Richard Phelps Candidate Statement

The specter of 1999 is upon us again, this time from the inside. Everyone that fought Mary Francis Berry, Lynn Chadwick and the rest of the Hijackers did not do it for the same reason! We at peoplesradio fought the Hijackers, like most of you, to protect and expand the dissemination of alternative ideas, people’s history, progressive politics and alternative culture (our Mission), broadcasting important information and programs that are denied or ignored by the corporate media. For information about the Hijackers see www.peoplesradio.net, archives: Chronology…also see Why did the staff not prevent the corporate raid?

To protect and preserve KPFA/Pacifica, new Bylaws to institutionalize a democratic and transparent process were adopted with provisions to involve our listeners in representative governance of the station and Pacifica. Our listeners donate $4,000,000 a year to run KPFA and deserve input and representation. The new Bylaws have yet to be fully implemented. WHY? Some fought the Hijackers for their own reasons, not putting the Mission first: jobs, airtime, power/ego trips and some new folks have joined them. They pretend to support the Mission while constantly working to consolidate their positions at their station and Pacifica, while undermining the new Bylaws and our Mission. They give lip service to democratic process and fight transparency to keep what they are doing under the listeners’ radar. They seek to gain complete control of their stations and Pacifica to continue the old system of patronage and cronyism in the distribution of jobs, airtime and decision making that led to the crisis of the late 1990s.

There is a separate group at each station working toward such dominance. Their politics are not always the same and yet their representatives on the Pacifica National Board (PNB) colluded to continue their power. This keeps Pacifica from addressing the information needs of the people fighting corporate domination. Some PNB members block the use of the power of the PNB to overrule the tyranny of the majority when stations ignore our Mission, violate our bylaws and the basic principles of due process and transparency. PeoplesRadio candidates will collectively use our candidates’ space to let you know what this looks like at KPFA, information that some don’t want you to know. You ask, “Why should I believe there is a group dedicated to the pre-Democratic Bylaws patronage and cronyism?” Read the statement of Gerald Sanders to see the powerful evidence that answers this question. It exposes what certain “leaders” at KPFA really think about democracy, transparency and accountability!

Some endorsements: La Varn Williams, Michael Parenti, Peter Philips (Project Censored), Peter Camejo, Jack Heyman, SF and Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party, and Alameda County Green Party. Please vote.