RadioPoetics.org

CHANDRA HAUPTMAN 2007 LSB 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: lsbch@lmi.net if you have questions or want more information.

Endorsers of my candidacy include:

Barbara Lubin, Carol Spooner, Tomas Moran, Michael Parenti, Fadi Saba, LaVarn Williams, Marc Sapir, Sepideh Khosrowjah, Joe Wanzala and many others

Yours in solidarity, Chandra