Public Comment

Given that KPFA (the nation's first listener-supported radio station) was founded by a pacifist, it's somewhat surprising that the Pacifica radio network of today is so frequently roiled by internal rumblings, factional infighting, and class-struggle conflicts. 

The latest eruption—over a vote on new Bylaws that would structurally realign Pacifica's decision-making—has been spilling over on Indybay. 

I don't pretend to have a grasp on all the pros and cons involved. But, over the past few days, I've been deluged with a mudslide of position papers debating this brewing bylaws brouhaha so my hope is that this quick review of some of the charges and counter-charges will spur further debate and discussion. 

A Call to Revise Pacifica's Bylaws 

On September 1, KPFA Local Station Board representative Akio Tanaka sent out a pitch inviting station members to sign a petition to endorse a slew of bylaws to consolidate decision-making by reducing the number of directors on Pacifica Foundation's national board. 

Complaining that the Pacifica Board spends "much of its meetings on factional infighting," Tanaka quoted a call from Pacifica's auditors to revise the Board's bylaws to "encourage more productive meetings." Tanaka also claimed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) had been calling for Pacifica to change its bylaws so that its stations could "continue to be an effective voice to counter corporate media." 

Pacifica's current auditors, Rogers & Company, spelled out the goals they hoped the new bylaws would achieve. These included: restructuring board with "fewer members" to "reduce the number of disparate voices," "restrict voting participation, and restrict impediments to efficient Board actions," which were portrayed as being rife with "protracted and unproductive discourse between participants." 

So what would the revised Bylaws accomplish? 

The size of the current board would be cut from 22 Directors to 15, a reduction that would reduce "proportional representation." While cutting back on one end, the bylaws call for the surviving 12 boardmembers to appoint three unelected At-Large Directors "to bring experience and expertise that elected members might not have but board needs." To learn more about the bylaws, go to: https://newdaypacifica.org 

The Blowback against Bylaw Revisions 

On August 27, an LA-based group called Pacifica Fightback for Democracy weighed in with its own critique, linking the new bylaws campaign to the very people behind an earlier bylaws-change vote "and who were rejected by nearly 2-1 margins of both listeners and staff around the network who voted a resounding 'NO!' on that Bylaws proposal." 

In their detailed criticism, PFD claimed that the proposed bylaws "would centralize Pacifica governance, remove oversight functions from Local Station Boards, and eliminate ranked-choice voting for the national board." In addition, PFD claimed, the new bylaws would "create a new third class of members of Pacifica, institutionalizing a split between paid and unpaid staff." 

The folks at "Pacifica Fightback for Democracy" continued their volley of charges on Indybay. "Even if these were the best bylaws in the world," PFD posited, "you still should not sign this petition." 

PFD pointed out that the earlier bylaws change effort (involving a petition that ran for 85 pages) was "rejected overwhelmingly" by Pacifica's voting members in a one-off election that cost $100,000 to stage. If there is to be a new election, PFD reflected, why not postpone it until the next regularly scheduled Pacifica general election in the summer of 2021 "when it can be sent out at no additional cost?" 

PFD recounted the rationale behind that failed pitch—i.e., "that Pacifica would collapse if you didn't immediately install a bunch of handpicked people." Lack of financial resources has been an abiding problem at Pacifica but adding four "preselected officers" to the Pacifica National Board wouldn't guarantee a reversal of financial challenges. 

In addition to the four preselected officers, the new bylaws would allow one representative from each of Pacifica's five stations. According to PFD, "this cuts staff representation on the national board by 60% and gives ten-times more representation to 100 paid staffers than to the 1,000-plus unpaid staffers who produce the majority of the on-air programs." The new bylaws would also add "three random at-large directors with no criteria required other than a majority vote by the ad-hoc board." 

More Elections, Less Democracy? 

The new bylaws call for nine additional elections to fill the positions of national board chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, local and vice board chairs, secretaries, outreach coordinators and fundraising coordinators. "In short, 13 elections and all by strict majority rule since there is only one seat in play for each." 

PDF notes that the proposed rewrite would leave "intact," a number of "objectively problematic" bylaws. As PDF sees it, the main focus of the revisions is to reduce "the allowance for diverse points of view" and that would constitute "a travesty for a network that literally defines itself as a home for minority points of view." 

On September 2, a comment from James McFadden added some historical grist to the debate. 

"I think the only threat the bylaws pose is to Aki's faction—preventing their minority from gaining control of Pacifica…. 

This is the same faction that shut down WBAI without PNB permission at the start of WBAI's fund drive (costing Pacifica hundreds of thousands of dollars). 

This is the faction that shut off microphones during a PNB meeting about WBAI's shutdown so they could win a vote—a vote over turned by the PNB the next day with the microphones on. 

This is the faction that (unsuccessfully) attempted to remove KPFA's Tom Voorhees from the PNB so their faction could gain a vote edge. 

This is the faction that has brought frivolous lawsuits—the most recent costing KPFA $80,000 last fall on a retainer in a lawsuit against Pacifica!!! 

This is the faction that kept hidden … the fact that KPFA failed to pay property taxes for 7 years. 

This is the faction that sponsored the last anti-democratic substitute bylaws effort. 

And this is the faction that again worked in secret to generate another bylaws rewrite, with no attempt to find a consensus within the Pacifica community." 

Dysfunctional Diversity? 

PFD complains that the new rules would introduce "a winner-takes-all voting method for every single seat on the National Board. . . leaving no room for minority voices as our current ranked-choice voting system does." 

Under the new rules "individual representatives from each of the stations on the Pacifica National Board would be a small minority (5 out of 15)" resulting in reduced state and affiliate representation on the National Board. 

PFD warns the new bylaws would open the door to "a return to a centralized, self-selecting board structure, lacking local oversight by the station's listeners or staff members and with no room for minority perspectives." 

In PFD's analysis, using Pacifica's ongoing financial troubles as excuse for reducing representation is akin to arguing that "Pacifica's economy problems are the fault of an excess of democracy" attributable to "dysfunctional boards … mired in in-fighting." An ironic position, PFD says, given that the would-be bylaws revisers "are the source of much of the factionalism and most of the litigation." 

On the Plus Side 

While accepting the reality of current and ongoing financial challenges, the PFD statement offers a defense of the existing governing process. Pacifica has rolled out a Payroll Protection Plan to assist staff suffering from the dislocations of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pacifica has applied for a $2 million low-interest economic disaster loan. The Interim Executive Director is effectively dealing with an imminent loss of essential KPFA property (including its studios and transmitters) owing to the failure to pay property taxes and the failure to extend the station's non-profit status. 

More good news: "For the firs time in years, we are weeks away from being current on audits and thus, soon, grant-eligible. And we just paid a 2012 CPB debt." 

Finally, the "Don't Buy the New Bylaws" critics argue: Who needs the distraction of a second costly Bylaw Battle when "events of Earth-shattering importance are happening every day, much of it inadequately covered or misreported by the corporate media?" PDF's grisly response to that rhetorical question is as follows: "Only people who still believe bankruptcy is the best deal for them—that Pacifica is worth more as a carcass that can be carved up and sold off to benefit a few select operations." 

But, on the Other Hand . . . 

In the end, there are strong partisans on both sides of the Bylaws Divide. FDP's list of "KPFA Staffers Supporting These Top-Down Corporate Bylaws," includes a number of KPFA's most respected senior voices, including: Mitch Jeserich, host of Letters and Politics, Aileen Alfandary, KPFA News Director, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, co-host of Up Front, and Philip Maldari, host of KFPA's Sunday Show. 

Stay Tuned: There's More… 

Pacifica Fight Back will be hosting a Town Hall meeting on September 12 at 4 PM PDT where these and other issues will be discussed. The New Day Pacifica presentations can be found online at https://newdaypacifica.org.