Lee McClure Come Candidate Statement
Complaining about problems won’t fix them. But pretending they don’t exist only makes them worse. That’s what happened to WBAI which is now bankrupt, and a quarter-million dollars in debt. Oddly enough, no one seems to be responsible. Not only does the WBAI board majority (called the JUC) not recognize the deficit but also claims no responsibility. JUC is in denial and has failed to responsibly oversee management. They all fiddled around while WBAI burned. Now they want to be re-elected, so they can continue fiddling until WBAI is in ashes. I say NO!
For 4 years, the JUC majority did nothing as daily revenues dropped by half. They did nothing after Gary Null, Robert Knight and Mike Feder were harassed and fired causing thousands of listeners to leave in disgust. They did nothing as pledge drives became so long they now take one out of every 4 minutes of air time. They did nothing when computers and audio equipment mysteriously "disappeared" from the station. Or when "friends" of management began to hang around all day, with apparently nothing to do, except beat up staff members who stepped "out of line" (as they beat up WBAI’s Fulfillment Director in his own office).
The JUC majority closed their eyes when so-called "consultants" received large payoffs for work that management couldn't describe, and whose names it wouldn’t reveal. Nor did they investigate when some of their own members took salaries from the station for "noshow" jobs. Nor did they ask why an award-winning reporter (a Black man) was fired after being told he "played too much White man’s music" on his show. Or why WBAI’s leading program (bringing in a third of its revenue) was abruptly cancelled after 27 years because the program director wanted to give that time slot to his personal physician. Or why the JUC won't re-broadcast"Democracy Now" for a second time in the evening, so working people can hear it when they get home.
The current JUC majority should be replaced because it has destroyed our finances, our audience, and our moral credibility. I hope you’ll elect me as one of those "replacements." As Founder& Director of the Eclectix Chamber Orchestra, I know how to make creative people work together instead of fighting with each other (a big problem at WBAI). And since my orchestra is non-profit, I have to create realistic budgets, and stick to them, while st-r-r-r-r-r-retching every dollar as far as it can go.
As a yellow taxicab driver, I've also developed an understanding of many different nationalities and the blood, sweat and tears that working people and many immigrants endure to help their families here and abroad. These skills can help bring WBAI back to life, stronger and more glorious than ever.
I hope you will also vote for James Ross, Bernardo Palombo, Don Mathisen, Jennifer Jager, Carla Cubit, Seth Goldberg, Stefan Neutstatder, Bob Gold, Ken Laufer, Albert Solomon, and Pat Logan. Thank you.
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Show/Hide commentsSpooner made sure, in a nasty offensive, that bylaws at Pacifica would not include affirmative action remedies in election results, which opened the foundation to control by whites majorities.
Spooner is angry that WBAI is not controlled by whites yet, so she is sticking her nose in at WBAI.
Her husband, Gregory Wonderwheel, regularly attacked many African Americans at WBAI in various attempts to force them out using lies, hyperbole and standard Republican-style put-downs. Make no mistake about it, Carol Spooner and her California cohorts want to control WBAI.
I'm endorsing --
#1 - James Ross
#2 - Seth Goldberg
and, in alphabetical order,
Carla Cubit, Robert Gold, Jennifer Jager, Ken Laufer, Pat Logan, Don Mathiesen,
Lee McClure, Stefan Neustatder, Bernardo Palombo.
I hope you will rank James #1 and Seth #2 on your ballot, and then go on to rank the others listed above in order of your preference. James Ross is the only encumbent who deserves re-election this year. He has worked diligently to uncover and understand the station finances and to make recommendations to deal with the problems. Unfortunately, his efforts have been blocked by the current majority on the LSB (the "Justice & Unity" faction). Seth Goldberg has the financial and business skills that WBAI so desperately needs at this time. All of the above-named candidates are sincerely committed to helping to right the station by hiring station management that will strengthen & revitalize programming, restore the listener-base and rebuild financial stability. They can be the seeds of sanity at a very troubled institution if you elect them to serve this very important community resource.
This is a critical election for WBAI. I believe it is absolutely essential that NON "Justice & Unity" slate candidates take a majority of the seats on the Local Board if WBAI is to survive, and perhaps even Pacifica itself. As I wrote to you a few weeks ago, WBAI is bankrupt. It is paying its bills by borrowing money from the Pacifica National Office which is borrowing the money from other Pacifica stations. This whole house of cards could come down if the problems at WBAI are not solved quickly. There have been very serious financial irregularities at WBAI, including use of "restricted" grant monies for unauthorized purposes. In addition, when WBAI terminated Gary Null's program it also terminated a major source of listener-support for the station. Regardless of what you think of Gary Null's program, the station needed a realistic plan to replace that income or to reduce its expenses to live within its reduced income. It did neither, and that is one of the causes of the current bankruptcy. Other causes are overall mis-management, waste, poor staff morale, not enough good programming, and competition from other alternative media sources, both on the radio and on the internet.
The "Justice & Unity" faction has held the majority on the LSB for the past three years and has been blocking necessary management changes and other changes at the station. In addition, the LSB majority elects 3 of the 4 WBAI seats on the Pacifica National Board and they have been blocking necessary action by the Pacifica Executive Director and National Board. For this to change, at least 5 of the 9 listener seats , and 2 of the 3 staff seats on the LSB must be won by independents who are not part of the "Justice & Unity" slate. I honestly don't know why the "Justice & Unity" slate has been so destructive to WBAI, they have good "political" credentials and you would think they would want the station to grow and thrive. However, they have not acted that way, and if they are permitted to continue to control the Local board and to confuse and mislead the national board, then I am very very pessimistic about the future of WBAI and Pacifica. This is tragic in a time of national crisis where EVERY form of alternative media
Again, please vote -- Every vote matters. With "ranked choice" voting just one vote can determine who wins the last seat on the board.
Thanks, and best regards,
Carol Spooner
Pacifica National Board Member - Jan 2002-Jan 2005
Lead Plaintiff - Listeners' Lawsuit to remove the old Pacifica Board - 1999-Dec 2001
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