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The Pacifica Foundation radio network, slated to return to Berkeley this year after fleeing amid controversy two and a half years ago, may not be coming home as soon as thought. 

The foundation’s board of directors voted 7-4 by conference call Friday to postpone its return from Washington D.C. until the board can study how much the move will cost. Saturday’s decision overrides a March decision in which the board voted 7-2 in favor of returning to Berkeley. The board has 14 active members but several have missed recent votes. 

Berkeley was home to Pacifica, the operator of Berkeley-based radio station KPFA, for more than 50 years. However, in January 2000 the foundation moved to Washington when local listeners and staff became enraged about the board sacking popular KPFA employees and trying to moderate the station’s political views. 

In addition to KPFA, Pacifica also holds licenses of community stations in New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Washington. 

Although Saturday’s vote only delays the planned move to Berkeley until further discussion at the board’s next meeting Sept. 20, Berkeley activists worry that more is at stake. 

“I think some of them want to stop the move entirely,” said Robbie Osman, the host of a KPFA music show and member of Friends of Free Speech Radio, which has offered to help pay moving expenses for Pacifica’s return to Berkeley. 

Carol Spooner, the interim Pacifica board secretary, and a leader in the drive to relocate Pacifica to Berkeley, said the effort is hindered because the 14-member interim board has a disproportionate number of members from Washington. 

Six board members are from Washington, she said, and five of those members are on record opposing this year’s relocation to Berkeley. Board members from Los Angeles and Berkeley support returning Pacifica to its former home, but the Houston and New York delegations are undecided, she noted. 

The preponderance of Washington representatives stems from a court settlement reached last December that ended more than two years of infighting between two competing factions on the previous board. Both factions selected five members to the new board, and the five local stations each selected one member. The five board members selected by the previous board’s majority faction, which long battled KPFA, are all from Washington. 

Pacifica’s return to Berkeley appeared certain after the March vote. But two weeks ago, six board members asked for a conference call to suspend the move until further discussions regarding cost. 

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Jabri Zakiya, the interim board treasurer and Washington-based board member, estimated that returning to Berkeley could cost Pacifica several hundred thousand dollars. Pacifica is presently about $1.1 million in debt, and some board members have questioned whether the foundation has sufficient funds to switch headquarters this year. 

But, Spooner said Zakiya’s estimates were “reckless and irresponsible.” She noted that he listed packing and moving expenses somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000, but that estimates from two shipping companies were both under $5,000.  

The issue of returning Pacifica to Berkeley may be opening a rift on the interim board. 

In addition to opposing the move on financial grounds, Washington-based board member Rob Robertson alleged that two supporters of relocation, Leslie Cagan and Pete Bramson, support the move to Berkeley because they are indebted to Berkeley-based Friends of Free Speech Radio (FFSR) for funding their lawsuits against the former board. 

Robinson also likened FFSR’s offer to raise money to pay for the move to a corporate donation to politicians. 

Spooner said debate about Pacifica’s future home threatens to damage the foundation. 

“We desperately need a chief financial officer, but we don’t know if the position will be for Berkeley or Washington,” she said. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington fears that keeping Pacifica in Washington, could limit the influence of Berkeley listeners. He noted that the legal victory that led to the dissolution of the prior board and the insertion of the interim board were based in California corporate law, which is kinder to worker-initiated lawsuits. 

Had Pacifica been licensed in Washington, Worthington said, it may have won the legal battles and proceeded with its plan to moderate KPFA. 

Contact reporter at matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net