1997:

Sep27-8

 

ILLEGAL ALTERING OF THE PACIFICA FOUNDATION BYLAWS:

These transcripts contain the illegal amending of the Pacifica Foundation Bylaws (section is highlighted):

Station Labs are removed from the process of electing Pacifica National Board Directors and are instead relegated the lesser role of nominating them only, with seated board members given the power to elect all directors. [There are two highlighted portions: The first is from the Sept.27th meeting when the issue was first raised. The vote to illegally change the bylaws occurs in the second section from Sept. 28th.] (See voting rights discussion - CA Corporate Law.)

 

1998:

March 1

 

STAGE SETTING -THE WEAKENING OF LAB LOCAL VOTING RIGHTS:

The National Board voted to further weaken the Labs by removing their local voting rights (following CPB arguments that Labs must have no governance responsibility and must be advisory only). Although legal, this further documents the direction of the National Board - to disempower local representation. (The discussion is highlighted and is l-o-n-g.)

CENTRALLY IMPORTANT NOTE - It is nonetheless illegal for the National Board to alter, without the Labs consent, LAB rights to nominate and elect National Board Directors.

 

1998:

June 14

 

ILLEGAL SEATING OF NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS:

Roberta Brooks' second 3-year term as a director expired in June 1997. As her term as secretary was said to expire in June 1999, Board Chair - Mary Francis Berry - later stated that Brooks' term as a director was, "automatically extended to fit that term." This was illegal. (See discussion of CA Corporate Law.)

 

1998:

Oct.4

 

STAGE SETTING - NATIONAL BOARD FLOATED THE ARGUMENT THAT CPB FUNDING REQUIRED A SET OF BYLAWS CHANGES:

The highlighted portion of this transcript sets the stage for illegal bylaws changes at the next meeting in February. CPB funding (15% of Pacifica's total current revenue) was stated to be dependent on compliance with that agency's rules requiring local boards to be separate from the governance structure of the organization.

 

1999:

Feb.28

 

ILLEGAL ALTERING OF PACIFICA FOUNDATION BYLAWS:

Here is the transcript containing the next step in the process of illegally disemporwering station LABs and solidifying power within the Pacifica National Board.

Board members amended the Pacifica Bylaws again -- this time eliminating the right of the LABs to nominate directors to represent their stations on the National Board. Thus, from September 28, 1997, to February 28, 1999, Pacifica stations (as represented by their LABs) lost their power both to nominate and to elect National Board Directors and were left with no say in the representation of their stations, whatsoever. In the process, the Pacifica National Board became a self-nominating, and self-electing body.

These actions, along with a host of other offenses, form the grounds of the two lawsuits now in process.

 

1999:

June 27

 

ILLEGAL SEATING OF NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS:

This transcript documents (area highlighted) the illegal renomination and acceptance of June Makela as Board Treasurer. As her second three-year term as an at-large Director expired this month - June 1999, it was illegal for her to continue occupying that office. [Pacifica Bylaws state in Article Three, Section Four that at-large Directors are limited to two consecutive three year terms.]

David Acosta's three-year term as Director expired three months earlier in March 1999, yet he has continued to function in that role. He also continues as an illegal member of the Executive Committee, as the National Board Vice-Chair, and as Chair-Elect upon the retirement of outgoing Chair Mary Berry in September 2000.

 

1999:

Oct.31

 

ILLEGAL SEATING OF NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS:

This transcript documents further Pacifica Bylaws violations: At-large Board Directors must be elected by a 2/3 vote of the Board of Directors, and by secret ballot. Here 3 new at-large Directors were illegally elected as a bloc and by voice vote rather than by the required secret ballot.

In addition, Tomas Moran was given a seat on the Governance and Structure Committee (highlighted in red), but was later thrown off by Mary Berry at the Feb. 2000 PNB meeting. (See CA Nonprofit Corporate Law.)

 

2000:

Feb.27

 

ILLEGAL SEATING OF NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS:

Pacifica transcripts just became available - five months after the fact! In addition to the transcripts, read notes from attending members of North Bay for KPFA.

This transcript documents the Pacifica National Board's illegal election of five new at-large Directors thus increasing the at-large group to nine. With this action the Board balance was thereby shifted from the required 10 of 15 Directors elected from stations to 10 of 19. This illegally shifted representational balance further from local stations.

Pacifica's longstanding policy and procedure was for each of the five LABs to elect two directors, for a total of 10 LAB-elected directors, and for not more than half that number of directors (5) to be elected by the board, thus maintaining a 2/3rds majority of directors elected by the LABs.

ILLEGAL DENIAL OF SEAT ON COMMITTEE:

An audio recording reveals that Tomas Moran was denied the seat on the Governance and Structure Committee to which he was appointed at the October 31, 1999, meeting. Mary Berry who originally made the appointment in October angrily denied she had done so. The appointment and Tomas' acceptance of it are documented in the October 1999, transcripts. The February 2000, denial of that appointment is documented in an audio recording available on the Internet at http://www.freespeechnow.org. Read also Carol Spooner's eyewitness account of this denial.

 

2000:

June 11

 

ILLEGAL DENIAL OF SEAT ON COMMITTEE:

Pacifica transcripts released after 2 1/2 months. In addition to the transcripts, see notes from Carol Spooner of North Bay for KPFA and check this page for links to available information. A more detailed report was published in the June/July issue of the NB4KPFA Folio (www.ringnebula.com/folio)

Tomas Moran was again denied a seat on the Governance and Structure Committee to which he had been appointed on October 31, 1999. When Tomas insisted that he be permitted to take his seat at the committee meeting, security personnel were instructed to threaten forced removal from the room.

Pete Bramson was not notified of the board Executive Committee meeting, although he is a member of that committee.

 

2000:

Sept 17

 

ILLEGAL DENIAL OF SEAT ON COMMITTEE, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, ONGOING ILLEGALLY SEATED NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS, ETC.:

Pacifica Foundation & its BOARD were SERVED with the "Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board" LISTENERS' LAWSUIT while in session. Pacifica now represented by the law firm of Epstein, Becker, & Green which also employs one of the Pacifica Board Directors - John Murdock! (Read: Implied conflict of interest.) Discussion of this issue followed Mary Berry's presentation of the Executive Committee Report. Here is an unofficial, but accurate transcript of that committee report and discussion. (Full official transcript here.)

A full report will be published in the October NB4KPFA Folio due out during the first week of October and will be posted here shortly thereafter.

On September 19, 2000, Pacifica National Board Directors Robinson and Kriegel filed a lawsuit against the Pacifica Board and Foundation. With the addition of this lawsuit, Pacifica's behavior is being called to question from all levels of the Pacifica community: its Listeners, its LABs, and its Directors.

 

2000:

Sept.27

Board
meeting
[via
Phone]

Tomas Moran, Pacifica National Board member, gave this report to Dennis Bernstein on KPFA's Flashpoints - September 28, 2000. In it he documents an improperly held board meeting, via telephone where personnel issues were to be discussed, but was instead used to announce the creation of "shadow LABs." Tomas was electronically excluded from board discussion by Mary Berry who chose who could and could not transmit their comments.

As more information is available, it will be posted here. Also check the savepacifica website.

2001

Mar.3/4

Transcripts are not yet available (nearly 5 months after the meeting)! For detailed audio recordings of committee meetings (3/3), plenary session (3/4), and public comments (both 3/3 and 3/4) see: freespeechnow website.