*NEW Open Letter to the WBAI and Pacifica Communities
on the Tainted WBAI Local Board Election

Steve Brown - background on abusive statements
Paul DeRienzo - background on abusive statements

Open Letter to the WBAI and Pacifica Communities
on the Tainted WBAI Local Board Election

March 28, 2008

We are the 8 listener candidates for the WBAI Local Station Board from the Justice & Unity Campaign. We believe that owing to a devastating combination of outrageous violations of the fair-campaign rules by one group of candidates and serious mismanagement and errors by the Local and National Election Supervisors, the integrity of this election has been fatally compromised. The list of inappropriate actions is extremely long, and this letter can only mention the most egregious. As community activists who have actively spoken out against election irregularities and corruption in government elections, we find it even more unacceptable that such improprieties could occur in the elections of a community radio station that is supposed to be progressive.

For the vote count scheduled for this Monday, March 31, we insist that ALL ballots of eligible voters be counted -- contrary to the position of the plaintiffs who have sued Pacifica. Ultimately, however, the serious violations and tainting of the electoral process argue for reballoting to occur, at the expense of the group operating under the name ACE (Alliance for Community Elections), the candidate-endorsing organization whose adjudged misconduct in their private mailing to WBAI members led to the lion's share of the problems with the election.

Issues covered inside -- for continuation, click HERE:

1. Severe Violations by ACE of Fair Campaign Rules
2. Serious Errors in Ballot Handling and Processing
3. Voter Disenfranchisement Owing to Mismanaged Delivery of Ballots
4. Lawsuit Against Pacifica Is Based on Deception and Seeks Disenfranchisement
5. Urgently Needed Remedies

WBAI ELECTIONS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED - Ballots must now be RECEIVED by Fri., Mar. 14

On Jan. 24, Judge Richard Braun of NY Supreme Court ruled that everyone who was a WBAI member as of Aug. 31, '07 and has not yet voted can do so. If you haven't yet sent in your ballot, send it ASAP. If you need a REPLACEMENT BALLOT, request it by Fri., MARCH 7 (or, you will also be able to pick up a ballot and vote at WBAI on Fri., March 14, noon-9pm). To come to the station you need to call in advance to 212-209-2800 from 9am-1pm or 2pm-6pm, and have your name added to the list, you also need to bring a picture ID when you come. If you need a replacement ballot, you must e-mail votewbai@gmail.com OR call 212-209-2828 -- by March 7 -- with your full name and address as listed on WBAI records (check the label of the most recent WBAI mailing if you have it). Fill in the ballot IMMEDIATELY and mail it in. Ballots must be RECEIVED (NOT postmarked) by Fri., March 14.

WHY?
On Nov. 16, 2007, board members related to the ACE faction stopped the WBAI election through a court order and attempted to disenfranchise voters and restrict who could vote. Now the judge's ruling means that everyone who has not had the opportunity to vote can still vote.

more...

Letter From 5 LSB Members Denouncing the Sham "LSB"

The following letter was sent on Jan. 13, 2008 to the Pacifica National Board by five members of the WBAI Local Station Board (LSB). The appendix is the legal opinion from Pacifica's Interim Executive Director and Legal Counsel, Dan Siegel.

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We, the undersigned WBAI LSB members whose terms are due to expire in 2009 want to set the record straight on what has occurred regarding a group of LSB members who are now claiming to constitute the "legitimate" WBAI LSB. We denounce the attempt of 7 other LSB members to establish an illegitimate 12-member board of WBAI, when the bylaws explicitly state that the Local Station Boards are to consist of 24 members... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.

How to Fill Out Your Ballot

There are 9 board seats to fill. You can vote for more than one candidate by ranking them in order of preference. We've developed rankings to maximize the chances of electing all 8 Justice & Unity candidates. To make sure your favorite candidates aren't stranded in the minority on a hostile board, it's crucial to rank ALL of the Justice & Unity candidates! Do not give the same ranking to more than one candidate - it divides and dilutes your vote. Vote ONLY for Justice & Unity candidates. If you also rank other candidates, it could hurt our chances.

For a photo of a filled-out ballot, click HERE.

Please rank all 8 Justice & Unity candidates in the precise order listed below:
1. Omowale Clay
2. Tibby Brooks
3. Lisa Davis
4. Sara Flounders
5. Marianela Tricoche
6. Marian Borenstein
7. Wellington Echegaray
8. Bok-keem Nyerere

NOTE: SEND YOUR BALLOT IN TODAY! THE ELECTION HAS BEEN EXTENDED.

Vote for the Justice & Unity slate
in the Local Station Board election

To all WBAI members: We need your vote in the very critical election taking place right now for the Local Station Board (ballots were mailed Oct. 15 and you should already have received yours in a blue envelope from Pacifica Radio). The Board has a major role in budgets, selection of managers, and assuring that programming follows the station's mission.

The WBAI Justice & Unity Campaign stands for maintaining and expanding WBAI's progressive, activist, anti-racist programming and for advancing affirmative action throughout the Pacifica Network. Its members currently hold 10 of the 18 listener seats on the board, and another 3 of 6 staff board members are allies. However, other board members seek to reverse the gains of recent years - the inclusion of hard-hitting educational and activist programming on working class issues, particularly programs by and for communities of color. Some of those board members have mounted aggressive efforts to fire the progressive Program Director, Bernard White.

Nine listener seats on the Local Station Board are up for election this year. The WBAI Justice & Unity Campaign is fielding a truly diverse slate of 8 candidates representing various communities served by WBAI. All are experienced activists who bring a variety of important skills to the table.

We're asking those of you with voting rights to vote for the entire WBAI Justice & Unity Campaign slate:

Full statements and photos of each candidate are available HERE

1. Omowale Clay	2.Tibby Brooks	3. Lisa Davis	4. Sara Flounders
5. Marianela Tricoche	6. Marian Borenstein	7. Wellington Echegaray	8. Bok-keem Nyerere

1. Omowale Clay*
Member, December 12th Movement; a key organizer of National Rally for Reparations and Sean Bell justice march

2. Tibby Brooks*
Organizer, NY Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition; member, Friends of Abraham Lincoln Brigade

3. Lisa Davis*
Member of Pacifica National Board; reparations activist; chair, Tri-state Support "Like It Is" Coalition; member, Millions More Movement, NJ

4. Sara Flounders*
Co-director, International Action Center; author; resistance organizer for many mass mobilizations vs. U.S. wars

5. Marianela Tricoche
Member of Women Workers for Peace (Bronx Latina group), Bolivarian Circle (Venezuela solidarity), & Vieques Support Campaign; immigrant rights activist; former WBAI program translator

6. Marian Borenstein*
Board member, Black Radical Congress-NYC; former WBAI Local Advisory Board co-chair

7. Wellington Echegaray
Long-time Ecuadoran labor and solidarity activist with Cuba & Venezuela

8. Bok-keem Nyerere
Former Pacifica Campaign organizer/activist; former WBAI Outreach Coordinator

*Incumbent Local Station Board member

Note: IDs are past or present political/activist affiliations for identification purposes.

WBAI Justice & Unity Campaign Dissects
Steve Brown's Karl Rove-Style Accusations
and Racial Code Language Against Opponents:

Alliance for Community Elections (ACE) Seeks to Reverse Decades of Progress
Toward An Activist and Anti-Racist Focus at WBAI

Table of Contents:

1. Steve Brown's Attacks Latest in Decades-Long Struggle at WBAI Over Inclusion of Working Class Communities of Color
2. Brown Falsely Claims Bernard White Instituted "Anti-White" Programs
3. Brown Offers Racially Homogenous Station in Boulder, Colorado as Model
4. Brown Uses False Charges to Evoke Racist Imagery of Alleged Violence by Black People at WBAI
5. Brown Makes Nonstop Defamatory Attacks on Bernard White
6. Core of the Issue: Brown Seeks to Turn Back the Clock at WBAI
7. Brown's ACE Allies Join in Vilifying Bernard White and Calling for Drastic Programming Changes
8. Brown Calls for a Purge of Opponents at WBAI
9. Final Note

Introduction (read article)

Help Keep WBAI An Activist and Anti-Racist Station

Since the victory over the 2000-02 nationally-instigated coup at WBAI, Pacifica has been in fierce struggles over maintaining inclusion of working-class and disenfranchised communities and an activist focus. A loose coalition of listeners and staff defeated racial/gender-based affirmative action for Pacifica's boards. Now some in this group at WBAI, including board members, seek to reverse the incorporation of hard-hitting (allegedly "anti-white") programs by and for communities of color - particularly the Black community. Several board members endorsed by ACE (Alliance for Community Elections, essentially the group formerly known as "List-Prog") have campaigned to fire progressive Program Director Bernard White and purge anti-racist programmers. ACE-endorsed re-election candidates Paul DeRienzo and Carolyn Birden have called for conservative hosts on WBAI.

Some of these board members have also tried to slash the budget and thus the skeletal paid staff, attacked the staff's union rights, and opposed holding board members accountable for racist and sexist conduct. Two re-election candidates endorsed by ACE have repeatedly made particularly outrageous statements:

• Steve Brown (a multi-millionaire and former marketing executive) has waged a long-running vicious public email campaign attacking Black progressive WBAI staff and their supporters in racist, vitriolic terms. Brown has singled out Bernard White for extreme abuse, using false charges and calls for violence (such as "you should have been at her side whacking Bernard with a baseball bat"). The board voted to disassociate itself from these attacks. (For details, go to http://www.justiceunity.org/steve-brown-disassociates.html )
• Paul DeRienzo (a strong supporter of the WBAI "Christmas Coup") was suspended by the board after a series of what the board deemed "racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, and personal attacks" on colleagues at meetings. (For details on these attacks and background on DeRienzo's history, go to http://www.justiceunity.org/news/derienzosuspended.html and http://www.justiceunity.org/news/derienzobackground2.html )

The Local Station Board must continue WBAI's legacy as the place where the voices of ALL the voiceless can be heard and where racism is firmly opposed. Help us move these struggles forward by supporting the Justice & Unity slate!

For earlier developments, go to the News section.