Dan Siegel and WBAI

Dan Siegel is running for mayor of Oakland, and he looks like a progressive. However, his history with the Pacifica Radio network (which include KPFA & WBAI) shows that he can be destructive to progressive organizations.

An employee of the Siegel & Yee law firm, Jose Luis Fuentes, now represents Dan Siegel on KPFA's Local Station Board and is player in the the attempt to fire Pacifica's Executive Director Summer Reese.


Siegel does not begin his account of WBAI's travails until 2009 -- I wonder why?

(WBAI is KPFA's Pacifica sister-station in New York)

by Mitchel Cohen, Chair, WBAI Local Station Board
November 14, 2012

Dan Siegel should be proposing positive ways to expand KPFA's membership -- which has greatly diminished during his faction's control of the local board -- and stop scapegoating WBAI.

Siegel does not begin his account of WBAI's travails until 2009 -- I wonder why? It was, after all, WBAI's mismanagement up until the middle of 2009 that was the problem, and it was Siegel and his faction on the Pacifica National Board and national office who hired the destroyers and promoted their policies that were and still are undermining the network.

We at WBAI are still digging ourselves out from under an amazing amount of mis-management, terrible "planning", very real physical violence, and theft at WBAI that had been hammering us while Siegel was Chief Counsel and interim Executive Director at Pacifica.

In 2009, we succeeded, finally, in replacing the old Siegel-backed crew at WBAI that had caused so much damage to Pacifica. The following year, the new management was able to begin reversing the serious problems they'd inherited.

They'd inherited the following:

- at least $65,000 in essential equipment that WBAI had purchased had been "diverted" to private individuals, one of whom was a relative of the former Siegel-supported management. That was covered-up by one of the very officials Siegel continues to defend in his letter! Please recall that until 2009, Siegel's faction controlled the Pacifica National Board. He personally -- with the support of his Board -- pulled every trick in the book to block the Directors' inspections from looking into the $65,000 in stolen equipment, after which the PNB decided to sweep the whole matter under the carpet.

- more than 7,000 listeners had ordered and PAID FOR premiums over 2007 and 2008, but those orders had never been fulfilled (though the station accepted their money).

- the premiums department at WBAI was a wreck. When I personally went to investigate, I found literally thousands of CDs strewn, unlabeled, all over the floors, desks, and radiators! WBAI lost thousands of members as a result.

- there was more than $800,000 in pledges at WBAI each year that were left "sitting on the table" and never collected. Instead of pushing his managers to collect those funds, Siegel made excuses for their incompetence. Since we installed the new management, we have at long last increased the fulfillment rate income by over 10 percent (around $200,000 per year).

- thousands of dollars in cash had been appropriated and "misused" by a sticky-fingered manager supported by Siegel, and awarded to management's friends.

- violence at the station was rampant; reports of physical abuse occurred on a daily basis.

- Management purchased premiums from its friends, as a kickback operation to its faction's supporters.

- Management allotted prime office space for no rent to its friends doing private business from WBAI's studios.

- it was Dan Siegel's faction on the National Board that imposed the renewal of the onerous rental lease on WBAI, and which many of us opposed -- a lease that Siegel now incredibly blames on us! (Studio rent is $380,000 per year; antenna rent atop the Empire State Building is approaching $500,000 this year.)

All of these and a lot more occurred prior to 2009, when Siegel and his faction ruled Pacifica, which is why he begins his "analysis" only after that date. It was only when we finally were able to put into place new management at WBAI (not solidified until 2010-11) that each of these problems began to be seriously addressed and rectified.

Let me give one more example. Hundreds of WBAI listener-members and staff did not receive ballots in the 2007 election, when Dan Siegel was Chief Counsel for Pacifica and its interim Executive Director. We brought this repeatedly to Siegel's attention. Instead of simply ordering Pacifica to send us ballots, Siegel and the Board he controlled at the time refused to send them. We had to go to Court; we won a Temporary Restraining Order that, among other things, directed Pacifica to send us ballots.

Instead of following the Court's order, however, Siegel and Pacifica continued to play games with members' right to vote. He mired the Network deeper and deeper into an expense of more than $175,000 to Pacifica's attorneys, just to justify not sending us ballots! He lost, but Pacifica was left holding the bill.

Why were Siegel and Pacifica at the time acting so viciously, incurring huge expenses that the network had to pay? At the same time Pacifica and KPFA were pleading poverty, the management Siegel and his faction controlled at KPFA and supervised by KPFA's then-treasurer Brian Edwards-Tiekert (BET for short) "forgot" to deposit a $375,000 check, while claiming "there's no money!" (In fact, BET, Siegel and the KPFA GM met with the donor when the check was given to KPFA. Do you think they really just "forgot" about such a large sum?)

The new management teams at WBAI and Pacifica inherited that huge mess from the previous administration; it has taken several years to clean it up, and we're still not fully out of it yet. But we're way ahead of where we used to be. WBAI management has been excellent in addressing (and improving) at least that much.

But, no thanks go to Brian Edwards-Tiekert -- a KPFA paid programmer -- who proposed a few years ago that WBAI and the other Pacifica stations drastically cut staff. The National Board -- at that time controlled by Siegel and his faction -- voted to implement Brian Edwards-Tiekert's proposal. WBAI was forced to cut 35%(!) of its staff, bringing it down to around 1/2 the salaries of KPFA and crippling the station.

The very cuts Brian proposed were the cuts that he went to the barricades over when they affected his own job, instead of other people's.

So it is very strange that, all of a sudden, Dan Siegel "discovers" that WBAI is in trouble and "draining the network". It was the mismanagement of those supported by Siegel's faction that set those wheels in motion and that the new management is trying to reverse. We are slowly succeeding in doing so.

OF COURSE WBAI has to move to cheaper studios -- I've been one of those most vociferous about that. Still .... If WBAI had the same very low costs for studio space as KPFA or KPFK, we'd be swimming in funds. WBAI now takes in around the same in contributions as KPFA. Looked at another way, why is it that KPFA is in such serious straits under the Siegel faction, since it has around $900,000 less in overhead expenses than WBAI?

I believe that the best chance for improving KPFA lies in saving -- not breaking up -- the Pacifica network. And so I urge you to reject Siegel's blame-game, and vote for the United for Community Radio slate in the elections to the local station board.

MITCHEL COHEN
Chair, WBAI Local Station Board (for ID only)
www.MitchelCohen.com


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for updates, reports & essays on KPFA/Pacifica,
please visit these websites:

UNITED FOR COMMUNITY RADIO

PACIFICA IN EXILE

ANN GARRISON, A KPFA REPORTER

LORDS & LADIES vs. the PEASANTS at KPFA


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KPFA 94.1 FM is one of five stations of the Pacifica radio network which are located in major cities across the country. The other stations are WBAI 99.5 in New York, WPFW 89.3 in Washington DC, KPFT 90.1 in Houston, and KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles. There are also about 160 affiliate stations.



Vote for the UCR -- United for Community Radio

A coup? or what? at Pacifica Radio

Summer Reese, the Executive Director of Pacifica Radio, was suddenly fired on March 13th. What is going on here?


Questions

by Bill Crosier, former PNB vice-chair and representative from KPFT, 90.1 FM Houston
March 16, 2014


The manner in which the majority of the Pacifica Nation Board (PNB) has been ramming through actions lately, disregarding process and democratic procedures and their fiduciary duties, and culminating with their vote to suddenly terminate the Executive Director Thursday night after she successfully avoided yet another lawsuit (by paying the rest of the severance for laid-off WBAI employees), has me wondering about their leadership and why they were elected by the new majority faction on the PNB. Would any of you on these lists like to help guess at the answers to these questions:

Why were the three people on the PNB with perhaps the most questionable credentials elected as officers? Are these the kinds of people we want in leadership positions for Pacifica?


Here are some specific questions about the officers:

* Wasn't Margy Wilkinson admonished by a court for neglecting her fiduciary duties by helping her so-called "Save KPFA" organization to collect and hold hostage pledges that were intended for her station KPFA?

* Why is Ms. Wilkinson calling herself "Chair" of the PNB, when there is a clear challenge to the legitimacy of the chair election (thus making her more of a chair pro tem), as the ballots were not tabulated in accordance with the election instructions?

* Why are she and the others of her faction delaying a re-do of the chair election?

* Is it true what I've hear about Cerene Roberts, who was elected Secretary of the PNB, that she has been banned from her station (WBAI) by several different managers over the years for violence, assaults, and threats of violence? This is not very seemly for a Pacifican. Also, why has she not produced any minutes of any of the meetings of the PNB since the new board members were seated and elected her as secretary? I count eight days of public meetings (including four at the in-person meeting in DC), and I haven't seen any minutes for any of them.

* Why did Tony Norman, representative from WPFW, tell the PNB in January, when running for the vice chair position on the PNB, that he had resigned from his elected position on the DC Advisory Board to the Neighborhood Commissioner? A check by other board members found he did not resign until they asked the ANC about this on Mar. 12. Is he (and the other officers) not familiar with the Pacifica Bylaws requirements that say "A Director shall be deemed to have resigned the position of Director if s/he becomes a candidate for public office or accepts a political appointment during his or her term as a Director", and which further clarifies that this provision applies to any "person who holds any elected or appointed public office at any level of government -- federal, state, or local -- or is a candidate for such office". Why would he have said he had resigned from his elected position on the ANC when he had not done so, and that it's clear he should never have been eligible to be on his LSB nor PNB after his ANC election?


Here are some more general questions for Pacifica's Rogue Officers' Corps:

* Is it true that they pushed to re-hire the CFO who was let go at the end of his probationary period, after failing to provide adequate financial reports and oversight of financial matters?

* Is it true that some of these financial matters include the failure of the KPFA Business Manager to reconcile KPFA's books since Sep. 2012, thus delaying yet again another audit?

* Why did the CFO fail to get that done?

* Is embezzlement or other financial malfeasance going on at KPFA that they're trying to cover up, or just padding of the payroll? Without reconciled books, it's difficult to even do an audit, much less look for whatever people may be trying to hide. Is there any reasonable excuse why it would take so long to get the books in order?


And some more questions specifically about the meeting last Thursday, March 13th:

* Why was there such an extreme rush to terminate Pacifica's Executive Director?

* Is it true that even for members of the PNB, that no notice was given for the motion to terminate her? Isn't this a gross violation of Pacifica's Bylaws and Roberts Rules?

* Is it true that even in executive session, there was no reason given to terminate her?

* Why was no discussion and debate allowed on such an important issue, that involves hundreds of thousands of dollars of liability to Pacifica?

* I'm told that potentially, over a million dollars could be at stake because of possible loss of CPB funds. Why was discussion not allowed on such critical matters that were relevant to the termination?

* Why did the PNB leadership repeatedly reject calls for having legal and HR expertise available (not necessarily present through the entire meetings) to advise and answer questions about such important personnel and liability issues? Why would they not even allow questions to be submitted for an HR attorney to answer before the next meeting (if they did not want an attorney present for the entire meeting)?

I've seen some strange things in Pacifica governance, but I'm appalled at what I've seen the current PNB leadership and their followers do recently.


My biggest question is:

With the mad rush to ignore the Pacifica Bylaws and California law, and to terminate the ED with no notice and no reasons given, and with talk from some Directors about sacrificing WBAI to keep from having to sell the buildings and other property of Pacifica stations and to allow deficit spending at those other stations, what's next?

It's pretty scary to think about.

Feel free to forward and re-post.


BILL CROSIER, former PNB vice-chair and representative from KPFT kpft (at) crosierbiomed.com

The Pacifica Radio Network has Five Stations
KPFT 90.1 FM is the Pacifica station in Houston, Texas

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Updates, reports & essays about KPFA & Pacifica Foundation Radio at
UNITED FOR COMMUNITY RADIO


KPFA 94.1 FM is one of five stations of the Pacifica radio network which are located in major cities across the country. The other stations are WBAI 99.5 in New York, WPFW 89.3 in Washington DC, KPFT 90.1 in Houston, and KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles. There are also about 160 affiliate stations.

Dan Siegel at Pacifica Radio

DAN SIEGEL and the KPFA/Pacifica Election of 2007


Attorney Dan Siegel has an interesting history at Pacifica Radio, where some of his unethical acts are documented in a report by a former election supervisor, Casey Peters.

According to Peters' report, Siegel (along with others) manipulated the KPFA/Pacifica elections of 2007, in which Siegel's group, the "Concerned Listeners" (CL), now SaveKPFA, fraudulently won a majority of seats on KPFA's LSB (Local Station Board). Siegel was then Foundation Counsel and, during the election, also became interim Executive Director of the Pacifica Radio network.

Peters also mentions that Dan Siegel entered his home illegally, startling his wife who yelled at him to get out, and called the police. "We seriously considered pressing trespass and assault charges," Peters says in the report.

Today (2008) Dan Siegel is a member of KPFA's LSB. His group, formerly the CL'ers (Concerned Listeners), now call themselves SaveKPFA

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excerpts from FINAL REPORT
on the Pacifica 2007 Elections
by Casey Peters
National Elections Supervisor (NES)


An unexpected problem arose at KPFA where candidate carts were bundled in large groups playing for several minutes at a time. This was done rather than the traditional broadcast of carts individually, dispersed among other sorts of programming. Some candidates contended that the bundles always started with management’s favored candidates and that listeners tuned out after the first couple of carts were aired. I spoke with KPFA’s Interim General Manager Lemlem Rijio and Interim Program Director Sasha Lilley, and both agreed to de-bundle the carts and to broadcast them individually as other stations do. However, in practice they refused to conform to a direct order from the National Election Supervisor [NES]. The bundling continued, putting some candidates at a distinct disadvantage. The one candidate whose cart aired first in the bundle garnered the most first place votes by far in the KPFA Listener Sponsor vote count.


Management Interference

Greg Guma, who hired me to be Pacifica Foundation's National Elections Supervisor for the 2007 election cycle, was known as a critic of our elections and someone who felt that his power as Executive Director [ED] was undermined by interference from ill-informed but strongly opinionated board members. However, Guma was unflinching in following the letter and spirit of Pacifica Bylaws in his administrative support for the election process. He published a brief commentary on other approaches to governance that might draw upon a number of traditions. Regardless of his personal and professional views on how best to govern the Pacifica Foundation, Greg Guma always lent his full support as ED to implementing the governance process established in the ByLaws and to the work of the Election Supervisors.


Many of the problems that arose in the elections this year may be traced to the disruption caused by the early severance of Greg Guma after he tendered his plan for resignation as Executive Director. The PNB [Pacifica National Board] ushered him out the door hurriedly rather than on the timetable he offered which would have left him at the helm during the election cycle. The vacuum of power, with an intermittent interim ED interlaced by the spectacle of unprofessional vacillation on the part of the presumptive new leader, created a virtual meltdown situation. With obvious instability at the top, the election campaigns descended into chaos. As soon as Nicole Sawaya stepped into the Executive Director role, I left word with her assistant that I was available to meet at her convenience to brief her on the status of the ongoing elections. Ms. Sawaya sent word back that she had no intention of meeting with the NES [National Election Supervisor] and that she opposed Pacifica Bylaws provisions for elected boards.


Shortly thereafter, Ms. Sawaya's sent an email to the PNB [Pacifica National Board] attacking me for allegedly being partisan in my administration of the election. Apparently, she preferred to get her information by rumor and to spread falsehoods through a gossip mill rather than to meet face to face on a professional basis and civilly discuss any concerns that might arise. This was a great disappointment, as the warring factions had put aside their differences to join in support of Ms. Sawaya to be hired as Executive Director. My hope was that her leadership would help to bring about an Era of Good Feeling. Instead, she fomented the worst of behavior already prevalent at Pacifica.


Soon, Nicole Sawaya had resigned -- at least temporarily -- and Dan Siegel was put back into place as interim ED [Executive Director]. At that point, the power really seemed to go to Siegel's head and he started ordering me about in how to fulfill my duties. He applied intimidation regarding the still-pending certification of KPFA results, telling me that I would be fired if I did not do so promptly. The problem was that criteria for certification had not been met due to irregularities in the campaign, as will be explained later in this report.


Regardless of my desire to maintain absolute integrity in each of the local elections throughout the cycle, I was forced to capitulate in order to continue my work in administering the elections at the remaining radio stations. I realize now that this was an unforgivable error on my part and that I should have publicized the fact that the Interim Executive Director [Siegel] was using extortion to intimidate the National Elections Supervisor and wrongly influence the outcome of the elections to the detriment of members of the Pacifica Foundation.


Essentially, Dan Siegel in his dual roles as corporate counsel and Interim Executive Director engaged in threats and manipulation to unlawfully control the outcome of Pacifica elections. This constitutes the highjacking of the vote count. On the evening of March 13, 2008, I was about to leave for Los Angeles International Airport to fly to New York for the WBAI vote count when I received a message from Pacifica Chief Financial Officer Lonnie Hicks. Earlier in the day, he had confirmed that my accommodations in New York City were reserved. The new message said that Interim ED Dan Siegel did not want me conducting the vote count at WBAI and was firing me as National Elections Supervisor. Further information about the WBAI count follows later in this report.


A few days later, Dan Siegel entered my home illegally without any prior notice, and without ringing the bell, knocking on the door or announcing himself. Siegel startled my wife Marilyn, who was home alone, in our living room and she yelled at him to get out. His intent was to confiscate election equipment and materials without compensating me for work completed. Siegel had apparently been drinking, and sat in a rented SUV flashing his headlights into our bedroom. Marilyn called the police to stop the harassment. We seriously considered pressing trespass and assault charges, but felt any publicity about the incident would not look good for the Pacifica Foundation.


Shortly thereafter, I arranged through the good graces of KPFK Interim General Manager Jim Lafferty to deliver the desired equipment and materials in exchange for partial payment for services rendered.


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The full report on the Pacifica 2007 Elections by Casey Peters, National Elections Supervisor (NES)


Open Letter: 2007 elections




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Updates, reports & essays about KPFA & Pacifica Foundation Radio at
UNITED FOR COMMUNITY RADIO


KPFA 94.1 FM is one of five stations of the Pacifica radio network which are located in major cities across the country. The other stations are WBAI 99.5 in New York, WPFW 89.3 in Washington DC, KPFT 90.1 in Houston, and KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles. There are also about 160 affiliate stations.










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Grumbling

over the bedside manner of WBAI Program Director Tony Bates?

by Steve Brown
May 11, 2011

It seems that Tony Bates (WBAI's interim Program Director) recently ruffled some feathers at the station. A few staff members have even complained about him in their blogs. They say that he doesn't operate by consensus. That he makes decisions without talking to them. Or asking for their advice. Or their permission. And that he isn't as nice as he could be.

Are they right? Probably.

Tony does sometimes shoot from the hip, might be a bit abrupt (not to mention hoarse) after doing 12 hours of on-air fundraising, and has quite likely stepped on a few sensitive toes. So yes, his bedside manner could be improved (and he is working on it). Those are the negatives.

On the other hand, since arriving at the station (originally on loan from sister-station KPFK), he has done a fantastic job of helping to pull the station out of the worst financial crisis in its 50-year history. An overwhelming majority of staff recognize this, and find Tony's behavior (if a bit blunt) perfectly acceptable. And they are grateful that he is here.

They also know that no program director can ever satisfy everyone, all the time. Or act like Mr. Nice Guy all of the time. Which may not be the worst thing in the world, since the test of a Program Director is not how well he is liked, but how well our listeners like the programs he puts on the air. And judging from our listener mail (and the growing success of our fund-drives), they seem to be responding enthusiastically to the new additions to our program grid, as well as to our improved air sound, and the faster delivery of fund-drive premiums.

Of course, Tony is still relatively new in his job. And he is only "interim" Program Director. Station Manager Berthold Reimers still has to decide whether to make him "permanent" or replace him with someone else. The decision is his, and we must wait and see.

But meanwhile, it might be prudent to remember that this is a very difficult time for the station. From the moment Bates and Reimers came on board, they have been operating in crisis mode. They are sometimes forced to make critical decisions with little time for reflection, often based on little more than a guess, because no hard facts or information exist. Without doubt, some of their decisions may turn out to be unwise. In which case, all we can hope for is that they be willing -- if things do not turn out as expected--to reconsider and change direction. Which they have not hesitated to do.

My feeling is that, all things considered, Tony Bates has turned out to be a very good Program Director indeed. All the more so, since he has had to work in what is a very bad time for public radio. Therefore, the grumbles of a few staff members about Tony Bates's behavioral rough edges -- which need not be ignored -- should nevertheless be considered in context. Meaning that this problem is a lot easier to correct than the far bigger problem of having a Program Director who worsened our financial situation or degraded our programming.

Think of it this way. If Noam Chomsky suddenly became president of the US ... ended our wars ... withdrew our troops from around the world ... and allotted 50 billion dollars to subsidize solar power, I would nevertheless be distressed if it was discovered that he also shop-lifted at Wal-Mart. But I would not, for that reason, call for his impeachment or fail to support him for re-election.

So let us be grateful for the PD we have. Most especially because he has had the political will to buck the longstanding feudal mentality at WBAI, which holds that airtime belongs to whoever happens to hold it--i.e., that possession is nine-tenths of the [programming] law.

We are also fortunate in having a General Manager who is not afraid to back his Program Director when faced with opposition from certain members of the Local Station Board or the Pacifica National Board. Here are just a few of the recent changes that the Program Director and Station Manager had to fight for, but were well worth the fight.

First, there is the return of Gary Null, after more than 6 years of absence (Monday through Friday from noon to 1 pm). That is no small accomplishment. For, as we well remember, not a single figure in local or national management -- even those who agreed that WBAI could benefit substantially from having Gary Null back--lifted a finger to make it happen. They had the authority to do it, but they did not have the political will to stand up to the power blocks on the Pacifica National Board, or the powerful interest groups, like Act Up!, that exerted enormous pressure against bringing Gary Null back. But Tony and Berthold did stand up to those power blocks, and did bring Gary Null back, after nearly 6 years of stonewalling by former Pacifica executive directors and WBAI general managers.

They also reached out for new--and provocative--voices, like those of radical economist Richard Wolff ("Economic Update," Saturdays from 12 noon to 1 pm) and the fiery former British Member of Parliament, George Galloway ("The Mother of All Talk Shows," Wednesdays from 9 to 10 am). They also gave award-winning investigative journalist Robert Knight a full hour in which to enlighten and startle listeners with his sharp-edged commentary on breaking news ("Five O'clock Shadow," Monday to Thursday, from 5 to 6 pm).

Perhaps most controversial of all, they began broadcasting Al Jazeera English (Monday to Friday, from 5 to 6 am). Which makes WBAI the only radio station in America that (dares) to give citizens the chance to evaluate what three-quarters of the world's population regard as their most reliable news source. You may not agree with Al Jazeera's take on the news, but at least you'll get the chance to hear it on WBAI.

In light of the above, it might be a good idea if the few (but unfortunately very loud) naysayers stopped carping about Tony's "rough edges" and instead concentrated on (gently) trying to correct them. In the meantime, Tony should be encouraged to continue experimenting--until we get a program mix that is not only politically correct, but can also attract and inform our listeners. Above all, we should appreciate the fact that, under Tony and Berthold, our creaky, leaky, near-comatose radio station has finally begun to move.

Of course, it is not yet exactly clear in which direction the station is--or should be--moving. But discussing that direction with the Program Director and Station Manager (who actually answer their phones and emails) can be a much more fruitful area on which to focus our energies than is the nit-picking about this or that alleged solecism by management.

It may well be that Tony Bates sometimes steps on toes, or is not always as gracious as he might be. But on the other hand, if one has been given a brand new Ferrari, isn't it ungrateful to complain that it doesn't also have chrome hub caps?

STEPHEN M BROWN is a member of the Local Station Board at WBAI, the New York sister station of the Pacifica network.

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Also by Steve Brown:
Scenarios of bankruptcy & sale of Pacifica stations

for more information and updates please visit Support KPFA at www.supportkpfa.org



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New Leadership in Pacifica Radio

by Daniel Borgström
June 2009

After years of stumbling leadership, Pacifica radio has new people in key positions: LaVarn Williams, formerly a local board member here at KPFA, is now the interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO); Ricardo de Anda is the interim General Counsel; and Grace Aaron, now the interim Executive Director (ED), oversees the five-station network.

The largely new national board (PNB) made these long overdue changes in January. The departed persons--which included attorney Dan Siegel, a former iED--were members of the Pacifica status quo, which is responsible for the network's grave financial crisis. During the decade since 1999, Pacifica remained in the hands of several mutually back-scratching groups--who pushed their own agendas to the point where the survival of the five-station Pacifica network is now in question. When any member station of the network is in trouble, it draws resources from others in the network.

Grace Aaron was chosen as the new chair, and since Pacifica still didn't have a permanent executive, this chair also assumed that position. Prior to assuming the helm of Pacifica, Aaron sat on KPFK's local station board (LSB) in Los Angeles. She is a long-time peace activist and produced a cable TV program covering issues such as campus military recruitment, nuclear weapons, global warming, Israel/Palestine and Haiti.

The new leadership was soon tested when the long-building crisis at WBAI, Pacifica's New York station, came crashing into prominence. For years, the NY station was grossly mismanaged by the Justice & Unity faction, a local group composed of key staff, management, and a majority of the LSB. They were part of the back-scratching alliance in Pacifica, which included a majority of the former PNB under then chair Sherry Gendelman. So nothing was done to address the growing crisis even though WBAI's financial insolvency was threatening the entire network. WBAI was behind in both station and tower rent, and the landlord gave 3-day notice. Grace Aaron and LaVarn Williams assembled a team, flew to NY, and took immediate action.

WBAI's newly elected LSB, which was instrumental in installing Aaron as executive, supported her actions. Across the five-station network, many of us who followed these events were favorably impressed. But not everyone was pleased. Angriest of all was Justice & Unity, the NY group running WBAI into the ground. Improperly using the air waves for their own purposes, they denounced Grace Aaron on the air, calling her a "racist" and a "CIA agent," and broadcast a call for a mass demonstration to oppose this "intrusion" by the national office. To those of us far from the fray, their words conjured up the specter of hundreds, maybe thousands, rallying to the J&U faction. Thirty people showed up for their rally..

Had Justice & Unity won that round, rallying thousands to their cause, and taking the station, their triumph would have been brief. WBAI, and possibly the entire Pacifica network, could have been forced into bankruptcy, the assets taken over by some other entity. WBAI's assets are estimated at $40 million. Where there's a carcass there's a vulture--often a large flock.

What the status quo people, here in California as well as in NY, thought of this peril is anybody's guess. Instead of supporting Grace Aaron in her actions to save the network, they have been fighting her and LaVarn Williams every step of the way.

LaVarn Williams, the new interim CFO, is known as a financial expert and courageous defender of responsible Pacifica management. While a member of the local board at KPFA, Williams fought for transparency, and during a mandated but much resisted review of financial records she recovered $65,000 worth of computers, missing from Pacifica, among other financial irregularities. That was in 2005; the computers were returned and the matter was dropped. Now Gendelman & Co. are calling Williams "unqualified" for the position of CFO, despite her having a masters degree in finance and 20 years experience as a corporate financial manager with Xerox and Applied Materials. But Gendelman's people did not object to the incompetence of their staunch allies.

Near the end of April the PNB held a meeting in Berkeley, where local activists finally got to see and later talk with the much-discussed Grace Aaron and the new board members who were backing her. When I arrived at the meeting hall on the first evening of the event, they were in the middle of public comment, and several angry Justice & Unity people who had flown out from NY had the floor. "You have a lot to answer for!" they were saying, waving their fingers at Grace Aaron. Then KPFA listeners had a turn at the mike, "It's about time somebody did something," was one representative comment. "Thank you for taking action after all these years!"

There was a report on WBAI, given by Aaron, Williams, and Tony Bates, three of the five-member team. Since three of these are non-white and one is of Arab descent, it's ironic that they were accused of being a "white takeover" of WBAI. The report (online at KPFTX Archives of 4/24, part 4) found the station in disarray: many phones didn't work; there was no volunteer coordinator and often no one to answer phones during fundraising; premiums were not sent for years, etc.

Most of the audience, KPFA activists from here in the Bay Area, applauded the team for their work in saving WBAI, and so did the majority of this board. But former chair Sherry Gendelman and four others sat in subdued silence--"the sad-looking five," a person from KPFT in Houston observed. The Justice & Unity group from WBAI receded into the background. I could almost feel sympathy for them, if only they hadn't done so much damage over the years.

A major item that came out of this three-day conference was a motion on LSB election policy which has measures to ensure a more level playing field for the candidates in the upcoming election for new station-board members, as well as on-air announcements to inform listeners about the election process. The aim is to make Pacifica's listener democracy work. Corrupt practices in recent elections, notably at KPFA and WBAI, have illustrated the need for these measures. Gendelman and her faction at KPFA, the so-called "Concerned Listeners," are already announcing their defiance of the motion.

Following the event, Aaron remained in the Bay Area for several days, meeting and talking with many KPFA listeners, expressing her vision for Pacifica and hearing what the listeners had to say.

Meanwhile, for the first time in years, WBAI's on-air fund drive surpassed its budgeted goal. This perhaps is a sign that WBAI has turned around and is sloshing its way out of the Big Muddy.


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Mara Rivera, Steve Gilmartin & Virginia Browning contributed to this article. They and Daniel Borgström are KPFA listener/activists.


UPDATE August 2010

The "Concerned Listeners" have appropriated the name "Save KPFA" -- a name belonging to the group of activists who fought for listener democracy during most of the 1990's. Their name "Save KPFA" is legendary, inappropriate for the "Concerned Listeners", a group whose purpose is diametrically opposite.

Save KPFA--hijacking a legendary name


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for more information and updates please visit Support KPFA at www.supportkpfa.org







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The Pacifica Financial Crisis

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
by Richard Phelps
May 2009

Recently WBAI management did not pay their rent for four months and received a Three Day Notice to pay or be subject to eviction. This was not promptly communicated to the financial or executive management of Pacifica. WBAI has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for several years and currently owes Pacifica over $1,000,000.00 in back central services contributions. Each station contributes 20% of its listener-generated revenue to run the Foundation. When one station isn’t making its contribution the results are that the Foundation is short on money or the other stations have to pay more. This several year problem at WBAI and the current economic downturn has caused serious financial problems for Pacifica. The current Pacifica National Board (PNB), elected in January, gives hope for the survival of Pacifica.

Why didn’t Pacifica correct this problem early on? There was collusion among some PNB members from various stations to allow WBAI to do what they wanted to do with no oversight or accountability to the Bylaws or the listener/subscribers. The major players in this collusion were from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW, with a vote or two from KPFK and KPFT and the affiliate Reps on the PNB.

The Local Station Board (LSB) majorities at KPFA and WBAI generally elected three PNB members that supported this collusion and WPFW, until recently, often sent four. There are 22 members of the PNB, four from each station and two Affiliate Representatives. An LSB majority can elect three of the four PNB members for their station. With ten votes from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW it only takes three votes from the ten from the other two stations and affiliate reps to have a majority to control the PNB and continue this collusion. Until this last January the Colluders had the majority for several years.

Who are the Colluders and why did they do this? Local tyrannical majorities wanted to run their stations without regard to the Bylaws and with no oversight from the Foundation. At KPFA the “KPFAForward” (2004) and “Concerned Listener” (CL) (2006 & 2007) slates represented the same management/staff faction and generally endorsed majorities that sent three PNB members who consistently voted to protect and continue the collusion. This group included William Walker, Sarv Randhawa, Rosalinda Palacios, Mary Berg, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons and Andrea Turner. They consistently vote/voted with the Justice & Unity majority from WBAI and the WPFW majority. They generally sit together at the PNB meetings and are regularly seen privately caucusing together at lunch and before and after meetings sometimes, with GM Lemlem Rijio when in Berkeley.

Prior to this year’s PNB, Bob Lederer was the Justice & Unity leader on the PNB. I have attended many PNB meetings and listened to most of the others on line. During those meetings if KPFA Colluder PNB members were not sure how to vote they often passed if Bob Lederer hadn’t voted or passed. When he voted they would follow. If you don’t believe me go to the archives of the meetings and listen. Rosalinda Palacios (2006) was especially consistent with following Lederer’s votes.

Whenever there was a move to correct the problems at WBAI the KPFA Colluders always voted with the others to protect the LSB majority at WBAI. Patty Heffley, the minority PNB Rep from WBAI, made a motion to have the PNB order the WBAI LSB to do a performance review of the general manager (GM) and the program director. The Bylaws require these to be done annually. At WBAI they had never been done, despite complaints from the LSB minority. The PNB Colluder majority refused to order the WBAI LSB to follow the Bylaws. Many others complained about WBAI being out of control and losing money and the Colluder PNB majority did NOTHING as the red ink continued to flow.

At KPFA the CL slate and the Rijio/Lilley management work together to make sure they maintain a majority on the LSB to elect three PNB members from their group. One of their methods was to have no election information on the air when the ballots went out and at the same time the CL sent a slate mailer. After the first time this happened I wrote a motion on the PNB Election Committee requiring election information to be on the air during the election. It passed out of the election committee by a 10-2 vote. The Colluder majority on the PNB voted it down. When they finally ran some candidate information they ran 22 candidate statements in a row, always with Sherry Gendelman first! At the April 2009 PNB meeting in Berkeley the new non-Colluder PNB majority passed a motion requiring broad election coverage on the air.

The Colluder majority was consistently against transparency. The Bylaws and California law allow Directors, PNB members, the “absolute right” to inspect all documents and facilities at any reasonable time. For years the Colluders fought to stop or hinder Directors’ Inspections. When inspections were finally allowed due to potential lawsuits it was discovered that $65,000 worth of equipment had been sent to a WBAI former GM’s father’s house and was not accounted for. As recently as 2008 a Director was ordered out of WBAI in the middle of a lawful inspection without any justification. Who gave the order? Dan Siegel, interim Executive Director, hired by the Colluder majority.

So when you hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons, Conn or Matthew Hallinan, Warren Mar or any of the CL allies complain about KPFA money going to shore up WBAI, they and their allies are responsible for this crisis for trading fiscal responsibility for their power to ignore the Bylaws, transparency and accountability.

To save Pacifica we must vote out the CL Colluders in the next election so they will not be able to send three Colluders to the PNB to ignore the Bylaws and progressive principles in favor of uncontrolled tyranny of the local majorities. KPFA is a Commons that belong to all of us and it must be protected and preserved above the CL/Rijio group’s desire for unrestrained and unaccountable power.

Richard Phelps, former Chair, KPFA LSB

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UPDATE August 2010

The "Concerned Listeners" have appropriated the name "Save KPFA" -- a name belonging to the group of activists who fought for listener democracy during most of the 1990's. Their name "Save KPFA" is legendary, inappropriate for the "Concerned Listeners", a group whose purpose is diametrically opposite.

Save KPFA--hijacking a legendary name








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