That the Pacifica Foundation Board meeting last weekend in Oakland was little more than a charade for the public and local board members outside of Pacifica's "inner circle," is amply demonstrated by the following report of the vote on the controversial by-law amendment that will reduce the number of representatives from the local station boards from two to one, and give the board derived from this change the power to select another person, not of the local board, from each signal area to be an at-large member, thereby permanently transferring power from the local station boards to the national office.

All quotes are from a direct transcript of the taping of remarks by Cecilia McCall, from WBAI (New York), Vice-Chair of the Pacifica Foundation, and of Chairman Jack O'Dell, at the meeting of the Governing Board of the Pacifica Foundation, Oakland, California, June 15, 1997, at the Oakland Mariott Hotel:

(After being introduced by O'Dell, McCall informs the directors the procedure for approving by-law changes)

McCall: "We'll do it motion by motion. They'll have to pass by a two- thirds vote of those present."

(She notes that there are no changes in either Article One that covers "Identity," or Article Two, that stipulates the location of the foundation offices. Under Article Three, which covers membership on the Board of Directors, she reads through changes in Section 1, changing the term "Board of Directors" to "Governing Board," whenever it appears. Section B is amended to exclude for board eligibility, "employees of the Foundation and station personnel as that term is defined in Pacifica policy documents."

(On arriving at the controversial by-law change for Section 2, Election of Directors, that would reduce the number of representatives from the local station boards she announces:

"We are asking that you not vote on this section at this time because the language of the section does not conform to the discussion that we had yesterday [at the Board Development Committee] over this. This will have to be changed and brought back to the board in September."

McCall then read the changes to the next section, "Section 3 Limitation of Terms," which modified a rule barring a director from serving more than two consecutive three year terms, by inserting "unless elected in a different capacity."

After she announced that there was to be no change in "Section 4, Removal of a Director," she turned the meeting back to Chairman Jack O'Dell, mentioning to him that "we had Section 2 set aside." Then, O'Dell announced:

"Section 2 will be referred back to the [Board Development] committee for action. There is a move on the floor to adopt Article 3 without Section 2. Is there discussion?"

There being none, he called for "all in favor signify by raising their hands." All the directors but one raised their hands. That individual who I was unable to see, abstained.

While it would seem obvious from the foregoing that this by-law amendment has yet to be approved, both outgoing chair O'Dell and Board Secretary Roberta Brooks were telling the press Sunday that the amendment had, in fact, been approved in February, and this is the message being passed out by Burt Glass in the Pacifica office. Can it be reversed? "It's a little late," Brooks, a long-time Berkeley staff rep for Congressman Ron Dellums, told the Bay Guardian's Belinda Griswold (June 18).

In conversations with local board members from three of the stations, including Alexis Gonzales from KPFA, who had raised criticisms of the amendment at the Board Development meeting on the previous day, I had the impression that, like myself, they believed that the amendment had been tabled until the next board meeting in Houston in September. Like myself, they were the latest victims of the Pacifica Deception.