If any reader here has paid monies or volunteered time to KPFK, radio [90.7 FM and at KPFK.org] you are suppose to receive a paper ballot to VOTE for new BOARD members
– to chose who will vote for the management, and issues that run this radio station. If anyone has paid $25/ yr OR given their 3 hrs of volunteering –these are the minimum requirements to be a Listener-Sponsor.
And if you do not NOT receive your ballot, please !!! phone, write and insist that the management comply with their required duties and mail the ballot to you NOW.
Call 818-985-2711 or 818-985-KPFK between 9 am and 5 pm.
Or email at any time any place from their website : www.KPFK.org
The KPFK Local Station Board Candidates are now posted on the Elections website.
To view them please click [or copy and paste here:
http://elections.pacifica.org/wordpress/verification-of-kpfk-candidates/ Do not let others chose for you. Tho there are 2 very divided factions claiming their whole slate be voted in, you, Reader, can pick and chose from those or individualize your selections. There is not requirement to buy any whole package offered, unless you so chose.
The Pacifica National Board [PNB ]has failed to carry out its obligations to have elections in a proper and timely manner. This act of negligence has led to it’s board members holding their prized seats way past the expiration of their elected-time terms.
So, this results in one faction which controls both the [LSB] local board at KPFK, and the Nat’l Board as well. The other faction has been sidelined, vilified and maligned with lots of angry words flagging many websites that address the management and operations of Pacifica and it’s 5 radio stations.
There has been many sleights of hand moves within both KPFK and Pacifica – notably by avoiding following their own rules & bylaws - as in their we-Must-Have-Our-group-prevail – and in long delays to having elections of its Board Members.
REQUIRED ELECTIONS HAVE NOT BEEN HELD, WHY ?
According to Pacifica’s bylaws, this entity is supposed to have elections 2 out of every 3 years. No exeptions. But they haven’t had any for an extended time.
So then the legitimately-elected-terms of more than 1/2 of the people currently sitting on the PNB Nat’l Board have already expired.
And KPFK also hasn’t conducted an election since 2010. This means that everyone now on this LSB board is not legitimate nor should be seated.
Due to elected-terms expired = the attrition, those waiting-alternates are then seated – but they were never elected. Thus by failing to hold required elections, those members previously on the board have cleverly then extended their own terms in office and are cleverly keeping themselves in control of all concerns in Pacifica.
As a result, the networks status is in dubious condition as a non-profit and the Corp Public Broadcasting grants have not been given due to lack of proper or timely audits as well as the precarious and mis-managed funding, lack of sufficient audiences and important factors that Validate these radio entities.
To be put in the position of being Distrusted, Questioned with few or no answers provided, even to the divided into 2 fractuous, attacking, oppositional groups that want Control and Board majorities means both KPFK and it’s umbrella nat’l board have lost the basics:
trust, and validity, and reliability, and stability, and member-funding, and listening and paying audiences. And from what is occurring now, even their basic programming is suspect and erratic, duplicated and has become un-listenable too.
So how bad can it get ? Worse ? Yes!
there are indicators the over=time beyond their elected-term PNB national board now in power for 20 months is acting as if they had all the power, even after their elected terms actually expired – but mainly because there have been NO ELECTIONS to properly place voted candidates in those power-deciding positions.
Apparent plans by the current boards majorities [which includes the interim PNB Exe.Director and KPFA PNB members ] to gain private control of the licenses and assets of the Pacifica Foundation which spells the privatization or slip-away of the other ½ faction of the vehemently divided boards malfunctioning now.
This majority group is assumed to be attempting to file for voluntary bankruptcy or mortgage real estate assets, to do a Take Over of KPFK and other valued properties, with all they contain therein too.
Licenses transferred, staff redirected, only cronies in management, and all operations micro-managed and then ‘owned’ by one half of all those fighting loyaly for their versions of what KPFK and Pacifica is, has been, missioned to become, and that is a huge chunk of change too !
A progressive/ liberal/ independent/ Left sided/ minority-minded/ Media group that is suppose to be ‘independent’ - not just in views and programming - but also in it’s allegiances and obligations to those who are “listener-sponsors” especially is at stake. Vote to insure YOUR CHOICES ARE INCLUDED TOO.
Otherwise extremists of any variety and those wanting to perhaps even ‘steal away’ from the ‘other faction’ the entire operations is likely, privatizing or reorganizing to 1-selected-group-only version of what KPFK becomes hereafter.
Only two years ago, KPFK used up two general managers in a row in less than a year. Then the last GM hired [ he was selected by the LSB ] was inept and he left before his contract had expired, to return to his native country
[perhaps in shame - after also being briefly manipulated into the vacant Pacifica interim ED position for barely 1 mo - then he was removed from there too ].
Because to a failure to make quorum in 2012,[not enough voters voted ] the station is now finally electing the entire 24-person local board this year. so there are plenty in 2 divided ‘slates’ of candidates.
The long delays maybe deliberately incurred in having legitimate elections at KFK has now resulted in 2 strictly oppositional verbally-attacking-each-other- factions : one which has the interim-Exe Director [which lost the last election but then inherited a majority by attrition instead] , and then acting irresponsibly - by damaging the station’s management and funding - before their time on LSB board ran out, though this group were never voted in as the free choice of the voters in the first place.
Many of those who fell into being board members were simply in a wait-line and not elected as is proper and required.
AUDITS NOT DONE, MONIES FROM CPB ARE LOST, ELECTIONS ARE DELAYED…AND MORE ? BOARD
Members are the ones responsible for good business practices and competent management any-every-where.
For over 2 years in a row, the current PNB board majority has failed to provide timely audits to the State of California. Even he Fiscal Year of 2014 audit is now almost 4 months late.
This not only puts Pacifica’s non-profit status in danger, but this factional board majority has also thus forfeited the huge sum of $2 million from Corporation for Public Broadcasting funds - all because of it’s auditing lateness.
It has been written that “The books are still in such disarray the 2014 audit cannot start and on top of that FY2015’s audit should be starting now”.
If any business refused or neglected to audit their books, they would be investigated and assumed to be fraudulent or dysfunctional to be operating in any market.
KPFK and Pacifica are not exempt from financial responsibilities and accountabilities. Ever. No excuses are acceptable. And no reasonable explanations have been even offered.
VOTE !! if you want KPFK to continue in any semblance of what it ‘has been’ beneficial for you, and to add Your Voice actively to insure there is no usurping, exclusive selecting, or stealing away of what has long been an educational, informational, varied sourced asset to our LA community.