Recommendations for KPFA's Board of Directors

Please attend "Meet the Candidates Night" --Sunday, November 4th, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Cross at 1744 University Ave., Berkeley. (South side of University, between Grant & McGee, about 3 blocks west and 2 blocks north of Downtown Berkeley BART Station). Parking lot, fully wheelchair accessible, refreshments provided.

by Daniel Borgström
Oct/Nov 2007


KPFA is holding an election for its Local Station Board (LSB). Nine seats are being pursued by 24 candidates, represented by 4 slates. My recommendations include persons from 3 of the of the 4 slates: PEOPLE'S RADIO, VOICES FOR JUSTICE and INDEPENDENT.

The 4th slate, CONCERNED LISTENERS, is one I do not recommend. Its current board members tend to give a blank check to the insider clique which dominates KPFA. What I've seen of that slate's candidates for this year suggests more of the same.

My recommendations are (in alphabetic order by first name):

  • Atilla Nagy -- People's Radio slate (incumbent)
  • Bob English -- People's Radio slate
  • Chandra Hauptman --Independent slate (incumbent)
  • Joe Wanzala -- Independent slate (incumbent)
  • Mara Rivera -- People's Radio slate
  • Richard Phelps -- People's Radio slate (incumbent)
  • Stan Woods -- People's Radio slate (incumbent)
  • Tracy Rosenberg -- Independent slate

Ballots will be counted using a form of instant runoff voting (STV). Your first vote is the one that will count most; for that place I suggest RICHARD PHELPS. Richard led the successful fight for transparency and accountability at Pacifica in 2005.

Five of the above are incumbents who've done a good job. The rest are longstanding KPFA activists. There are also several others who seem well qualified, though I don't know them well enough to endorse. My strongest recommendation is for listeners to read the booklet of candidate statements that comes with the ballot, and also visit the following websites and publications:

Independent slate -- http://www.radiopoetics.org
Peoples' Radio slate -- http://peoplesradio.net/election2007.htm
Voices For Justice slate -- http://voicesforjusticeradio.googlepages.com
Concerned Listeners slate http://concernedlisteners.org

Other sources include the Berkeley Daily Planet, the SF Bay View and Indybay's media page, which frequently carry articles about KPFA.

KPFA's election page has a full list of candidates, and audios of the candidate forums of Oct 8 & 15. Two more forums will be aired, and,

Please attend "Meet the Candidates Night" --Sunday, November 4th, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Cross at 1744 University Ave., Berkeley. (South side of University, between Grant & McGee, about 3 blocks west and 2 blocks north of Downtown Berkeley BART Station). Parking lot, fully wheelchair accessible, refreshments provided.


DANIEL BORGSTRÖM is a KPFA listener who's been attending the monthly board meetings for the last 2 years. He's author of several articles about the board, including LSB: the listeners' voice at KPFA at http://www.intergate.com/~daniel41/2006/11/lsb-listeners-voice-at-kpfa.html

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The Current Situation at KPFA,
and what to do about it

Dialogue--the lack of it--is an issue. KPFA is dominated by a clique of insiders who do not respond to listeners, or even to volunteer workers at the station. Recently, on August 13th, KPFA's interim General Manager announced that the station will no longer recognize UPSO, (UnPaid Staff Organization). That's only one example of exclusion of others from participation, the tip of the iceberg

Fortunately, a system of checks and balances does exist. KPFA bylaws have provided for a board of directors--the Local Station Board (LSB). This board, consisting of 25 directors, is elected by listeners and staff; its job is to give oversight.

The board has been manipulated in a number of ways by the insider clique, whose most successful method has been to present slates of candidates who will do their bidding. That's the role of the "Concerned Listener" slate. Not all members of that slate have gone along with this role, but enough of them have. Those who do have used tactics, like filibustering, which render the board dysfunctional. If, in the upcoming election, they get enough of their candidates elected, they could reduce the board to a rubberstamping entity.

Board members and candidates who've opposed the insider clique have been targeted with name calling and swiftboating. During last year's election, confidential records of one candidate were posted on a website in an effort to embarrass her. (Despite that attack she was elected.)

Fortunately, KPFA has some capable and dedicated board members, several of whom are up for re-election. Getting the right candidates elected is important, but that's only part of it. We listeners need to be involved. Here is what I suggest:

· Keep up your membership and vote.

· Learn all you can about KPFA, its past and present.

· Attend board meetings and express your opinions at the open mike.

· Write reports, letters and emails on KPFA issues to Indymedia, newspapers and friends as well as to board members.


Daniel Borgström
KPFA listener member
daniel [at] danielborgstrom.com



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NEWS UPDATE October 22, 3007

People's Radio statement draws blood

Candidate statements tend to sound alike, even at KPFA. But not this time. The PEOPLE'S RADIO slate wrote a collective statement for the voter pamphlet which was mailed out with ballots for the LSB election. The statement documents a strategy of the station's insider clique to "dismantle" the board of directors, and presents an email as evidence.

In response, the CONCERNED LISTENER slate, which is a thinly disguised front group representing the station's insider clique, have filed charges with the KPFA/Pacifica election commission.

Also see:

PEOPLE'S RADIO STATEMENT
(from the KPFA voter pamphlet)

http://peoplesradio.net/election2007.htm


TWO LETTERS

http://www.intergate.com/~daniel41/2007/10/responding-to-dan-siegels-intervention.html


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