The first democratic election of a station board in the history of the Pacifica Network is complete. 5500 subscribers sent in their ballots. This represents a full twenty-five percent of the ballots mailed. As a comparison, the annual election of Board Directors at KQED, the local San Francisco PBS TV station, typically generates under ten percent response from their subscribers. Voter turnout in the upcoming national election is expected to be under fifty percent. This turnout for the KPFA LAB election is exceptional for a Board that has no real power.

The LAB will turn over at 7 PM on November 15 at the Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship, Cedar and Bonita, Berkeley. The LAB election committee still needs to cover $2000 of the election expenses. Please donate what you can. Checks for under $300 should made out to CPR (Californians for Proportional Representation). Checks over $300 can be tax-deductible if made out to CVD (Center for Voting Democracy). All checks should be mailed to CPR, POB 13349, Berkeley, CA 94712.

The powers behind the attack on the Pacifica Network are starting to reveal themselves. The effort to prop up Al Gore’s diminishing poll numbers has exposed some ties between the Pacifica Board and the highest levels of the Democratic Party. On October 24, People for the American Way (PAW) held a forum which was essentially a Democratic Party campaign event. At this event, the keynote speaker was Bill Clinton, and the forum panelists were recent Pacifica Board Chairperson Mary Frances Berry, PAW's Director Ralph Neas, and Democratic Party strategist James Carville. Berry has contributed to the Democratic Party, Hilary Clinton's senatorial campaign committee (though she does not live in New York state) and the Gore presidential campaign. A visit to www.opensecrets.org/ reveals these recent MFB donations: Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee - 04/21/1999 - $300; Hillary Clinton - 09/14/1999 - $250, 06/20/2000 - $250; Al Gore - 08/26/1999 - $250, 06/19/2000 - $275 and at least $1500 to Ralph Neas.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the effort to destroy the Pacifica Network if Gore doesn’t win the presidency.

Pacifica listeners have decided that it is about time to pressure some of the key Board members to resign. The lucky Board members who will be the first to receive this attention are Michael Palmer and John Murdock. Michael Palmer, treasurer of the Pacifica Board, has publicly advocated selling one of the Pacifica stations. He works for CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate company with offices throughout the world. John Murdock, a recent addition to the Pacifica Board, is a corporate attorney whose law firm, Epstein Becker & Green, specializes in "maintaining a union-free workplace." Murdock's law firm is representing the Pacifica Foundation in lawsuits that have been filed against the Board by concerned listeners, Local Advisory Board members, and other National Board members. Murdock has taken a leadership position on the Board and has already volunteered to rewrite the bylaws of the Foundation. One can only guess what he will produce.

Pacifica listeners throughout the country plan to phone, fax and email the offices of Epstein Becker & Green and CB Richard Ellis Associates until these men resign.

The main offices for phone, fax, email action are:

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