[Sosfbay-discuss] KPFA elections

[Jim Doyle]

Dear Jim,

I would appreciate it if you could share the following with the Greens 
in Santa Clara County.

Thank you.

Aki Tanaka- GPAC

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Dear Greens,

As you all know balloting for the KPFA Local Station board has started.


Although most candidates running for the board claim to espouse 
progressive politics, there is a clear difference in the direction they 
want to take KPFA.

The Concerned Listeners, who have held the majority on the board for the 
last three years, want to make the station more 'professional' and 
mainstream. They believe that the management should set station policy 
and make programming decisions. In their platform they refer to the 
unpaid staff which comprise 3/4 of the station as a 'sectarian group' 
and say that the unpaid staff are packing their organization with 
"people who have only tangential relationship to KPFA”. But KPFA cannot 
exist without the unpaid staff. They are news reporters, DJs, 
public-affairs hosts and members of the KPFA Apprenticeship Program.

The Independents for Community Radio want to put the community back in 
community radio; they believe that programming decisions and other 
significant station policies need to be made collaboratively. (For more 
info, please see their website at: http://www.indyradio2009.org/ ).

I am concerned that the Concerned Listeners doctrine of concentrated 
management power and its disrespect for the unpaid staff could turn KPFA 
into another mainstream station and marginalize the listener community.


It is a critical election which will determine the direction the station 
will go. Please rank vote for the candidates who are endorsed by the 
‘Independents for Community Radio’. The candidates are: Akio Tanaka, 
Henry Norr, Banafsheh Akhlaghi, Evelyn Sanchez, Rahman Jamaal, Andrea 
Prichett, Lara Kiswani, Adam Hudson, Sasha Futran, Shara Esbenshade, and 
Ann Hallet.


Your vote is important so please vote and mail in your ballot.

Sincerely


Akio Tanaka

GPAC and Listener Delegate-KPFA LSB

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The platform-statement of the 'Concerned Listeners' and a rebuttal by 
‘Independents for Community Radio can be found at:

http://indyradio2009.org/sites/default/files/CL_Statement-Rebuttal.html