recall Tracy Rosenberg

Send a strong message to Pacifica by voting YES on the recall

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Pacifica treasurer Tracy Rosenberg claims that she “saved” KPFA from bankruptcy, but as KPFA News co-director Aileen Alfandary writes in an open letter released today, “a close examination of that claim shows it doesn’t hold water.”

Alfandary continues: “Virtually the entire reduction in staffing in 2010 was from union members who took voluntary layoffs. When the dust settled, and Pacifica was forced to rehire Brian Edwards-Tiekert, the only involuntary layoff that occurred in 2010 was that of the other Morning Show co-host who had been paid for a grand total of 27 hours a week. It’s absurd to claim that this small salary saved KPFA from bankruptcy. It’s quite the contrary. The reduction in fundraising from purging the Morning Show cost us dearly and drove listeners away from KPFA.” | READ ALFANDARY’S ENTIRE LETTER HERE

Noted Tracy Rosenberg endorsers withdraw support, YES on KPFA recall endorsers list growing

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David Barsamian, host of Alternative Radio, who was initially listed as an endorser of the “no” recall campaign, now says that it was a “total error on his part.” He told KPFA staff that he retracted his endorsement once he found out more about the issues.

KPFA staffer Davey D of Hard Knock Radio, in response to a listener query, has also said he did not take a position against the recall.  Nevertheless, his name still appears on the anti-recall site as a staff endorser.

Meanwhile, the YES campaign is adding endorsers daily, including (titles & organizations for ID only): Paul George, Peninsula Peace & Justice Center; Gloria Frym, writer; Jane Heaven, KPFA producer/host, Vic Bedoian, Pacifica Evening News reporter; Eric Klein, former Flashpoints tech producer; Andrea Turner, Pacifica board member; Richard Walker, radical geographer; Charlotte Sáenz, community artist & educator; Kathleen Weaver, poet, translator; Steve Early, labor journalist; Summer Brenner, author of Richmond Tales; David Martinez, filmmaker; Iain Boal, social historian of the commons; Cal Winslow, labor historian, author, Rebel Rank and File; Cathy Campbell, President, Berkeley Federation of Teachers, and many others. | ADD YOUR ENDORSEMENT HERE | SEE THE ENTIRE YES ON RECALL ENDORSERS’ LIST

Recall supervisor: not so neutral

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Last week, the supervisor Pacifica hired to run KPFA’s election, Matt Ward, threatened SaveKPFA that he would refuse to send out ballots unless we participated in an on-air debate — on two days’ notice. He also declined to give SaveKPFA any details on the ground rules and format for the debate until just before airtime. Once the debate started, he interrupted SaveKPFA‘s debater three times during her opening statement: telling her she couldn’t discuss the layoff notice KPFA’s union has just received, accusing her of hyperbole, and threatening to take away her time.

Then complaints started coming in from listeners who had called the studio to voice pro-recall positions and were rejected after a call screener asked what they wanted to say. We believe this is the first time KPFA has ever screened calls-ins for content during an election debate. When one pro-recall voice did get on-air — and started to explain why she had stopped supporting Tracy Rosenberg — Ward started interrupting her almost immediately. He let all other callers go on at length. Ironically, Ward had published a rule that KPFA staff members could not participate in the debate — then he let two pro-recall unpaid staffers on the air to speak uninterrupted, even after they identified themselves as staff members.

Then ballots hit mailboxes. Ward had modified the text of SaveKPFA‘s recall petition before printing it in the ballot package: contrary to Pacifica’s own recall procedures, he took out three topic sentences summarizing the charges against Rosenberg, as well as the entire concluding paragraph of the petition. Now the ballot language doesn’t match what over 800 KPFA listeners had signed onto (here’s the original recall petition that listeners signed and the actual ballot that mailed). So much for a fairly-run election!