in forming a slate). How Pacifica is this. And apparently
that is ok with the Wellstone Club since you didn’t want to hear
the other side either before endorsing? Hernandez red baited
me during that struggle: below is the e-mail copy from Hernandez. I
have the original if anyone wants to see it. He also terrorist baited
an Iranian-American during his first year on the LSB. This is not the
only time Hernandez has red baited. Hernandez has never
self-described as a “progressive”. Did anyone from your
group talk to him about his Libertarian politics? The red baiting was
reported to the trio we met with. Did they report this before you were
asked to endorse?
“What's next? "Busloads of Commies" to keep
regular listeners from attending?” -mh-
Both Hernandez and Randhawa voted to excuse several absences of a staff
LSB member long after he stopped working and they knew it. They did
this to keep off a progressive Mexican-American activist who was entitled
to the seat on the board and supports democratic process and transparency
in opposition to them. When the absent member finally announced his
resignation his attendance was 41%. He hadn’t been to a meeting
since early January.
Hernandez, LSB Secretary, even went so far to protect that seat that
he changed the minutes to give the missing member an excused absence
when it was not excused. The altered minutes were discovered and changed
back at the recent meeting. There is a motion pending before the LSB
to remove Hernandez for this violation of trust and his duties as Secretary.
. . . [Page 2 unavailable]
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THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BERKELEY HONDA RESOLUTION
By Chandra Hauptman
Listener-Member, KPFA Local Station Board
I am the author of the KPFA Local Station
Board’s (LSB) resolution in support of the Berkeley Honda workers,
who held a 10 month strike against the new Berkeley Honda management.*
The resolution was first introduced to the KPFA LSB at its August 2005
meeting. It took the LSB nine months to act on this resolution. The
only reason the board was able to approve this resolution is because
I threatened to go public, at the April 2006 LSB meeting, by exposing
the names of the two people who prevented this resolution from being
approved by the LSB for the prior 8 months. Ironically, the April 2006
LSB meeting was held in a San Jose union hall.
A lot of misinformation is
being circulated by the two previously unnamed board members, and their
allies, about why they prevented this resolution from being approved.
So I have decided to go public with their names and to correct their
“mis-statements” as well as to answer the questions most
people are asking:
Question #1:Why was this resolution drafted?
Answer: I drafted this resolution, after hearing an announcement on
KPFA in July 2005, about a rally in support of the then striking Berkeley
Honda workers. I attended this rally and was very disturbed to hear
about the reasons for the strike including the firing of older workers,
reduction of pension benefits and changes to the health insurance plan
without union consent. I felt these issues had national implications
so I drafted a resolution for the board to support the striking workers.
Question #2:Why did it take nine months for it to be acted upon and
approved?
Answer: The reason it took nine months for this resolution to be approved
is because two board members, Sarv Randhawa and Mark Hernandez, prevented
this item from being heard by the board. Each month, either Sarv or
Mark voiced an objection to this item going forward on the LSB’s
consent calendar. After a few attempts to get this resolution approved,
I started writing emails to all members of the LSB prior to each board
meeting. I asked if anyone had objections to this resolution to please
make these objections known to me and to the LSB. I also offered to
discuss these objections so they could be resolved prior to each board
meeting. Month after month my email appeals were met with complete silence.
No one said why he/she was objecting. No one came forward to state publicly
why he/she continued to prevent this resolution from going forward.
The first and only time this resolution was approved by the KPFA LSB
was at the April 2006 meeting, two days before the Berkeley Honda strike
was settled!
In solidarity,
Chandra
* The Berkeley Honda workers strike, now settled, was held from July
2005 - April 2006.
