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G&G Endorses Candidates of the People's Radio Slate for KPFA 94.1 FM's Local Station Board Elections
10.28.2007
You would hardly know it from visiting the KPFA website, but listeners of the station are in the midst of a very important election that will decide the direction of the Listener Station Board (LSB) and thus the future of the landmark progressive radio news outlet as a whole. As of Sunday, October 28th, the opening screen of the website is a full page asking for donations during a fund drive. There is no mention of the LSB election. When you continue to the regular non-fund drive window, there is only a small reference to the election on the left hand column; the only information you can find is a list of candidates. And if you do follow through the pages, you can find a page for candidate statements, but none are posted. The candidate questionnaires, required and due over a week ago, aren't available either, nor is there anywhere to listen to the candidates' "cart" statements. KPFA is one of the San Francisco Bay Area's - and the nation's - most important non-corporate media sources. Its future as a truly progressive oasis of free speech is in the hands of its listeners during this election. Given the scant publicity, even in its own publications, and given the often contradictory claims zinging back and forth, it can be very difficult for listeners to figure out what is going on and whom to believe. It is critical for listeners to investigate further on their own and to use logic to figure out what is really going on and who really is making the LSB dysfunctional. No one ever said democracy was easy. Frankly, there seems to be a concerted effort by some people on the LSB and in KPFA management to keep voters uninformed about the LSB election. Minimizing voter turnout would likely give one group, Concerned Listeners Slate (CL), a huge advantage. This group has received big money donations and they are able to afford to send out mailers to coincide with the arrival of the ballots, which KPFA listeners and members should have received last week. All candidates for the LSB were required to submit a 60 second audio "cart." These "carts" are then to be played over the air on a rotational basis. Brian Edwards-Tiekert, a CL member currently on the LSB, explained that the carts cannot be played now, during the fund drive, because passionate fund-raisers such as Dennis Bernstein, who does the show "Flashpoints," would not take the three minutes out of their shows to play the carts, and the staff would then have to reschedule all of the carts. When asked if democracy had to take a back seat because of an alleged threat of staff inconvenience, he shrugged his shoulders. CL claim that other slates, such as the People's Radio slate, are trying to destabilize the station and attempting to micromanage it. Yet Edwards-Tiekert sent an email to some of his cohorts to discuss dismantling the LSB.
Why are CL members talking about destroying the LSB, the one element of democratic control at the station? CL members claim that Peoples' Radio and the other slates are being uncooperative; yet they call these other slates their "enemies," and they blame on them problems they themselves are either causing or allowing to continue. It doesn't seem to be the sort of rhetoric that will lead to an atmosphere of cordiality and cooperation to solve problems. Sherry Gendelman, one of the CL candidates seeking re-election, laid her head on the table during the Treasurer's Report, and then, apparently still uncomfortable, fully reclined between two chairs. This display of contempt and disregard not only for the two individuals who spent many days preparing that report, but for the board as an organization, begs the question why she is running at all. She seemed neither "concerned" nor a good "listener". Recently, LSB candidate Matthew "Dynamite" Hallinan wrote: These people are also vehemently opposed to those of us in Wellstone [Democratic Club] who are trying to build a progressive movement within the framework of the two-party system. That is their right. But as a result of their political perspective, they see no need for the station to reach out to the huge progressive insurgency that is reshaping the grassroots of the Democratic Party. This statement points to part of the problem. The CL slate really represents the interests of the Wellstone Democratic Club (WDC). Anyone from outside that perspective is apparently persona non grata. So if you're an independent, a Green, Libertarian, Peace and Freedom, or otherwise, they don't want your perspective heard on the radio. That seems to be the point. They certainly don't want anyone outside the confines of WDC having any control at the station or its board. KPFA is supposed to be a station where people who normally would not be heard on the air, get a chance to have their say, irrespective of whether they are within the confines of the two party system. Dynamite Hallinan goes on: These people are a part of the left, and they should have a voice - consonant with their numbers - in the governance of KPFA. But they should not run KPFA. On this point he is absolutely right. The problem is, CL members appear to want to rig the election so that money becomes the modulus of the results; since they have gotten big donations from wealthy WDC members, they would like to be over-represented on the board. Hallinan concludes: But we do share a common vision of creating a collaborative atmosphere on the Local Listener Board. We feel KPFA needs a management with professional skills, and that instead of demeaning its hard-working and underpaid staff, we should nurture and support them. But we also would like to see changes made at KPFA and we are convinced that to do that, we have to get past the current polarization and bitterness that divides the KPFA community. We have to get people on the LSB who understand the need for the volunteers, management, paid staff and listener representatives to work together. Recently, the Interim General Manager, Lemlem Rijio, unilaterally unrecognized the Unpaid Staff Organization (UPSO), much to the outrage of the many volunteers at the station. When one of the Peoples' Radio board members submitted a resolution to re-recognize UPSO, CL member Edwards-Tiekert tried to amend the resolution to weaken it. After that attempt failed, several CL members abstained from supporting the resolution. What kind of "nurture and support" is that? Interim Program Director Sasha Lilley, a CL supporter, unilaterally decided that the Program Council was only an advisory committee and would have no programming capacity. Is this how she shows a "common vision of creating a collaborative atmosphere?" Rijio also has not provided a General Manager's report to the LSB in many months, despite KPFA bylaws that state the GM is to meet with the board every month. We should expect a higher standard of "management with professional skills." Henry Norr, the writer who was famously fired from the San Francisco Chronicle for attending an anti-war rally, submitted a proposal to loosen the restrictions on event announcements so that ad-hoc groups, not just 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, could present events. Board Member Norr submitted the proposal to open up the airwaves to a wider, more diverse group of people. His proposal appeared on countless agendas - every one since February - before it finally came before the board. Once again, CL champion Edwards-Tiekert felt he needed to amend the proposal so that it would only be a proposal for the management to review and report back on. This, given the absence of the Interim General Manager at most of the LSB meetings, could have delayed the implementation of the proposal almost indefinitely. If Edwards-Tiekert really wanted the meetings to flow smoothly in a "collaborative atmosphere," why did he wait eight months to approach Norr about his concerns? Why did he unnecessarily waste half an hour of the LSB's precious time when he could have simply emailed his concerns to the whole board and had those issues resolved - instead of creating a contentious battle at the LSB meeting? After much debate, the measure finally passed, but only after much discussion and arm-twisting by the CL people to derail or emasculate it. KPFA's future is in the hands of its listeners. It can be difficult to figure out whom to believe about this election, and it behooves everyone to investigate further on their own and guide responsibly this rare jewel in the American media landscape. Norr spoke out yesterday about the election.
Garlic & Grass endorses the following Peoples' Radio Slate (www.PeoplesRadio.net) candidates for the KPFA Local Station Board:
- Richard Phelps, LSB member, LSB Chair 10-05 to 12-06, Committee experience: PNB Election and Governance, LSB, Outreach, Programming, Personnel, former AM & FM announcer. Mediator.
- Dave Heller, Campaign coordinator, Berkeley Measure I (instant runoff voting in Berkeley), Green Party activist, former board member of Californians for Electoral Reform, 9/11 Truth activist, author of G&G article "Taking a Closer Look."
- Attila Nagy, LSB member, former Program Council member, LSB Outreach Committee, North Bay For KPFA activist, active in the struggle to democratize bilingual KBBF in Santa Rosa.
- Stan Woods, LSB member, former Program Council member, Committee experience: PNB Governance, LSB Outreach, ILWU Local 6 member, supporter of the Woodfin Hotel Workers struggle for justice.
- Gerald Sanders, Former LSB member and PNB Director, former LSB Outreach committee, Mumia activist, SF â¬S8⬠activist, IBEW member, union activist.
- Mara Rivera, active in KPFA democracy movement since 1993, listener for 40+ years, 28 years worker-owner at Rainbow Grocery Coop, LSB Outreach Committee, anti-war anti-occupation activist.
- Bob English, Coalition for a Democratic Pacifica (CdP), KPFA Outreach Committee, UFW support committee volunteer, union democracy activist, longtime KPFA listener democracy activist.
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