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Indybay Feature

A Response to Pacifica in Exile article ‘Bad Bylaws Take 2’

by Akio Tanaka
9-3-20 Pacifica in Exile (PIE) article ‘Bad Bylaws Take 2’ critiques the proposed New Day Pacifica (NDP) Bylaws. Following is a response to the article, giving the reasons why you should sign the petition for the new Bylaws.
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PIE: Lowers the standard for future membership petitions to change the bylaws to the signatures of 1% of the members, currently 500-600 people. This allows a small group to force a six figure outlay of charitable donations to entertain their ideas. Pacifica recently changed this bylaws clause to require 5% of the membership to sign on, so that the Foundation does not waste money on referendums that have no chance of passage. By changing it back, the New Day proponents suggest that further amendments are likely in the offing if these new bylaws are adopted. Pacifica has already lost $150,000 to their new bylaws proposals this year, with another $100,000 to come if this new "New Day" bylaws referendum is forced.
- - -
Response: The drafters of the NDP Bylaws revised the Bylaws with the goal that essentially only the composition and election of the Pacifica National Board, and the composition, election, focus and power of the Local Station Boards would be changed, along with a few other items which would help the Network function better. To this end, it was the essential intent of the drafters that the other parts of the Bylaws would change as little as possible, removing or changing only those things that were necessary to accomplish the major goal, while leaving the spirit and the contents of the balance of the Bylaws intact, to the extent possible.

The cost of the referendum was $53K according to the report of the National Election Supervisor.
https://elections.pacifica.org/wordpress/pacifica-bylaws-final-report-2020/
Any additional cost was incurred as result of the PNB forcing the matter to go to court, and losing every time. It was listeners’ money that was spent because the PNB refused to follow the Bylaws and allow the referendum to take place.

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PIE: A new 15 member Pacifica National Board is 1/5 self-appointed, with 4 nationally-elected officers, 3 self-appointed members, 1 national paid staff rep (representing 100 people), 1 national unpaid staff rep (representing 1,000 people), 1 affiliate rep (representing a portion of the 220 affiliates), and 1 elected rep for each station (giving each station 1/15 of the board to represent local interests). This is a cut of 60% of current staff representation, 10x greater influence for each member of the paid staff over each member of the unpaid staff, a 50% cut in affiliate representation, and a 75% cut in each station's local representation on the national board. It ups the membership requirements for elected members of the national board to 2 years of current uninterrupted membership, making it more difficult for new faces to participate in Pacifica governance.
Sole station-elected directors are supposed to serve on *every* PNB committee, although nonprofit law disallows directors from serving at the same time on finance and audit committees. Station directors can nominally select someone to serve in their stead, but the national board can stop them from doing so by a 2/3 vote. This suggests that some stations may see their station representatives barred from crucial national board committees. No locally-elected director can ever be an officer of the national board.
- - -
Response:
1. The size of the Board is reduced, following the recommendations of CPB, auditors, CPAs.
The Board size is reduced from 22 to 15. It has 8 representative Directors, 4 officer Directors, and 3 at-large Directors.

2. Each stakeholder (five stations’ listeners, affiliates, paid staff, volunteer staff) has a voice on the Board. Proportional representation would have resulted in an unwieldy large board.

3. The 4 Board officers are elected by the entire membership, instead of being elected by the Board majority, increasing democracy and accountability.

4. The 3 at-large Directors are not self-appointed, but are selected by the 12 elected Directors, to bring to the Board experience, expertise, and diversity the elected Board members might lack but the Board needs. The 12 elected Directors have a super-majority over the 3 at-large Directors.

5. It is not true that a Board member cannot serve at the same time on finance and audit committees. Board members have been able to serve at the same time on finance and audit committees, since the passage of ‘The Non-Profit Integrity Act’ of 2004 (SB 1262).

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PIE: Affiliates must join a new "Association of Affiliates" 501c3 organization. LPFM and small stations that do not pay annual fees to rebroadcast Pacifica programs are not members of the Pacifica Affiliates for the purpose of participation in governance.
- - -
Response: The new Bylaws allows the Affiliates to select their own Director. Currently, potential Affiliate Directors self-nominate themselves and the National Board makes the selection, so the Affiliates have no say in who represents them.

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PIE: Right of membership recall of elected representatives is eliminated. Only the boards can remove their own members, and should they do so, they can replace the removed members with anyone they choose to serve out the duration of a 3 year term.
- - -
Response: Recalls are problematic. The author of the PEI, who was the subject of a recall in 2012, said, “I think recall elections are destructive, expensive, divisive, and represent a desire to eliminate points of view.”

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PIE: Local Station boards are transformed into Community Advisory Boards. Removes delegates from governance, and any local oversight of station budgets and management personnel. LSB officers directly elected are a chair, vice chair, secretary, membership coordinator and fundraising coordinator and 1 paid and 1 unpaid staff representative. These 7 people can appoint up to 6 other people or 45% of the new local boards. The five elected CAB members are a chair, vice chair, secretary, membership/fundraising coordinator and community outreach coordinator. The last two positions (membership/fundraising coordinator and community outreach coordinator) would likely cause this body to be ineligible as a CAB. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting requires that a CAB not play any role in station operations. Membership coordination, fundraising and arguably, community outreach are all a part of a station's operations.
Removes local board review of whether "station policies and procedures for making programming decisions and program evaluation are working in a fair, collaborative and respectful manner to provide quality programming". This is replaced with administering a survey that is written by the executive director, which removes independence from the CAB's survey activities and probably violates CPB rules.
Removes local board review of staff diversity and workplace discrimination issues; "To ensure that the station works diligently towards the goal of diversity in staffing at all levels and maintenance of a discrimination-free atmosphere in the workplace" and replaces with a Committee of Inclusion which is granted the authority to "implement specific measures to improve the status of under-represented communities in their respective radio station areas”. Again, the CPB requires that CAB's not participate in station operations so a CAB cannot "implement specific measures".
A non-compliant CAB, as projected by these New Day bylaws, would likely prevent Pacifica from receiving Corporation for Public Broadcasting grant funding in the future.
- - -
Response:
Previous Pacifica auditors, Regalia and Associate, made the following observation: “It appears Pacifica is unable to map out an effective and safe strategy due to the disjointed nature of its various governance Boards which appear to be working at cross purposes.”
One of the major flaw in the current Bylaws is that it allows for local and national governing Boards which often are working at cross purposes.
The new Bylaws take the power to oversee the finances and other items away from the LSB, so that the National Board can function.
The re-focused LSBs qualify as Community Advisory Boards, which will represent the community, because they are elected by the station's members.

The new Bylaws provisions regarding the LSB do not contravene any of the CPB requirements.

Following are the relevant CPB rules: https://www.cpb.org/stations/certification/cert3
(B)The board shall be permitted to review the programming goals established by the station, the service provided by the station, and the significant policy decisions rendered by the station. The board may also be delegated any other responsibilities, as determined by the governing body of the station. The board shall advise the governing body of the station with respect to whether the programming and other policies of the station are meeting the specialized educational and cultural needs of the communities served by the station, and may make such recommendations as it considers appropriate to meet such needs.
(C) The role of the board shall be solely advisory in nature, except to the extent other responsibilities are delegated to the board by the governing body of the station. In no case shall the board have any authority to exercise any control over the daily management or operation of the station.

Regarding the Coordinators: CPB allows non-advisory role for the CAB as long as it does not have any authority to exercise any control over the daily operation of the station.

Regarding the Survey: The reason for having a survey developed by the ED is to have some uniformity in the reports for the five stations. This Bylaws provision is in accord with the CPB provision that says, "The board may also be delegated any other responsibilities, as determined by the governing body of the station." The LSB can generate its own surveys to fulfill the responsibilities of the right to review.

Regarding the Committee of Inclusion: The National Board is ‘implementing the specific measures’, not the LSB. Also, ‘participation’ is not the same as ‘exercising control’.

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PIE: Local and national boards removed from any input into the selection of station general managers. All general manager hiring, evaluation and termination is the sole unilateral prerogative of the executive director of the Foundation.
- - -
Response: General Manager’s selection has been politicized under the current Bylaws. The new Bylaws removes the politicization. With the new Bylaws, the democratically elected National Board sets policies and direction and hires the Executive Director (ED) to carry those out. Then the ED hires the General Managers and manages them. It removes the criss-crossing lines of authority which our current Bylaws require, inserting 120 people into decisions regarding Personnel.

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PIE: Listener democracy suspended for 3 years. For the first three years, the officers of the new national board would be 4 specific people, two incumbent directors (Jan Goodman KPFK, Lynden Foley KPFT), one retired director (Akio Tanaka KPFA) and one publisher of an LA online blog (Sharon Kyle KPFK). Not a single officer representing the entire eastern half of the United States. These 4 would be the officers through 2023, with the power to select 3 additional at-large directors. No change in board officers could occur until 2024. The chosen 4 would be joined by station representative directors appointed by the current LSB's, half of whose terms expire in 2021 and the rest which expire in 2022. Only the staff and dues paying affiliates would be permitted to choose their national representatives for the 2021-2023 period, representing only 3 members on a 15-person board of directors.
- - -
Response: Listener democracy is being carried out. With the referendum, the listeners are voting on a package; they are voting on the Bylaws and the 4 transition officers.
The 4 officers do not have the power to select 3 at-large Directors. The 3 at-large Directors are selected, after the 4 officers and the 8 representative Directors have been seated.

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PIE: Pacifica would administer 41 different elections every 3 years. The New Day bylaws call for 7 distinct elections at all 5 stations for meaningless local positions, and 6 distinct national elections for national officer and staff positions. This would require 15 different ballot layouts (an increase of 50%), 18 distinct voter lists (an increase of 80%), and 41 distinct voting tallies (an increase of over 400%). This would greatly increase election costs, probably more than doubling them due to the increased administrative load.
Each election would be for a single position (including 35 local ones with no actual power to do anything) and would be strict majority rule requiring a majority of all votes cast. This makes it difficult for minority demographics or viewpoints to obtain any of the seats and given the current profile of Pacifica's membership as overwhelmingly white, would likely lead to decreased diversity on the boards. Less arguments, to be sure, but at the cost of a full range of ideas, vigorous representation of minority interests, diversity and innovation.
- - -
Response:
With the current Bylaws, there are two election every three years, and each station has two ballots, one for the listeners and one for the staff.

With the new Bylaws, there is one election every three years, and each station has three ballots, one for the listeners, one for the paid staff, and one for the volunteer staff. There is an increase in distinct voter lists and tallies; however, the number of elections every three years will decrease from two to one.

With the current Bylaws, the members elect the Delegates, the Delegates elect the Directors, and the Directors elect the officers. The Directors are once removed from the members, and the Board officers are twice removed from the members. The whole process result in a Board that is not accountable to the members. Current auditors, Rogers & Company, said, “The current process lends itself to protracted and unproductive discourse between participants.”

With the new Bylaws, the Pacifica leadership is directly elected by the members, thus increasing democracy and accountability. The purpose of the Board election is to elect a Board that will help fulfill the Pacifica mission, which is to give the public an alternative to corporate media.

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The new Bylaws will have a Board that will be smaller and more effective.
You can sign the petition for the new Bylaws at: https://newdaypacifica.org/petition/


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by Pacifica In Exile
Much of this is quite wrong, Aki, but I'll keep my response brief. I will add that I think this constant advocacy by you of a plan to install yourself as an officer of the Pacifica National Board for 3 years is somewhat unseemly. If you are trying to argue a case on the merits, it should be argued by someone who is a not a direct beneficiary of the intended bylaws changes.

1. The cost of the last bylaws referendum in February/March of 2020 was $150,000. Money down the drain at the worst possible time and for a forced referendum that was overwhelmingly defeated by Pacifica members by a 2-1 margin. The proponents (you and others) pointlessly went to court because you wanted the referendum to occur in 2019 and it occurred in 2020 regardless of your efforts. Going to court when you lacked sufficient support for your proposal was irresponsible and disrespectful of the purpose of membership donations.

2. Proportional representation is still the voting method prescribed in your new proposed bylaws. Do you understand that? IRV is a form of proportional respresentation.

3. The meaing of "self-appointed" is that board members are appointed only by other board members.

4. The Nonprofit Integrity Act states that only 50% of the members of the audit committee and finance committee may be the same people. That doesn't allow all the sole station representatives to serve on both. Pacifica decided long ago to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and not allow anyone to coexist on both. This is established best practice for large nonprofits.

http://miedemas.com/2015/11/23/finance-audit-committees-together-or-separate/

5. The new "association of affiliates" only includes affiliate members who pay dues. Many small Pacifica affiliates like low-power stations, don't pay dues because they don't have much money, so they are excluded under this model.Several affiliate directors in the past have come from the low power radio community.

6. Memership coordination and fundraising are daily operations of a station and are not advisory functions.That is not what CPB-approved community advisory boards do. There are many examples of CAB's. Look around. You will see that none of them operate as you are proposing this body would do. A CAB is unable to fulfill the main purpose of surveying the station's responsiveness to community needs if the survey is directly written by the executive director. That is a conflict of interest and defeats the point of an independent survey.

7. Democracy is suspended for 3 years. The board officers, including yourself, are locked in and the current local boards continue to pick the sole station representatives after their elected terms expire.

8. If you had ever administered an election, you would understand that all of the work is in the ballot prep, the list management and the vote tallies. Tallying 41 distinct elections with 15 distinct ballots and 18 distinct voter lists literally quadrupes the election-related work and costs. More importantly, making all of these many positions majority rule elections defeats diversity in the boards.

These are bad bylaws. Don't sign the petition.


by Akio Tanaka
Being a secretary is a burden, not a benefit. I have no particular desire to be an officer; however, if we are finally able to have a Board that functions, I am willing to sit through the meetings and take notes, since I did it before.
by Akio Tanaka
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1. The cost of the last bylaws referendum in February/March of 2020 was $150,000. Money down the drain at the worst possible time and for a forced referendum that was overwhelmingly defeated by Pacifica members by a 2-1 margin. The proponents (you and others) pointlessly went to court because you wanted the referendum to occur in 2019 and it occurred in 2020 regardless of your efforts. Going to court when you lacked sufficient support for your proposal was irresponsible and disrespectful of the purpose of membership donations.
- - -
Response: The expense beyond $53K was avoidable. Additional cost was incurred as result of the PNB forcing the matter to go to court, and losing every time.

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2. Proportional representation is still the voting method prescribed in your new proposed bylaws. Do you understand that? IRV is a form of proportional representation.
- - -
Response: No disagreement.

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3. The meaning of "self-appointed" is that board members are appointed only by other board members.
- - -
Response: Dictionary definition of ‘self-appointed’: having assumed a position or role without the endorsement of others.

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4. The Nonprofit Integrity Act states that only 50% of the members of the audit committee and finance committee may be the same people. That doesn't allow all the sole station representatives to serve on both. Pacifica decided long ago to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and not allow anyone to coexist on both. This is established best practice for large nonprofits.
http://miedemas.com/2015/11/23/finance-audit-committees-together-or-separate/
- - -
Response: It is true that is best practice is not to serve on audit and finance committee at the same time; however, it is not true that serving on both is “disallowed’. The Directors can choose or not choose to serve on any committee, so most likely they will follow best practice.

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5. The new "association of affiliates" only includes affiliate members who pay dues. Many small Pacifica affiliates like low-power stations, don't pay dues because they don't have much money, so they are excluded under this model. Several affiliate directors in the past have come from the low power radio community.
- - -
Response: The affiliates are still working out the details of their association; however, it is better going forward, for the affiliates to select their own Director, rather than being selected by the PNB.

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6. Membership coordination and fundraising are daily operations of a station and are not advisory functions. That is not what CPB-approved community advisory boards do. There are many examples of CAB's. Look around. You will see that none of them operate as you are proposing this body would do. A CAB is unable to fulfill the main purpose of surveying the station's responsiveness to community needs if the survey is directly written by the executive director. That is a conflict of interest and defeats the point of an independent survey.
- - -
Response: The Bylaws provision for ‘Specific Powers and Duties’ of the LSB says:
C. To assist in station fundraising activities, including off-air membership recruitment for station.
D. To actively reach out to underrepresented communities to help the station serve a diversity of all races, creeds, color and nations, classes, gender and sexual orientations, and to help build collaborative relations with organizations working for similar purposes.

The Bylaws say LSB is to ‘assist the station’ and ‘help the station’. CPB allows the CAB to engage in non-advisory activities as long as it is not in control of the daily operation of the station.

The Bylaws do not preclude the LSB from conducting an independent survey.

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7. Democracy is suspended for 3 years. The board officers, including yourself, are locked in and the current local boards continue to pick the sole station representatives after their elected terms expire.
- - -
Response: Democracy is not suspended for 3 years. The members are voting on the 4 officers to serve 3 years, the staff are electing their Directors, the affiliates are electing their Director.

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8. If you had ever administered an election, you would understand that all of the work is in the ballot prep, the list management and the vote tallies. Tallying 41 distinct elections with 15 distinct ballots and 18 distinct voter lists literally quadruples the election-related work and costs. More importantly, making all of these many positions majority rule elections defeats diversity in the boards.
- - -
Response: It is true that election work and cost will increase, but there will be only one election every three years, instead of the current two.

Pacifica needs a functional Board that will help fulfill the Pacifica mission, which is to give the public an alternative to corporate media.

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by Akio Tanaka
Regarding point 2, ‘proportional representation ‘ does have a specific meaning in electoral politics, so it was misused.

Instead of:
Proportional representation would have resulted in an unwieldy large board.

It should have said:
Apportioning the number of Director seats to reflect number of members of each class and station would have resulted in an unwieldy large board.
by Stop The BS
kpfa_freespeechradio.jpg
This bylaw proposal by Aki and company is a complete sham.

He blames others for the problems of governance but he and his supporters which are a majority on the KPFA LSB board have not been able to even have an evaluation of the manager for over three years. While other boards are able to have a finance committee and other subcommittees of the LSB.

Aki and his cohorts decided they needed time for more committee meetings and put off meetings of the LSB until every other month to get more things done.

Still after years no evaluation of the manager and the program director which is one of the responsibilities of the LSB.

Aki and his supporters also banned the video taping of meetings because they did not want their record and how they voted to be available to the membership.

They want a top down corporate run board and that is what the retread bylaw proposals do.

They complain about the financial crisis but now want to spend a total of $300,000 on proposed bylaw changes.

This arrogance, hypocrisy and conniving shows them to be a obstacle in taking KPFA and Pacifica forward. At the same time the membership of KPFA is dropping precipitously.

This his not something they want to talk to the manager about since they refuse to hold him accountable to the LSB.

They also refused to ask why the manager Quincy transferred $80,000 to the lawyers working to keep WBAI shutdown without reporting this to the Local Station Board and their "treasurer" Sharon This money from the membership was kept a secret from the board but Aki and company have no problem with that malfeasance.

This cabal can't carry out their responsibilities on the board but they want to blame others for their incompetence and their own political bankruptcy.

Why is it that other stations of Pacifica can carry out their responsibilities but Aki and company can't do the work they were elected to do?

Instead Aki and his supporters including programmers BET, Philip Maldari, Eileen Alfandary, Mitch Jesserich and Adrienne Lauby want new bylaws that take away power from the membership, staff and the LSB's. This hypocrisy takes the cake.

They can't do the job but blame others and then want to restructure Pacifica to be a top down organization replicating the corporate media that they say they really don't agree with. So much for honesty and integrity.
by Akio Tanaka
It is an irony that network devoted to peace is never at Peace.

The reason Pacifica needs new Bylaws is because all the disinterested knowledgeable third parties have told us that we need to change our governance.

But like with any organization any change will get push back.

Some will attribute sinister motivations. They might be right. People just have to come their own conclusions

In the end, we need a functioning Board that will further the mission of Pacifica, which is to provide the public with alternative to commercial media.

And, the irony will be gone when all the people who are for peace find peace.
by Pacifica In Exile
That change is needed doesn't make a bad proposal into a good one. It's a terrible bylaws revision and people should not sign the petition. A reasonable and appropriate bylaws revision will come next year that will streamline and simplify without gutting local oversight. Don't sign the New Day bylaws petition.
by Akio Tanaka
Carol Spooner, Co-Author of the Present Pacifica Bylaws:

“We idealistically thought that the Bylaws which we wrote would help Pacifica thrive…but they haven’t. “

“The New Day Bylaws will help to correct many of the excesses of the present bylaws by reducing the size of the board, by getting the LSBs out of station management, and having direct elections of National Board Members--, rather than our present, highly partisan, baroque 2 stage voting process.”
by Stop Duplicity
sm_aki-tanaka-700x700.jpg
Today, the PNB rejected the scheme by Aki and his KPFA board majority supporters to manipulate the evaluation of the KPFA manager Quincy McCoy and program director.
Their board "secretary" Carol Wolfley pushed through an evaluation process without input from all board members and also eliminated a survey of the staff paid and unpaid on what they think of management.
Aki we should remember supported Quincy McCoy's scheme with Board member Sabrina Jacobs to illegally shutdown WBAI.

Staff member Jacobs muted members of the WBAI board so they could not vote on their illegal motion. So much for democracy.

Their latest effort to rig the management evaluation process at KPFA backfired when the Pacifica National Board PNB ruled that the process was improper and they must start the process over.

Aki, who touts himself as competent can't explain why he and his majority on the Pacific Board have been unable to have an evaluation for years of the present manager. This is one of their jobs on the board.

He also was silent about the plan of Wolfley and company to prevent the staff paid and unpaid from having a voice about the management with a survey. This coincides with his support for new proposed corporate bylaws that would limit staff voices and those from the stations.

The PNB has now ruled that this scheme is improper and must be restarted. If he and his KPFA board majority can't even run a fair and transparent LSB for an evaluation of management they have no business having any responsibilities for the operation of the stations or Pacifica.

Resolution passed by PNB on 9/17/20

9/17/20 Motion Stopping The Improper KPFA Management Evaluation Process
PNB Motion 9/17/2020
WHEREAS the Pacifica National Board and interim Executive
Director received a letter on 8/28/20 from nine members of
the KPFA Local Station Board stating that an evaluation of the
KPFA station manager was currently underway that lacked
transparency and was deficient in not allowing for current
LSB members to have input into the evaluation process and
timeline, as well as in not seeking any feedback from paid or
unpaid staff;
WHEREAS these LSB members had previously made known
their concerns within the KPFA LSB, and in response were told
by the LSB secretary that the LSB-member questionnaire and
other aspects of the GM evaluation process had been decided
by an LSB task force formed in 2017, and
WHEREAS 14 members of the 2020 KPFA LSB were not on the
2017 LSB,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the following steps are
required of the KPFA LSB’s performance evaluation of the
KPFA general manager:
1) A presentation of the proposed evaluation process and
timeline must be provided at an LSB meeting, with input and
discussion from current LSB members, before the process is
approved and the evaluation begun.
2) A confidential mechanism for the LSB to collect input from
all paid and unpaid KPFA staff who wish to submit it must be
part of the performance evaluation process.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT any management
evaluations already underway at KPFA that are not compliant
with the above standards shall be restarted.

For further information on this crew.

https://pacificafightback.org/victorious-campaign-against-undemocratic-replacement-bylaws/break-up-bylaws/who-and-what-is-behind-the-bylaws-revision/
by Akio Tanaka
The PNB should be focused on ’ensuring the financial health of the Foundation.’
by Stop The Racist Crosier
crosier_bill.jpeg
Those who know about what is going on at Houston should be aware of the corrupt and racist role of Bill Crosier who Akio Tanaka and "New Day Pacifica" are in collusion with. Crosier called in the police at the station against the Black manager and staff while he was interim executive director.
Former Pacifica IED Bill Crosier's Action To Call Police On KPFA Manager
https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=1629363677086067&_rdr

He is opposed to community programming and covering the Latino and Black community who are the majority of people in Houston.
His wrecking operation has been supported by the KPFA Cabal who continually blame others for the financial crisis.
KPFA under their plan of strip programming is continuing to lose listeners and has a membership of 12,000 with a N. California population of over 12 million.
The NPR strip programming dominating KPFA is driving listeners away and yet this is what Tanaka and company want to have at all the stations.
The financial crisis is a direct result of KPFA and the supporters of "New Day Pacifica" opposing new programming and instead relying on their media prima donnas who they think will build up the membership.
Their other signature is changing their names every time they want a new undemocratic bylaw proposal. Like a corrupt corporate marketing plan these are the same people but simply change their name to pretend that they are really different. This pathetic corporate branding scam is another example of their dishonesty and hypocrisy. They lost a vote two to one against the bylaws so they push another similar bylaw proposal with a new name. Tanaka and company think that eventually enough people will buy their "solution" for Pacifica. Tanaka has never asked KPFA manager McCoy why the listenership and membership at KPFA is go going down.
Their rubber stamping of the corporate agenda of these top down management running KPFK and KPFA by Tanaka and company is part and parcel of their agenda.

Here is a statement from the KPFT Board Chair about the wrecking operation of Tanaka's collaborator Bill Crosier.

KPFT Ted Weisgal Letter To PNB On Bill Crozier

Dear Members of the Pacifica National Board,
My name is Ted Weisgal and in addition to being a member of the KPFT LSB, I am a member of the Pacifica National Governance Committee. In that role, I tried to address matters pertaining to former Pacifica interim Executive Director, Bill Crosier. Due to time limits, other business matters, as well as the belief from some members of the Governance Committee that establishing an investigative committee to consider charges against Mr. Crosier should be in the domain of the PNB, not ours, I am sharing the following, in red. On July 25, I sent this to our committee chair, Lawrence Reyes and committee member, DeWayne Lark because they are pivotal players regarding this matter (continued below).

​​On Sat, Jul 25, 2020, 12:03 AM Ted Weisgal wrote:

Gentlemen,
I'm slowly recovering from our Governance Committee meeting this week and think I've come to the realization that this matter of BC violating the bylaws is in your court.
I think what Crosier did was unconscionable and his continued participation in this organization is not only wrong but compromises everything we're supposed to stand for.
One of the things that galls me is an email we received from Sandra Ra​wline where she says "let it go, Obidike has moved on with his life. We should do the same." What Crosier did will forever besmirch this organization and should not go unpunished. And he compounded his dastardly deed with his attempt to amend bylaws he does not respect.
I may be sending you additional emails to provide you with more information but right now, I'd like to know if you are going to use your positions on the PNB to push for a vote to establish an investigative committee which is what I tried to do the other night and is the proper step leading to removal.
I don't have to look deeply into your records to know that you agree with me that what Crosier did: firing an iGM without consulting the LSB in question​,​ is a violation that justifies permanent removal, especially considering the chaos that stemmed from it.
I probably should have sought your advice from the beginning, and I'm sorry I didn't. What BC did will be a permanent stain on Pacifica. Nevertheless, his removal will assuage some of the damage.
Can I be of service? Where do we go from here?

To reiterate, my email is dated July 25. I have not received any response from Messers. Reyes or Lark. Since that time, Mr. Crosier has taken on the task of serving as secretary of the KPFT Management Selection and Review Committee. Considering the chaos he’s contributed to in the past two years: the hiring and firing of five interim General Managers at KPFT and my belief that he should not be on this committee, raises the urgency of what I hope will be this action.
That committee was scheduled to meet last week. I pointed out to that body that our meeting was not posted at kpftx.org. The committee chair, Sandra Rawline​, assumed responsibility for this but the minutes for the last two meetings were not posted by Mr. Crosier until after 1am on the day of the meeting, thus giving committee members little time to read and digest them. I am not making a definitive statement that either Rawline or Crosier were responsible for the failure to post this critical meeting on kpftx.org or that if this was Crosier's responsibility that in and of itself is grounds for any action against him. What I am saying is that it is part of a pattern and should be explored by a committee that should have the power to recommend a Crosier trial.
I believe his abrogation of Article Seven, Local Station Boards, Section 3: Specific Powers and Duties: D.
“Both the Executive Director and/or an LSB may initiate the process to fire a station General Manager. However, to effectuate it, both the Executive Director and the LSB must agree to fire said General Manager. If the Executive Director and the LSB cannot agree the decision to terminate or retain said General Manager shall be made by the Board of Directors” is enough to justify the creation of an investigative committee (and the recommendation of a trial and conviction).
The protocols for an investigation at trial are spelled out in Chapter XX of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised. That document should provide guidance here. It is a process that is akin to a Grand Jury but “hearsay evidence has to be admissible.”
For the sake of any organization that undertakes this process, Robert’s urges discretion. I was chair of the KPFT LSB when Dr. Kamau was fired and can speak directly to that matter and Crosier’s unilateral decision to hire and pay the terminated GM Duane Bradley as Dr. Kamau’s advisor when no funds were approved by the KPFT LSB for that purpose. I can’t speak directly to Crosier’s unilateral termination of other GMs or the chaos he has foisted on this organization.
I do not want to prejudice such an investigation, but I do believe that Mr. Crosier has done irreparable harm. I believe that an unbiased committee will come to the same conclusion. I implore you: let the process begin.

The turmoil at KPFT: What we know, what we don't know
https://www.chron.com/houston/article/What-s-going-on-at-KPFT-Here-s-a-timeline-of-the-11299440.php
By Alyson Ward Updated 2:41 pm CDT, Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle
IMAGE 1 OF 6
Surrounded by supporters, KPFT Radio Station former interim general manager Dr. Obidike Kamau, left center, and P.K. McCary, KPFT local station board member, talk to each other during the protest against firing ... more
The tension at KPFT 90.1 FM has increased steadily this week following the firing of the station's interim general manager. Since Obidike Kamau received his pink slip Friday morning, the station has seen both a protest and a scuffle that ended with Houston police issuing trespass warnings.
Now, at an emergency meeting set for Friday, the station's local board chairman hopes to gather KPFT's board members, employees and supporters to air grievances — and, with the help of mediators, sort out a solution to an ever-deepening divide between two factions.

The meeting, open to the public, will be 7 p.m. Friday at the SHAPE Community Center, 3903 Almeda.

For those who are coming to the story late, here's a rundown.

What we know:
Four people have been fired from the station since Friday. Kamau's firing came primarily because - in three months on the job - Kamau hadn't developed a financial plan for getting the station out of debt, said Bill Crosier, interim executive director of the Pacifica Foundation, which owns KPFT.
The three employees who were fired Tuesday — the station's news director, membership coordinator and interim development director — weren't given reasons for their terminations. Those were layoffs, Crosier said Wednesday: "We had to lay off some additional people yesterday because we wouldn't have been able to make payroll otherwise."
Kamau's supporters blame racism. Since Friday, supporters have increasingly alleged that Kamau, who is African-American, was fired because of his race.
DeWayne Lark, the past chairman of KPFT's board, suggested Friday that Crosier and the left-leaning Pacifica Foundation have colluded to keep minorities and women out of leadership positions.
On Wednesday, Crosier denied there's any racism or nefarious plan behind the firings at the station.
"I know people are upset and being stirred up," he said. "I know what it looks like, and I wish it didn't look the way it does, but (Kamau's firing) is reall
crosier_firing_of_black_staff__at_kpft_.jpeg
KPFA Racist and Wrecker Bill Crosier is who Tanaka and the KPFA LSB Majority are in Alliance With. Crosier is also a big supporter of the rebranded "New Day Pacifica" bylaw scam.
Don't sign it and withdraw your signature for this corporate bylaw restructuring.

The turmoil at KPFT: What we know, what we don't know

By Alyson Ward Updated 2:41 pm CDT, Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle
IMAGE 1 OF 6
Surrounded by supporters, KPFT Radio Station former interim general manager Dr. Obidike Kamau, left center, and P.K. McCary, KPFT local station board member, talk to each other during the protest against firing ... more
The tension at KPFT 90.1 FM has increased steadily this week following the firing of the station's interim general manager. Since Obidike Kamau received his pink slip Friday morning, the station has seen both a protest and a scuffle that ended with Houston police issuing trespass warnings.
Now, at an emergency meeting set for Friday, the station's local board chairman hopes to gather KPFT's board members, employees and supporters to air grievances — and, with the help of mediators, sort out a solution to an ever-deepening divide between two factions.

The meeting, open to the public, will be 7 p.m. Friday at the SHAPE Community Center, 3903 Almeda.

For those who are coming to the story late, here's a rundown.

What we know:
Four people have been fired from the station since Friday. Kamau's firing came primarily because - in three months on the job - Kamau hadn't developed a financial plan for getting the station out of debt, said Bill Crosier, interim executive director of the Pacifica Foundation, which owns KPFT.

The three employees who were fired Tuesday — the station's news director, membership coordinator and interim development director — weren't given reasons for their terminations. Those were layoffs, Crosier said Wednesday: "We had to lay off some additional people yesterday because we wouldn't have been able to make payroll otherwise."
Kamau's supporters blame racism. Since Friday, supporters have increasingly alleged that Kamau, who is African-American, was fired because of his race.
DeWayne Lark, the past chairman of KPFT's board, suggested Friday that Crosier and the left-leaning Pacifica Foundation have colluded to keep minorities and women out of leadership positions.
On Wednesday, Crosier denied there's any racism or nefarious plan behind the firings at the station.
"I know people are upset and being stirred up," he said. "I know what it looks like, and I wish it didn't look the way it does, but (Kamau's firing) is really
by Akio Tanaka
Cabal
Corporate
Corrupt
Coup
Elitist
Illegal
Racist
Scam
Shutdown
Top down

These words only keep Pacifica divided.
We are all trying to help Pacifica.
We need to bring all sides together.

Aki
by Akio Tanaka
Sat, Jul 25, 2020, 12:03 AM Ted Weisgal wrote:
I don't have to look deeply into your records to know that you agree with me that what Crosier did: firing an iGM without consulting the LSB in question​,​ is a violation that justifies permanent removal, especially considering the chaos that stemmed from it.

Ted’s claim that firing an iGM without consulting the LSB is a violation of the Bylaws is based on a premise that there is no difference between iGM and GM.

Ted might have got this notion from a conversation he had with a friend at Temple University.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TfzEr3V2YMg
[5:20-5:42]
I have a friend who teaches at Temple University's College of Business, but he teaches Business Law.
And I asked him, "If the word 'interim' is in front of the word 'General Manager' what does that mean?And he said, "Unless you have some clarifying statement you don't pay attention to the word 'interim', they are the 'General Manager'."

There are two separate issues:
1. Powers and duties exercised by GM vs iGM.
2. Hiring and firing of GM vs iGM
--
1. There is no difference in the powers and duties exercised by GM vs iGM.
2. There is a difference between hiring and firing of GM vs iGM
--
1. Hiring and firing of GM are prescribed in the Bylaws.
2. Hiring and firing of iGM are at the discretion of the ED or the iED.
---

Ted’s notion might be faulty here.
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