The 2009 Local Station Board Elections Have Begun!

The Local Station Board (LSB) is the primary governance body for WBAI. When meeting as delegates the LSB members elect the Directors of the Pacifica National Board, which is the governance body for the entire Pacifica Foundation. The Pacifica Foundation owns WBAI.

Here is the official time table for this crucial election.

UPDATE: at its June 8, 2009, meeting the PNB extended the deadline for registering to be a candidate in this election. The new deadline is reflected below as well as the other changes in the timeline that the PNB approved.

• June 1^st: Nomination period begins
• July 14^th: Nomination period ends – all candidates have their forms in
• July 15^th: Candidates will be given air time to share their vision
• August 29^th: Ballots shall be mailed to all 95,000 members
• October 14^th: ALL ballots must be received by this date!
• November 15^th: The election will be certified if the quorum for the election is met

Follow the links below to get the forms to become a candidate.

Here's a link to the official WBAI Web page for this election.

Here's a link to the Web page where you can download the forms to register as a candidate for the WBAI LSB.

Note that you need to register as a candidate by July 14^th. If you want to run for election to the WBAI LSB you must register right away.

Why you should consider becoming a candidate for the WBAI LSB.

This election is crucial for the survival of WBAI and Pacifica. WBAI and Pacifica are in a precarious position right now as current Management attempts to reverse the death spiral that the station and the network have been in for years. If some bunch of chuckleheads gets a majority on the WBAI LSB they'll be able to change the composition of the Pacifica National Board and revert to corrupt, incompetent and malfeasant Management, they might even sell WBAI.

We need decent people on the WBAI LSB who will be interested in preserving the station, not in selling it or running it into the ground. Don't assume that someone else will step into the breach to save WBAI, please seriously consider registering as a candidate for the LSB today.

The April Crisis

On April 1, 2009, WBAI General Manager Anthony Riddle sent an E-mail to the WBAI Staff Notices list, and to the Pacifica National Board (PNB) mailing list, with a cc: to the General Managers of the other four Pacifica stations regarding the orders given by Pacifica interim Executive Director and PNB Chair Grace Aaron that the locks on WBAI's transmitter room at the Empire State Building be changed.

WBAI General Manager Anthony Riddle's April 1, 2009, memo.

Pacifica interim Executive Director Grace Aaron's statement of April 2, 2009.

Pacifica interim Executive Director Grace Aaron's reply to WBAI General Manager Anthony Riddle April 2, 2009.

WBAI General Manager Anthony Riddle posted this timeline on April 5, 2009.

There was a sudden Town Hall meeting held on Monday, April 13, 2009, at 7:00 PM at The Fortune Society, 630 Riverside Drive at 140^th St. in Manhattan. Here's a flyer that was passed out at the event.

On April 20, 2009, Pacifica interim Executive Director Grace Aaron sent WBAI General Manager Anthony Riddle a memo titled “Directive to WBAI General Manager regarding Programming & Personnel Policy.”

Follow this link to hear excerpts from the reports that were given at the April 24-26, 2009, PNB meeting, along with a statement by one Director.

UPDATE: As of mid-May Lavarn Williams was interim General Manager of WBAI, and as of early June Tony Bates is the interim Program Director of WBAI.

* At the January 2009, in-person PNB meeting held in Los Angeles the WPFW delegates attempted to have seated as one of their Directors someone who had not been on their LSB for at least one year. The one year requirement is in Article 5 Section 1.B of the Pacifica bylaws. The PNB refused to seat that person.