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Members of public radio station KPFA fear that delays in their mother network’s return to Berkeley are ominous signs that another power struggle is emerging on the radio network’s governing board. 

That struggle, some members say, will play out as the Pacifica Foundation board writes new bylaws for the tattered, five-station network. 

"The question is ‘Is power going to be in local boards or is it going to be centralized?’ " said Curt Gray, KPFA advisory member and an advocate for stronger local control. 

Gray and others are concerned that a new alliance of interim executive board members will secure central control of the network. On Friday the alliance pushed through a vote to keep the Pacifica headquarters in Washington D.C. It says further cost-analysis must be done in spite of a March decision to move to Berkeley by the end of the year.  

Meanwhile, some local members are worried that the alliance will try to broaden its power in the new bylaws. 

The need for new bylaws stems from a court settlement last December that ended a destructive two-year feud between two factions on the Pacifica board. The court ordered the formation of a 14-member interim board, drawing from both factions, to create new bylaws to govern the operation and organization of the network.  

In addition to KPFA, Pacifica holds licenses for stations in New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Washington D.C. 

KPFA members speculate that if the board had enough votes to keep the headquarters in Washington, D.C., it may also vote to maintain power at the national level instead of shifting control to the local level. 

“If the coalition that derailed the move back to Berkeley holds and they write the new bylaws, that is more worrisome,” Gray said.  

If central control is established, Gray said KPFA could lose say in its programming and be forced to take on a more moderate political tone. The station’s sovereignty was at the heart of the 1999 controversy. 

From 1999 to 2001 the Pacifica board of directors was engulfed in a bitter fight that nearly drove the network to bankruptcy. The board’s attempt to seize programming control from station managers resulted in mass protests and lawsuits in Berkeley. Successful litigation by dissident board members ultimately led to the dissolution of the board. 

KPFA supporters hoped the interim board would quickly return Pacifica to Berkeley after it fled to Washington D.C., amid protests in January 2000. They also wanted the interim board to implement reforms to curb the executive board’s power over its stations. 

Several members of the interim board, however, don’t share KPFA’s positions. 

Board member Roy Robinson is calling for a strong executive board, to be directly elected by foundation members and to have power over local advisory boards at each station. Robinson’s executive board would consist of two representatives to be elected by members of each of the five stations, as well as five “at-large” board members to be elected by a two-thirds board majority. 

On the contrary, board member Carol Spooner, who led the drive to return Pacifica to Berkeley, seeks to decentralize power by giving authority to the five local advisory boards and eliminating a single executive board. The local boards would consist of 18 representatives – six to be elected by the stations’ staff and 12 to be elected by station members – the same system currently in place at local station KPFA. The local boards would set up three executive board committees to oversee programming, budgeting and general affairs. 

Some KPFA supporters fear that Robinson’s plan is too similar to the former bylaws that they say encouraged abuse in past years. For example, Robinson’s proposal to include five “at-large” members on the executive board, as was the practice under the previous bylaws troubled many KPFA supporters. 

“The big problem with it [the last board] was that people in authority were insulated and didn’t have a clue,” said Gray, adding that the “at-large” members did not even have to reside in a city served by a Pacifica station. 

The board is scheduled to further discuss the bylaws at its next interim board meeting Sept. 20.  

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net