I'm a veteran civil rights attorney.

The Pacifica Foundation’s 1946 founding mission statement commits it to (in a small nutshell) delivering educational radio programming oriented to peace, social justice and conflict resolution, wide-ranging political, cultural and artistic expression, and to “the full distribution of public information.”

Since the mid-1960s Pacifica has increasingly functioned as an outlet where dissent and counter-cultural ideas and trends are aired. Frequently, it is the only place where truth can be found in an over-the-air broadcast medium, such as during the run-up to the infernal Iraq war, when virtually all other broadcast media outlets faithfully parroted the deceitful “party line” of the Bush-Cheney Administration, the neo-conservative propaganda apparatus and the military-industrial-intelligence complex.

What most concerns me is that the inertial power-dynamics in our oppressive Not-great society tend to denature Pacifica’s heritage and essence, put it into service of what the late, great Alexander Cockburn called “the neo-liberal inferno” and remake Pacifica into an anodyne Democratic Party-establishment-friendly center-left version of National Public Radio.

Preventing that neutering has motivated my participation in Pacifica’s governance struggles dating back to the turn of the 21st century.

For example, in 2014 I became offended and outraged that a faction who opposed a unified 5-station Pacifica network was obviously working to divide-and-conquer it. In response I wrote an op-ed article and briefly represented Summer Reese during her “sit-in” following her wrongful termination as Pacifica’s Executive Director by the then-rogue PNB. See “Summer Reese is the Pacifica Foundation’s Abe Lincoln” http://la.indymedia.org/news/2014/04/263659.php

Fortunately Pacifica’s 5-station union was saved by an electoral mobilization in 2016-2017. And today the struggle for a healthy and sound Pacifica continues. The issue now (thankfully) is less “Will Pacifica survive?” and more “Can Pacifica be made to thrive?” in the Kaiser organization’s trademark phrase.

There I offer the following brief thoughts:

First, I support the idea of Pacifica seeking (no strings attached) funding from sources that “share our values” (AKA are aligned with the mission statement). For example, many well-heeled potential benefactors (of overall humanistic persuasion) may be unaware of Pacifica’s existence. Efforts should be made to introduce them to Pacifica and solicit generous support. 

Second, as a Cal history major I recognize the national trust Pacifica has to maintain and preserve its historical archive of broadcast programs for posterity. The preservation and transfer to digital versions of the recordings needs to be speeded-up and we need to immediately assess the archives’ vulnerability to deterioration, security and fire worst-case scenarios. Eg. Is there even a robust sprinkler system?

Third, certain renown public figures whose life’s work obviously falls within Pacifica’s mission statement and values are never the subject of any programming whatsoever. The leading figure in that category for me is the late eminent philosopher and psychologist Erich Fromm. Here he is debating Mike Wallace in May 1958 in part about his 1956 book The Sane Society: https://youtu.be/OTu0qJG0NfU . A whole program could be devoted to Fromm, especially in view of how genuinely insane our society and world have become.

1. What experience, connections, skills or traits would you bring to the local station board to advance the station's mission?
   

   See my 500 word and 200 word statements. Further thereto: Four decades of public interest and civil rights advocacy in multiple forums, from a Congressional field office (Rep. Ronald V. Dellums) to political campaigns (my own and others) to op-ed pages and websites, eg. Counterpunch.org (articles re Trayvon Martin, the LAPD, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump) to state and federal courts. Sample career endeavors:

   In 2002 I was the chief author of a proposed Congressional resolution of censure of the five Supreme Court justices responsible for Bush v. Gore (see www.censurethefive.org) and published op-ed writings on the first and tenth anniversaries of same respectively). See http://censurethefive.org/ladj.jpg (Dec. 2001) and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/18/AR2010121802827.html (Dec. 2010).

   From 1998-2003 inclusive I represented and counseled some 400 accused parole violators in parole revocation proceedings and co-founded an organization of parole defense attorneys.

   In 2004 I started representing paroled offenders and their family cohabitants in multiple federal court civil rights impact cases of 2 general types:

   a) Cases seeking (alas only partially successfully) an overhaul of California's criminal justice and corrections law, public policy and budgetary priorities – away from mass incarceration and toward mass rehabilitation, See: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ilXuTzT1mlNS1wbGxFNG1uYlk/view?usp=sharing Investigative journalist Greg Katz's 2009 Daily Journal series describing California's infernal parole revocation mill, concluding with my letter to the editor; https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ilXuTzT1mlMUZSajMwQkRfclE/view?usp=sharing 2010 reply brief dedication to California once-legendary now-forgotten rehabilitation champion Kenyon Scudder; and https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ilXuTzT1mlZFY2T29DLWxRZ3c/view?usp=sharing 2013 policy memo to senior California political and corrections officials urging a return to Scudder's rehabilitation ethos. And

   b) Cases seeking protection of the 4th Amendment rights of family members of parolees subjected-to truculent warrantless residential parole searches. See: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1snbhcKRyDhPnC_FnkG119acptWWCJuIp/view?usp=sharing Remembrance remarks at the funeral of Peggy O'Neal-Gonzales in 2009; and https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5ilXuTzT1mlS0ctUzlibkpjOUE/view?usp=sharing 2013 Supreme Court certiorari rehearing petition in Peggy's case.

2. What do you appreciate and value in the station's current operations?

   See my 500 word and 200 word statements.

3. What would you like to see improved or changed in the station's current operations?

   See my 500 word and 200 word statements.

4. Describe what you anticipate would be your top three priorities or areas of focus if you were elected to the local station board.

   See my 500 word and 200 word statements.

5. Sustainability is an important part of any nonprofit operation. What are your thoughts on how the board can help to improve the station's financial footing?
   

   See my 500 word and 200 word statements.

6. Is there anything else you would like prospective voters to know?

   See my 500 word and 200 word statements.