Sherry Gendelman Candidate Statement

I appreciate the importance of our radio station as a forum for ideas and voices we rarely hear from in the mainstream media. Through my years of political activism, I came to know, and rely upon, KPFA. It was the venue that presented the issues, and the culture, that were important to me and which enriched my life.

I've been directly involved with KPFA for a long time: I was Chair of the KPFA Local Advisory Board in the late 1990s when many on the Pacifica National Board attempted to hijack that Board away from the Pacifica Mission. I was a lead plaintiff in one of the lawsuits that eventually ousted the renegade board. After that battle I stepped aside to let others participate. But I decided to participate again, and have been a member of the Station Board since 2004.

There is much work to be done to make our station, and the Pacifica network, a more powerful voice for peace, justice, and cultural expression. There's much work to reach out to new audiences. But we're headed in the right direction: KPFA has attracted new generations of programmers who can relate to emerging communities in the Bay Area, and across the country and globe. New technologies have provided us the opportunity to grow audiences outside our signal area. KPFA must continue to expand its work as venue for alternative views of how this world really works and how it can be a better place.

In the last few months I have heard the station revitalized with new ideas, new programmers, and new internet ventures. As Board members I believe our job is to strengthen the station, contribute ideas, and to support progressive, talented and competent voices on and off the air. I have the experience to contribute to a successful KPFA: In addition to my time on KPFA's Boards, I've served as Executive Director of the Gray Panthers, as a board member of Friends of KALW, as a founding member of the San Francisco Farmer's Market in the Tenderloin, and, currently, the governing board of the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA). I have taught a course in civics and constitutional rights for the San Francisco Superior Court for 3 years.

I'm running as part of a slate dedicated to strengthening and expanding KPFA, and bringing civility to its board meetings. Read more about our platform and endorsers at concernedlisteners.org

Endorsed By: Osha Neumann, Civil Rights Activist , Attorney and Educator; Matthew Lasar, Pacifica Historian; Bob Meyer, Program Chair, the Ruth Group; Sharon Wood, filmmaker, Director of "KPFA On The Air"; Anthony “Tony” Gonzalez, AIM, West Coast; James Quesada, Ph. D. Chair, Dept. of Anthropoloy, SF State; Author, Human Rights Worker"; Bonnie Borenstein, Ph. D, Professor of Mass Media and Communications, College Of Marin; Robert Amparan, Criminal defense attorney.