Tag Archives: election

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Maybe A New Start

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Berkeley – A new Pacifica National Board will be seated (or at least attempt to be seated) on January 26. After directors elections were completed at all five Pacifica stations, the 2017 station reps are Alex Steinberg, Ken Laufer, Kathryn Davis and Cerene Roberts from NY, Nancy Sorden, Benito Diaz, Maskeelah Washington and Jim Brown from DC, Bill Crosier, Bob Mark, Rhonda Garner and Adriana Casenave from Houston, Grace Aaron, Jan Goodman, Jonathan Alexander and Sharon Brown from Los Angeles and Akio Tanaka, Andrea Turner, Bill Campisi and Sabrina Jacobs from Berkeley.

Two affiliate directors were elected last December in a process marred by the board majority’s refusal to seat three directors chosen by New York’s newly elected delegates on December 14. At the urging of the sole seated WBAI director Cerene Roberts, the PNB threw out the NY election for PNB representatives in December using the excuse that the directors election was not specifically noticed on the kpftx.org meeting page.  Continue reading Maybe A New Start →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Winning Isn’t Everything

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December 26, 2016

For Immediate Release

Winning Isn’t Everything

Berkeley – After disenfranchising NY station WBAI of 75% of their national board representation, Pacifica’s national board held elections for two 2017 affiliate directors. The two affiliate directors will be the tie-breaking votes on the 2017 PNB after the independents won resounding election victories in Los Angeles, Houston and New York. Incumbent affiliate directors Efia Nwangaza and Temba Tshibanda both voted not to seat the directors chosen by NY’s newly elected delegates, who they feared would not vote for them to retain their affiliate seats in 2017. Sole NY representative Cerene Roberts brought motions twice last week to eliminate elected NY directors not affilated with her NY branch of the Siegel/Brazon faction. A legal letter sent by LA attorney Jerry Manpearl to the board prior to their second vote to disenfranchise WBAI can be seen here.  Continue reading Winning Isn’t Everything →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Election In The Garbage Can

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Berkeley – In an abruptly called “special meeting” on Tuesday evening, one of two Pacifica National Board meetings called for this week, the outgoing board majority decided they didn’t like the results of the 2016 board elections and threw them out after certification by the independent national election supervisor and True Ballot, a nationally recognized election services firm. They declared in a motion they wanted a “recount” and that the seating of newly elected delegates, and any officers and national board members they elect, and any business they transact were all “provisional” until further notice. Continue reading Election In The Garbage Can →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

The One-Page Financial Recovery Plan

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Berkeley – Ballots mailed for Pacifica’s 2016 board elections from the East Coast on August 15th. Pacifica in Exile’s candidate endorsements for all stations can be found here. You will find online voting instructions inside your printed ballot envelope. The voting period ends on September 30 at 11:59pm in your own time zone. If you donated, but don’t receive a ballot or for any ballot-related question at any station, you can contact King Reilly, a KPFK member who has graciously agreed to assist folks, at [email protected]. Continue reading The One-Page Financial Recovery Plan →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Proceeding With Things

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Berkeley-On July 28th, a second special meeting on finances was held, once again boycotted by the entire board majority, with an attempt to unliaterally cancel the meeting by board chair Tony Norman. You can listen to the entire meeting here,a highlights reel here, and read  a written summary of recommendations here.

The Siegel/Brazon board majority did attend the August 4th board meeting a week later, a meeting which which focused primarily on bylaws amendments, elections and disciplinary retribution. A highlights reel can be heard here. Among the subjects discussed:

After a two-year delay, New York station WBAI was re-licensed by the FCC, although the station’s lack of a local or toll-free telephone number since June 23rd place it in violation of broadcasting law (Section 47 C.F.R. 73.1125(e)). The Siegel/Brazon majority on the national board celebrated with Brazon announcing “The really good news is that WBAI has been granted their license renewal until June 1, 2022. That is really important in that it allows us to proceed with a lot of things (giggle) including negotiations that we have with debtors {sic} and so forth”. License renewal is what permits a sale or lease transaction of a broadcasting license. License renewal has no value in a negotiation with a creditor due to FCC prohibitions on using the value of broadcast licenses as collateral. Continue reading Proceeding With Things →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

2016 Elections: Pacifica in Exile Endorsements

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Overview

In the two years since Pacifica in Exile began publication after a coup, the Pacifica Foundation has toppled into critical condition.

Many, if not most, observers conclude the Pacifica stations don’t have much time left without a big change in direction.

The perpetrator are not unknown: it’s the Siegel/Brazon faction which grabbed control of the network in March of 2014. What has ensued since then has been exhaustively documented on this website.

There is only one source of correction. It’s you and your vote. 

Continue reading 2016 Elections: Pacifica in Exile Endorsements →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Witch Hunts Redux

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Berkeley-Houston’s KPFT, usually the quietest and smallest of Pacifica’s five radio stations, exploded into witch hunt mode this week after a dust-up about frequently absent board member Maria Elena Castellanos trying to “rescind” her resignation a month after submitting it. After the Siegel/Brazon majority in Houston supported the absurd claim, the board doubled down and proposed suspending 4 members of the independent faction for six months for sending emails advocating that Castellano’s resignation couldn’t be taken back a month afterwards per Pacifica’s bylaws – which state board seats become vacant upon the occurrence of a resignation. The targeted board members include Bill Crosier, the former president of the Houston Peace and Justice Center, George Reiter, a professor of physics at the University of Houston, long-time KPFT volunteer Teresa Allen and Prison Show producer Hank Lamb, a former Siegel/Brazonite who broke with the faction in July of 2014 after telling them to “cut the crap” and calling for Margy Wilkinson’s removal as board chair.
Continue reading Witch Hunts Redux →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Striking Out Solvency

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Berkeley-At Thursday’s national board meeting, the majority spent most of the meeting passing a resolution instructing station management to “run their operations more productively” by such actions as calling credit card donors whose credit cards don’t go through and encouraging past donors to renew. Houston listener rep Bill Crosier attempted to amend the resolution to also address the content being broadcast. He proposed rolling back program changes in the last 12 months that generated less net fund drive revenue than the pre-change content. Continue reading Striking Out Solvency →

Pacifica in Exile Newsletters

Legal Bills For Procedural Quibbles

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Berkeley-In bicoastal court appearances this week, Pacifica relied on procedural feints to further delay hearings on two requests for injunctive relief filed against them by their own members. In Northern California, Yeakey vs. Pacifica requests the removal of 7 national board members whose elected terms expired in December of 2015 and who were not re-elected, and the removal of two Pacifica affiliate representatives who are not affiliated with current Pacifica affiliated stations. The complaint can be seen here. In New York, Young vs Pacifica requests the seating of national board representatives from WBAI-FM who have been prevented from voting or participating on the national board for four months by the Siegel/Brazon majority faction. The East Coast complaint can be seen here.  Continue reading Legal Bills For Procedural Quibbles →