Flash! A New Brand Of Brand New Bylaws Re-branded By Pacifica Brand New Brand

Go read the Pros and Cons exchange regarding the proposed New Day Pacifica Bylaws in an earlier post:
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/09/10/18836566.php/

You can find out more about the New Day Pacifica Bylaws, and sign the petition at:
https://newdaypacifica.org/petition/

Aki Tanaka at the latest KPFA LSB voted to have a handpicked evaluation committee members of his faction to set up the evaluation of the management. He and his supporters who have control of the majority of the board refused to even have an election for the evaluations committee until the Pacifica National Board ordered that the have an elected committee. They also refused to have a survey of the staff about management.
The same Aki Tanaka has now been put forward by the supporters of a new "rebranded" corporate bylaws proposals to become the new new board secretary. They have claimed that they want a “a smaller, more skilled board will be able to take on the challenges confronting Pacifica,”.
So Aki Tanaka who wants to become the new secretary of a restructured Pacifica is unable to follow the bylaws of the present Pacifica structure but wants to be the secretary of a new restructured national board.
Tanaka and his cohorts have also refused to set up a finance committee at KPFA to go over the budget and pass it. While other stations have finance committees at KPFA the board majority leave the finances to management which is corporate malfeasance and allow potential nepotism and cover-ups of the budget. They also refuse to report on who the big funders are at KPFA which is receiving $600,000 a year from secret funders. While the supporters of KPFA management at the station like to talk about financial transparency among the political parties they have a different idea when it comes to KPFA.
The board members were also not provided the budget before the vote on the budget at the meeting and did not even have time to seriously study them which were displayed for the first time on the zoom call to the LSB members . So they forced a vote on a budget that they did not have a copy of and had not had time to study before a vote. Tanaka and company again violated a democratic process to ram through a budget that was not even presented before the meeting to all the LSB members.
The lack of transparency and democratic procedure by Tanaka and company is what they want to encase on their new "rebranded" bylaw proposal. They should not be supported.

In the following article they claim that the failure to pay property taxes at KPFA was the fault of the National Pacifica Board but in fact, KPFK had been paying it's property taxes and the failure to pay the property taxes for KPFA was never reported to the LSB board by the KPFA business manager or KPFA LSB treasurer Sharon Adams. It has always been the responsibility of the business manager to pay the property taxes but apparently not when it comes to KPFA.
As usual they create more dangers for KPFA and Pacifica and then blame someone else. These tactics are designed to weaken and destroy the station as well as the network and then blame someone else.

Tax Woes Could Lead to Auction of Berkeley’s KPFA.
http://www.insideradio.com/free/tax-woes-could-lead-to-auction-of-berkeley-s-kpfa/article_cf94813a-53c3-11ea-b7d5-4780a805b048.html
Feb 20, 2020 Updated Feb 20, 2020

Unpaid property taxes have led to the scheduled auction of the KPFA (94.1 FM) radio building in Berkeley, CA, but the left-leaning Pacifica Foundation — the station’s parent company — isn’t sounding the alarm just yet.

The Daily Californian, the student-run newspaper of the University of California, Berkeley, reports the building will go on the block March 20.

But Lydia Brazon, the Pacifica Foundation’s executive director, says her organization is trying to resolve the issue, which is reportedly tied to KPFA’s application for tax-exempt status. Taxes went unpaid for several years while KPFA awaited word on its possible exemption.

But Pacifica doesn’t anticipate that KPFA will be going out of business.

“We hired two firms, which are experts in these situations, and we are now cautiously optimistic that the situation will be resolved and the amount will be within our ability to pay,” Brazon said. “We have no expectation that KPFA is going to close or be auctioned off. One way or the other, I strongly believe that the doors will stay open.”

Christina Huggins, KPFA board chair, tells the newspaper via email that the “essential cause of the tax lien on KPFA’s building is the Pacifica Foundation’s dysfunctional governance structure.”

That sentiment was echoed by KPFA board secretary Carol Wolfley. “Because there are many Pacifica directors who have little or no experience in broadcasting and financial management,” she told the Daily Californian in an email, “the Pacifica National Board has not been able to manage the assets effectively. Right now, there is an election for a bylaws amendment to change the governance system to work more effectively.”

According to Huggins, a “member-generated petition” has enough signatures to mandate the bylaw restructure vote. That vote, if passed, would “do away with Pacifica’s chaotic and costly governance system” by creating a new 11-member “transitional” national board.

Supporters of changing the current system argue that “a smaller, more skilled board will be able to take on the challenges confronting Pacifica,” including paying off a $3.25 million loan the national board took out on the KPFA building and other properties to pay off a lawsuit against another Pacifica station, WBAI New York (99.5).

Despite the drama surrounding Pacifica, one of the few remaining bastions of liberal-progressive radio programming in the U.S., Brazon is bullish on the future. “Pacifica has been around for so long, since 1946, and it’s gone through ups and downs, and democratic experiments within its board, and bylaws have been a matter of controversy at different times, and all kinds of upheaval, and it continues,” she said. “It survives.”

Bylaws say one of the ‘powers and duties’ of LSB is to evaluate the GM.
“C. To prepare an annual written evaluation of the station's General Manager.”

The Bylaws do not prescribe how the LSB is to carry out the GM evaluation. It is up to the LSB.

The Bylaws only require that LSB do an annual written evaluation.

The Bylaws also say ‘powers and duties’ of the PNB is” Subject to … these Bylaws relating to action required or permitted to be taken or approved by the … Delegates of the Foundation...

The PNB is proscribed from interceding in the LSB’s GM evaluation.

Rebranded corporate bylaw supporter and proposed new corporate board secretary Akio Tanaka continues to defend the rigged management evaluation process at KPFA.

The bylaws say that the LSB evaluate the GM. It does not say that a faction of the LSB head up the evaluation process without a vote of the whole LSB but that was exactly what was done by Akio and the KPFA LSB board majority.
They allowed their KPFA secretary Carol Wolfley to decide the process and questions to be asked and also allowed her to ignore having a survey of the staff. This was improper and that was why by a big majority, the Pacifica PNB ruled that the KPFA LSB majority was having a rigged evaluation process and that it should be restarted.
Tanaka again doing damage control for his team is still defending the way they presented the management evaluation process. If this is the case, you have to ask why they had to have a vote for on Sep 19th for the handpicked factional slate which was put together by KPFA board member & UC International House Service Manager Tim Lynch.
If it was the case that they were proceeding properly, why would they have to have a vote for an evaluation committee after the PNB vote?
Tanaka and company were caught trying to have a rigged evaluation process and also excluding a survey of the staff or any staff input on the management so they had to have a new vote.

This contempt for the Pacifica bylaws and democratic governance by Tanaka and company has cost Pacifica many thousands of dollars and also become an obstacle to taking KPFA and Pacifica forward. Tanaka has been rewarded by his union busting faction which illegally shutdown WBAI by being awarded with being named the Secretary of the newly proposed national Pacifica Board if the top down corporate bylaws are passed. He has done such a good job violating the present Pacifica bylaws they want him to continue his good work by being on the Pacifica Board as the secretary.
So much for integrity.

One of the problems one encounters when you have a National Board and a Local Board, is that if the minority at the Local Board is aligned with the majority at the National Board, the minority at the Local Board can appeal to the majority on the National Board to reverse any actions of the Local Board they do not like.

Which is why the Bylaws have a provision, that PNB can not intercede when the Local Board is exercising the Powers and Duties assigned to the Local Board, such as evaluation of the GM.

As far as being rewarded, being a Secretary is not a reward.

so here is the evaluation questionnaire that's supposed
to be filled out by the Local Station Board members ..

Below are the evaluation questions.
1. The GM has maintained the fiscal integrity of the station through on- and off-air fundraising, website fundraising, membership acquisition and through grants and development projects.
2. The GM has maintained the physical plant and transmitter functions and ensured that public safety measures are in place.
3. The GM has worked to ensure that programming conforms to the Pacifica Mission.
4. The GM ensures that all local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations are followed and all required reports are filed in a timely fashion.
5. The GM attends Local Station Board meetings on a quarterly basis, make reports to the board and cooperates with the LSB election process.
6. The GM has afforded staff the guidance and training needed to best perform their job duties.
7. The GM has developed a budget planning process, implemented the existing budget throughout the year.
8. The GM has followed Pacifica procedures and pertinent laws in personnel actions, and followed the Pacifica Employment Handbook and Union Contract.
9. The GM has enhanced community relations through a well maintained website, social media, community events and other outreach efforts.
10. Please indicate if you are a Listener or Staff Local Station Board Member.

judge for yourself ..

The LSB uses the evaluation to assess whether the GM is doing the job GM was hired to do.

run and grow a COMMUNITY ALTERNATIVE radio station
- listenership ( Nielsen numbers )
- membership ( small dollar contributions )
- community participation ( community groups w/ radio shows )
- alternative radio programming ( to the corp massmedia )
- access and radio training for young people, minorities,
and disadvantaged communities in the listening area

the GM was hired to fulfill the Pacifica Mission Statement
at one particular Pacifica radio station
“To establish a Foundation organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any member of the Foundation.
To establish and operate for educational purposes, in such manner that the facilities involved shall be as nearly self-sustaining as possible, one or more radio broadcasting stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and subject in their operation to the regulatory actions of the Commission under the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended.
In radio broadcasting operations to encourage and provide outlets for the creative skills and energies of the community; to conduct classes and workshops in the writing and producing of drama; to establish awards and scholarships for creative writing; to offer performance facilities to amateur instrumentalists, choral groups, orchestral groups and music students; and to promote and aid other creative activities which will serve the cultural welfare of the community.{mosimage}
In radio broadcasting operations to engage in any activity that shall contribute to a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors; to gather and disseminate information on the causes of conflict between any and all of such groups; and through any and all means compatible with the purposes of this corporation to promote the study of political and economic problems and of the causes of religious, philosophical and racial antagonisms.
In radio broadcasting operations to promote the full distribution of public information; to obtain access to sources of news not commonly brought together in the same medium; and to employ such varied sources in the public presentation of accurate, objective, comprehensive news on all matters vitally affecting the community.”

contrast the KPFA General Manager evaluation
w/ the Pacifica ED ( the General Manager of the GMs) job spec
ie how an ED (GM of GM'S) will be evaluated

KPFA GENERAL MANAGER EVAL SPEC
1. The GM has maintained the fiscal integrity of the station through on- and off-air fundraising, website fundraising, membership acquisition and through grants and development projects.
2. The GM has maintained the physical plant and transmitter functions and ensured that public safety measures are in place.
3. The GM has worked to ensure that programming conforms to the Pacifica Mission.
4. The GM ensures that all local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations are followed and all required reports are filed in a timely fashion.
5. The GM attends Local Station Board meetings on a quarterly basis, make reports to the board and cooperates with the LSB election process.
6. The GM has afforded staff the guidance and training needed to best perform their job duties.
7. The GM has developed a budget planning process, implemented the existing budget throughout the year.
8. The GM has followed Pacifica procedures and pertinent laws in personnel actions, and followed the Pacifica Employment Handbook and Union Contract.
9. The GM has enhanced community relations through a well maintained website, social media, community events and other outreach efforts.

PACIFICA ED (GM of GM'S) CANDIDATE EVAL SPEC
Pacifica - Executive Director
The Pacifica National Board (PNB) seeks an Executive Director for our five-station network (KPFA, Berkeley, California, KPFT, Houston Texas, KPFK, Los Angeles, California, WBAI, New York, New York, and WPFW, Washington, DC) as well as the Pacifica National Archives and our growing Affiliate program.

About Pacifica: Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica’s storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases. Those cases include the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin’s incendiary performances on WBAI.

The Pacifica Foundation operates noncommercial radio stations in five major metropolitan areas, operates the Pacifica Radio Archives with decades of historical audio, and syndicates content to over 300 affiliate stations. It invented listener-sponsored radio.

Expectations:
The Pacifica National Board expects the Executive Director to increase the total revenue, net income, membership, program quality and listenership of our stations through good management and to ensure that our Archives, National Office and Affiliate Network are maintained and functioning efficiently. The ED will ensure that all federal, state and local laws and regulations are complied with, that legal matters are competently handled and financial reporting is completed in a timely manner.

In consultation with the Pacifica National Board (PNB), Local Station Boards (LSB) and our management and staff, we have created the profile of the ideal next ED for Pacifica. We will select from and consider candidates who most clearly demonstrate the following skills and characteristics:

Industry knowledge: Experience with and knowledgeable of media, especially listener supported radio, journalism and trends in technology and consumption of media, including:

A high level of understanding of dynamics, issues and trends in media, public and community media, journalism and radio, and ability to lead Pacifica in these areas;
Knowledge to be able to provide oversight to maintain the quality of a complex physical plant (studios and transmitter sites for each station), including managing the strategic and financial challenge of maintaining its effectiveness;
Technologically competent, comfortable with/aware of digital and social media, able to keep us abreast and current with all different platforms.

Communication: Highly developed public and one on one interpersonal and communication skills, with an open, engaging style, including:

Is inspiring and respectful, connecting in a real way with people;
Comfort with and command of the range of communication channels, including speaking, writing and social media;
Being a skillful listener;
Able to flex style depending on stakeholder group and situation;
Is an effective spokesperson for Pacifica.

Leadership: We seek a Strategic, focused, experienced and mission-driven individual, with a mature set of leadership abilities, who will help grow and maintain a positive, aligned culture within Pacifica, keep the organization improving in effectiveness in serving the people in our communities (the physical communities served by our transmitters and beyond) and at the same time help us become and remain financially sound in this turbulent economic time, who also:

Has an open style, but is also an effective decision-maker and change agent;
Shows up – in our organizations and communities, and with the PNB and LSBs;
Puts the mission and success of Pacifica first;
Is a fair, powerful team leader and builder, to help Pacifica gain alignment while encouraging varying perspectives, and to help make the organization highly effective at serving its mission;
Is politically savvy and diplomatic;
Provides direction and accountability for organizational and staff results, including clearly communicating strategy, goals and expectations;
Has great people skills including being able to flex style – comfortable and effective at dealing with a wide range of stakeholders – from our smallest communities to statewide legislative, business and community leaders;
Is committed to and comfortable with diversity, both within the institution and in the communities we serve.

Problem Solving and Decision Making: Expert decision-maker who:

Has the ability to prioritize and determine significance of a particular issue, understands who to include in the problem-solving process, and knows what and how much information is needed;
Is able to effectively analyze and use data in the decision-making process, and makes decisions in a timely manner;
Is good at follow-through – clearly communicates decision, designs and administers effective execution, with appropriate pre-determined success measures and time-posts; and
Demonstrates strength with process mapping and developing effective processes.

Financial Acumen: Experienced, competent financial manager with the ability to provide overall direction to Pacifica including in the financial area, comfort with dealing with money, as well as providing partnering (in the case of the CFO), mentoring and supervision in the area of financial management to the National Office (including our finance team at the NO), the leadership of our five stations, the Pacifica Radio Archives and the Affiliates program. Critical financial skills include:

Experience: Advanced business knowledge, including ability to deal with a complex, difficult financial environment, with managing multiple financial issues and priorities at the same time. Aware of and capable with developing and managing budgets, cash flow, income generation and facilities;
Judgment: Proven ability to make meaning out of complex and ambiguous business situations. Ability to provide context for decisions based on outcomes of past actions. High level of self-awareness in making decisions;
Troubleshooting: The ability to analyze the business performance of and provide guidance to the Pacifica National Office, the stations, the PRA and the Affiliates program, including providing such performance indicators as needed by the PNB to allow for effective policy oversight for Pacifica.


Integrity: Our most important asset is the trust our donors and audience have in our programming and in Pacifica as an institution. A key to the recovery and growth of Pacifica will be to create a new shared sense of internal cohesion and shared purpose, with the ED providing clear, transparent leadership and modeling integrity for the entire organization. Our next ED will:

Be an authentic, courageous, ethical person of substance with strong self-awareness;
Have clear, high standards for him or herself and others;
Be honest with him or herself and others;
Understand and practice confidentiality when necessary as well as organizational and financial transparency;
Understand and have commitment to journalistic independence, integrity, and ethics.


Fundraising: Excited about generating financial resources for Pacifica.. Effective fundraiser with demonstrated track record, knowledgeable of and expert at the ED role in fundraising and resource development, including in a listener supported environment, who is:

Comfortable with asking for money for Pacifica;
Strong as mission spokesperson and in relationship management aspects of fundraising (both individual and institutional);
Has a comprehensive understanding of fundraising strategies and methods in public media (membership, underwriting, and major and planned-giving) and beyond;
Able to develop Pacifica organizational fundraising capacity, and effective at helping initiate the process of moving us beyond our reliance on pledge and membership-based revenues into philanthropic fundraising (adding to and displacing while maintaining and growing total results), including identifying and dealing with any internal cultural and operational blocks to success with expanding and diversifying our income streams.


Conflict Management: Comfort with and skilled at managing conflict, both limiting negative and encouraging healthy conflict.

Experience: Demonstrated success working in and managing an active, sometimes stressful environment.
Knowledgeable and intentional about the practice of conflict management;
Welcomes input, able to process and respond constructively to input including challenges while maintaining composure, able to flex or hold ground as situation requires.


Vision: In the context of the challenges facing Pacifica, as well as changes the Internet is having on availability and use of media, display ability to project our needs out into the long-term future; see and understand future trends in media, in related fields and the world, and the impact on Pacifica’s operations and:

Be a big picture person;
Have a learning orientation, including demonstrated methods for gathering, assimilating and making meaning out of information about the changing media, technology and demographic landscape;
Balance vision with doing.
Able to enroll others in working together to execute vision.

Management: An organized, results-oriented manager with strong relational skills and experience leading a team as well as managing change. Someone who:

Is committed and effective leading a staff, including supervising, developing and mentoring;
Has the mindset of an effective manager, including attention to detail;
Has experience and is comfortable with long distance management;
Is able to multi-task effectively across a broad range of areas, quickly shifting gears and prioritizing tasks across diverse areas and practices;
Is committed to and has a record of effectively managing and developing diversity in staff and board.

Compared to the other stations in the network, KPFA is the one station that is doing well.

maybe ...
- if you take out the big-money donations ($400/600/900K)
maybe not so well
- run a distribution analysis on the size of the donations
you might see a surprising scatter diagram
- huge monthly payroll "nut" - how did that happen ??
- what's the headcount volunteers vs paid staff
- run an "aging" analysis on the programs - how long have they
been running
- we already have an "NPR" station .. we're not supposed to
be "NPR #2"
- run an alternative news coverage analysis on the station
are we actually covering local alternative news, hosting local
activist / community groups, guesting local people or just
"discussing" the latest national whatever like everyone else?

couldn't find "makin' tons o money" in the Mission Statement
read it again .. slowly ..
To establish a Foundation organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any member of the Foundation.

To establish and operate for educational purposes, in such manner that the facilities involved shall be as nearly self-sustaining as possible, one or more radio broadcasting stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and subject in their operation to the regulatory actions of the Commission under the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended.

One of the responsibilities for successfully carrying out the Pacifica mission is ensure that the station is financially healthy.

In regards to "how ED (GM of GM's) will be evaluated"
the Bylaws do not call for the evaluation of the ED by the PNB.
Article Five Section 1 E (5) says:
“Appointing, supervising and discharging the Foundation's Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer and all Foundation officers…”
However, under Article Nine Officers of the Foundation Section 7 Executive Director, it says:
“In addition, his/her performance will also be subject to annual evaluation by each LSB, which may make recommendations to the Board.”

Every Pacifica Local Station Board is supposed to do a regular evaluation of the manager and program director. Akio Tanaka and his cronies which control the majority of delegates on the KPFA board have failed to do an evaluation of the mangers Quincy McCoy for years. They are in charge so they can't blame anyone else except themselves yet Tanaka thinks they are doing a good job.
Their latest effort to rig the evaluation process was to set up a process without even a vote of the entire local station board.
They also dropped any survey of the staff on how management was doing. This is something that the new proposed secretary of his new Pacifica board Akio Tanaka went along with.
The Pacifica National Board with a large majority voted that they had to start the process again because they had improperly manipulated the evaluation process and had not allowed a vote on the process by the entire Local Station Board. This rigged process was apparently ok with Akio Tanaka. So much for integrity and transparency.
They then voted to restart the process with another handpicked evaluation committee of their supporters decided by KPFA LSB member and UC International House manager Tim Lynch. So Tanaka also went along with a newly proposed management evaluations committee that excluded any members not part of his faction. This is what Akio Tanaka is part of. A faction that cannot do it's responsibility on the KPFA LSB and when they are forced to do their job, they still try to improperly manipulate and rig the results of the management evaluation. This is the same crew that say the solution is new bylaws but they refuse to actually carry out the present bylaws.
All the other stations can get their act together to management evaluations but Tanaka cannot carry out their responsibilities at KPFA but they want to establish new bylaws with even less transparency that would lead to more corruption and nepotism.
Tanaka and company on the KPFA LSB have also supported the racist attack on Black programmers at Houston Pacifica station KPFT. This is who their allies are.

Can you trust them to do anything different with new bylaws?

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.

pa·cif·ic
/pəˈsifik/

adjective
adjective: pacific;

peaceful in character or intent.
"a pacific gesture"

The current Bylaws were drafted by a group headed by Carol Spooner after the 1999 crisis. At the time it was felt that all-elected Boards were the preferred governance structure.

However, it became evident that the way the current Bylaws implemented the elections resulted in dysfunctional Boards. National Board Directors are elected by the Local Board, which is akin to our Electoral College, and the National Board Officers are elected by the majority on the National Board, so they are twice removed from the members.

Here are some of the problems resulting from the chronic dysfunction of Pacifica’s National Board.
1. Pacifica has failed every audit since 2015.
2. Pacifica was just kicked out of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Before that, Pacifica’s Board had forfeited nearly $7 million dollars in CPB grants since 2013.
3. Pacifica has no money to pay a $3.2 million loan payment due April 2021.
4. Pacifica has no financial reserves and is close to financial collapse.

-----
Disinterested but knowledgeable third parties have been saying for years that Pacifica needs to change its Bylaws.

Previous Pacifica’s auditors, Regalia and Associate, said in in 2018:
“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… As auditors, we strongly recommend an end to the infighting and unproductive arguments which we have witnessed by listening to and reading Board minutes. The organization’s ability to continue as a going concern is directly related to its ability to follow a rational plan and financially sensible strategy.”

Current Pacifica’s auditors, Rogers & Company, said in 2019:
“As has been communicated by the predecessor independent auditors, we also agree it would be beneficial for the Foundation to review its Bylaws and consider any revisions to simplify them and encourage more productive meetings….”
“…it appears that the Foundation and its several stations would benefit from changes designed to achieve a more productive governance process. We believe that all divisions should restructure their Boards with fewer members, which would hopefully reduce the number of disparate voices and result in more effective governance. Bylaws should be re-written to be more effective, restrict voting participation, and restrict impediments to efficient Board actions and procedures. The current process lends itself to protracted and unproductive discourse between participants....”

Current Pacifica CPA said in 2019:
“Going back to the governance issue. I think part of that concern, and this goes back, this recommendation goes back to probably 2012, with CPB’s recommendations. They been uncomfortable with the structure, and would like to see something little more conventional, and where divisions can be made just in more business like fashion.”

—----
A group of people, in early 2020, put a referendum for a new Bylaws which was soundly defeated.

The drafters of the new Bylaws focused on getting people with experience and expertise on the Board, and many voters felt that it impinged too much on the listener democracy.

However, the need to change the Bylaws remain, so another group, with some members from the first effort, drafted a new set of Bylaws, learning from the short comings of the first effort, and incorporating many of the advice of the disinterested but knowledgeable third parties.

---
Following is a key summary of the New Day Pacifica Bylaws.

1. The National Board size is reduced from 24 to 15.

2. 8 Directors represent each of the stakeholders (the listeners of 5 stations, the paid staff, the volunteer staff, and the affiliates).

3. 4 Board Officers are directly elected by the full membership, instead being elected by the Board, for increased democracy and accountability.

4. 3 Directors are selected by the 12 elected Directors, to bring to the Board experience, expertise, and diversity that Board members might lack, but the Board needs.

5. To remove the over lapping governance structure that have led to grid lock, governance power is removed from the Local Station Board, which now does the work of the CPB mandated Community Advisory Board.

—---
Carol Spooner, co-author of the current Bylaws, supports the New Day Pacifica Bylaws:
“The New Day Pacifica Bylaws will correct excesses of the present bylaws by reducing the size of the board, getting the Local Station Boards out of station management, and having direct elections of National Board Members, rather than our present, baroque two stage voting process.”

-------
Pacifica members can learn more about the New Day Pacifica Bylaws at: https://www.newdaypacifica.org

If you agree that Pacifica needs new Bylaws, please sign the petition at the site.