Chandra Hauptman Candidate Statement

I want to thank all the listeners who elected me and supported my past three years on the LSB. It’s been a rocky road, but I continue to hold out hope that listener democracy within KPFA and Pacifica will prevail. That is why I am running for re-election. I will continue to seek common ground with all sides on the LSB and within KPFA while holding fast to the principles of transparency, openness and inclusiveness. And I will continue to support our listener and community representatives on the Program Council in their efforts to encourage the inclusion of new, diverse and original voices on the air including young people, people of color, women, the disabled, labor and people of all sexual persuasions.

KPFA is at a crossroads. We’re losing listeners and donors because a lot of the KPFA programming is stale and unengaging. Many of the people I know have stopped listening to KPFA, or frequently channel surf to find programming they like. That is why, if KPFA is to survive, we need:

Fresh voices and more stimulating programming;
Greater technological reach with new platforms of broadcasting; and
Less in-fighting and more collaboration within the KPFA community.

In order to make these changes we need to ensure that:

Station Managers are hired and evaluated on their ability to respect and work with these democratic structures and promote positive change;
The KPFA Unpaid Staff Organization is re-certified and allowed to fully participate in governance and programming decisions at the station;
The Program Council is democratically elected and fully inclusive of listeners, unpaid staff and community reps;
The Community Advisory Board is selected by and reports to the LSB, as per the Pacifica bylaws; and
The KPFA LSB election process is fair, democratic, and fully inclusive.

Unfortunately, we also need to continue the struggle for democratic control of KPFA because this important issue hangs in the balance. I am indisputably in support of listener democracy, as exemplified by the Pacifica Bylaws, and I want to ensure that the structure of democratic governance is fully realized. As a progressive, and a long time KPFA listener activist, I understand first hand the significance of this crusade. I think it exemplifies my political persuasion and puts me in excellent company with other self-identified progressives such as Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis and Michael Parenti; voices you hear regularly on KPFA.

Please vote for me for the KPFA LSB and contact me at:
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if you have questions or want more information.

Endorsers of my candidacy include: Carol Spooner (Pacifica lawsuit litigant and former KPFA/LSB and PNB rep; Tomas Moran (Pacifica lawsuit litigant and former KPFA/LSB and PNB rep); LaVarn Williams (former KPFA/LSB and PNB rep); and Joe Wanzala (KPFA/LSB rep and 2007 KPFA/LSB candidate)

Yours in solidarity, Chandra

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a2sfan: Aaron Fan Does Not Have a Blog

So Aaron Fan linked candidate AARON AARONS blog. Aaron Fan is honored to have AARON AARONS, our write-in candidate, visit and update his blog! AARON AARONS supports peoplesradio, and Aaron Fan adores peoplesradio candidate MARA RIVERA most, after AARON AARONS and JIM WEBER. Jim did not do so well last year, and we don't want him to be too discouraged. Aaron Fan and AARON AARONS support peoplesradio candidate MARA RIVERA for high ranking!

November 12, 2007

Aaron Aarons: A decent person, but not in my top 9. http://kpfa.blogspot.com/

Contrary to the opinions of the person self-identified as "Aaron Fan" who links to my blog as if it were his own, I support Peoples' Radio above the rest of the slates. I definitely do encourage people to also vote for the entire Voices For Justice and I-Team slates, but ranked after the Peoples' Radio candidates. As for writing in Aaron Aarons, as "Aaron Fan" urges, it can't hurt (your vote will be transferred to your next choice when I'm eliminated early on) and is an easy way to express ones desire for a radical anti-imperialist focus at KPFA.

Among the I-Team candidates, Joe Wanzala is probably the best. I don't know Steve Conley except in passing, and Chandra and Tracy are people who like to get along, which can be a serious weakness when dealing with the board members from the Concerned Friends of Management slate. I'll probably rank somewhere Joe with the Voices For Justice folks, sandwiched between Peoples' Radio and the rest of the I-Team

Please check out my blog. I'll be making last-minute comments there!

November 11, 2007

Carol Spooner: ...

If you haven't already received it, you soon will receive your ballot for the KPFA Local Station Board (LSB) 2007 election.

I'm endorsing -- in alphabetical order:

Steve Conley, Chandra Hauptman, Tracy Rosenberg & Joe Wanzala.

I'm endorsing those four, and those four only, because they are people of good heart and mind who know their way around KPFA, are not part of the opposing factions at KPFA, have demonstrated through previous volunteer work around the station and LSB and LSB Committees that they focus on issues and bringing people together and getting things done, rather than personalities and stopping things from getting done. They are running as a mutually supportive "I-Team" -- "I" for "Independents" -- and you can read more about and from them at RadioPoetics here http://radiopoetics.org/

Steve Conley served on the first elected LSB for 9 months in 2004 and previously on the old elected LAB -- Steve was tireless in organizing the first and only successful KPFA Town Hall Meeting which resulted in citations for excellence from the San Francisco Bd of Supervisors. He's never involved in his own ego, and is just plain good folks who works amicably with everyone for the greater good. Steve has years of media and radio experience, as well as a lifelong commitment to community activism. Steve has a web page here http://blackhawkemedia.blogspot.com/
Chandra Hauptman has served on the LSB since December 2004 -- and she served as a KPFA rep on the Pacifica National Board (PNB) for the past year. She has been exemplary in focusing on the tasks at hand and doing the work. It was largely through her efforts on the PNB Personnel Committee that the successful hire of former KPFA GM Nicole Sawaya as Pacifica's new Executive Director was recently announced. Chandra is a work horse, tireless, tenacious, willing to listen and work with everyone to meet their concerns & get the job done.
Tracy Rosenberg currently serves as Managing Director of the Media Alliance ( http://www.media-alliance.org/) she has served for the past 3 years on KPFA's Program Council as a community representative. The Program Council unanimously chose her to act as their facilitator because of her fairness, good organizational skills, and ability to keep people on task while treating everyone with courtesy and respect. Tracy's clarity and integrity are also big strong points.
Joe Wanzala has served on the KPFA LSB since December 2004. Before that he served on the KPFA LAB. As a member of the LSB GM Search Committee this past year he worked diligently and successfully to move that committee beyond its previous sectarian stalemate to the point where they will be making recommendations to the full LSB in November. Joe's openness, congeniality and willingness to find common ground with others is a real plus. He's also one of the most intelligent people I know, and has dedicated years to KPFA without getting caught up in the bitterness and grudges that turns so many people sour. He's a keeper!

I don't know in what order I will rank them yet -- but I will rank them as my top 4 choices. They're all very good and will be good for KPFA. I'd like to rank them all #1, but I'm not sure how the vote-counting machine would handle that. If all 4 of them are elected, they will make up a center of civility around which others on the LSB can gather to find common ground.

I also don't know if I will actually vote for and rank anyone else. There are some other good people running -- but they're all running on slates that have taken negative positions towards each other, and I'm just tired of the polarization. These "factions" just tend to be mutually self-canceling, and grind things to a standstill on the LSB -- hour-long debates about the order of the agenda, followed by 1/2-hour long debates on whether to extend the time for an agenda item. It's crazy-making. And slate-members report a lot of pressure on them to vote the "party line" regardless of what they believe is best for the station.

So, I hope you will rank the four "Independents" as your first four choices, and then consider some of the other candidates.

Best regards,

Carol Spooner
Pacifica National Board Member - Jan 2002-Jan 2005
KPFA LSB Member - March 2000-March 2005
Lead Plaintiff - Listeners' Lawsuit to remove the old Pacifica Board - 1999-Dec 2001

October 30, 2007

a2sfan: ... http://kpfa.blogspot.com/

Aaron Fan thinks CHANDRA is a good choice, but wants you to rank her second or lower, and write in AARON AARONS as your first choice. Aaron Fan appreciates Chandra keeping us updated on National Board matters.