On March 18, an Alameda County Superior Court judge issued an injunction against Pacifica after it voted to unseat SaveKPFA-affiliated station board member Dan Siegel. The court rejected all of Pacifica’s contentions and ordered Siegel reinstated to both the local KPFA and national Pacifica board seats he holds.
Following Jean Quan‘s historic election as Oakland’s mayor, KPFA board member Tracy Rosenberg claimed that Siegel’s long-standing relationship as an informal advisor to Quan constituted a “political appointment” that disqualified him from serving KPFA or Pacifica. Rosenberg then used her position on the Pacifica national board to manipulate that board into stripping Siegel of his board seats. That action prompted a majority of KPFA’s local board to file suit against Pacifica.
This is the third legal victory for democracy at Pacifica, following two other injunctions in December and February against attempts by Pacifica to manipulate elections.