FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 17, 2021

2021 Election Endorsements

Berkeley – This contains endorsements for the 2021 local station board elections. Your ballots have been sent on Monday and you have until October 15 to vote. Pacifica in Exile is an independent publication and our endorsements are not affiliated with any third party.

KPFA-Berkeley: We cannot support any candidate who aligns with Donald Goldmacher, who filed suit in December of 2020 to transfer all of the Pacifica Foundation assets including the station licenses away from the control of the members and into the hands of a San Bernardino attorney named Matthew Taylor. Such an action is inimical to everything Pacifica stands for and represented such a profound threat to the safety of the network that it is fundamentally unforgiveable. That the lawsuit was incompetent and spectacularly unsuccessful does not redeem the action. DO NOT VOTE to return Goldmacher to the LSB. Those running with him on the KPFA Protectors slate are by definition approving of his actions. Goldmacher’s cadre is Cook, Dodsworth, Howard, Kohan, Crowell, Tactaquin, Kaldveer and Varghese. No to all of them.

The remaining candidates include a slate of 9 candidates running under the name Rescue Pacifica and a few independent candidates. We recommend considering the following:

Incumbents James MacFadden, physicist, Don Macleay, business owner and Daniel Borgstrom, veteran and VFP activist, have done a good job and deserve re-election. Among the newcomers to consider are Donna Carter, a long-time CNA member, Elizabeth Milos, a Chilean human rights activist, Adisa Armand, an educator, Rich Stone, a long-term member of the KPFA Community Advisory Board and Code Pinker Amber Jayanti. We also recommend independent candidates Vicente Cruz, who has solid fundraising and event management skills, and Phoebe Sorgen,a Berkeley activist and former City Council candidate.

These candidates are all committed to an independent and progressive KPFA that reaches out to and serves the Bay Area community, and works collaboratively within the 5-station national network and 220 program affiliates to lift up a national agenda for social justice. They pledge not to use the power of the state to try to break up the Pacifica network.

Staff Candidates: Frank Sterling, Anthony Fest and Ann Garrison are recommended. Note that Chris Cory will term out after 2022 and can only be on the LSB for one year of the three year term. Sherry Gendelman set up Goldmacher’s Safety Net nonprofit to acquire Pacifica assets after breakup and should be avoided.

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Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica’s storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases including the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin’s incendiary performances on WBAI. Pacifica Foundation Radio operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 180 affiliates. It invented listener-sponsored radio.

“DISCLAIMER: This is not an official Pacifica Foundation website nor an official website of any of the five Pacifica Radio Stations (KPFA Radio, KPFK Radio, KPFT Radio, WBAI Radio, WPFW Radio). Opinions and facts alleged on this site belong to the author(s) of the website only and should NOT be assumed to be true or to reflect the editorial stance or policy of the Pacifica Foundation, or any of the five Pacifica Radio Stations (KPFA Radio, KPFK Radio, KPFT Radio, WBAI Radio, WPFW Radio), or the opinions of its management, Pacifica National Board, station staff or other listener members.”

The Oakland Greens envision a local alliance of candidates, political parties, and organizations that come together to support a progressive path for the city. If you are involved with another local party or organization and are interested in joining efforts, please let us know!

Are you self-motivating? Are you sick of seeing the effects of a system created to trample the most vulnerable? Do you believe in living wages for all? Basic standard of living for all?

Then we have an Opportunity to have a balanced compensation for your social justice electoral politics work. The Oakland Greens are proposing a commission-based stipend of up to $25.00 an hour based on a 40-hour work schedule. It will be more like 60 hours some weeks.

The positions open are:

Campaign Manager that will Devise a campaign strategy, create a campaign budget, keeping expenditures within the set budget, hiring and training staff, overseeing fundraising, overseeing advertising, maintaining awareness of campaign finance laws and ensuring that all employees and volunteers adhere to them, being the primary point of contact with the actual candidate, liaising with various team members, including the office manager, marketing executives, political consultants, and external agencies.

Treasurer/Fundraiser Assistant Treasurer/Fundraiser & entails keeping on the FPPC filing schedule, management of the campaign bank account, & coordinate fundraising. Coordinate with other campaign senior staff, work closely with event coordinator for fundraising events, create fundraising letters, coordinate a fund-raising volunteer staff of 3, & attend staff meetings, fundraising events, & indorsement meetings.