[Kzyxtalk] PLEASE SEE THE LETTER BELOW

[Mary Massey]

Ms. Mollick,

Years ago, I and a group of 5-6 people, wrote to you about improprieties at
KZYX.
The General Manager at the time was Mr. John Coate who resigned when issues
came
to light.  Long time Program Director, Mary Aigner also resigned, but
oddly, was kept on
as a volunteer programmer to this day. Ms. Aigner had been with KZYX since
its
inception.

My complaint was dismissed and the station carried on *business as usual.*
I, along with the other members of the small group, were publicly ridiculed
for our
attempt to shine light on the ineffective board, staff controlling
elections, finances; programmers
turned away because Ms Aigner couldn't control them, and violations of the
station's by-laws and station policy and practises.

Below is a letter from a recent board member, Larry Minson which appeared
in a local
paper.  Mr. Minson resigned under protest after learning first hand of
financial
improprieties by at least one person, Stuart Campbell, who was a failed
candidate
for the GM position after Mr Coate resigned.  Mr. Campbell has been
involved
with the station since Coate's departure, and is the person who permitted
his
girlfriend/wife, Sarah Reith to be hired without public notification of an
open position
at the station resulting in nepotism.

At a minimum, the most recent election process needs to be investigated.
The station
had approximately 2300 voters in this past election. Only paid members are
permitted to vote.

The interesting fact: This is the number of donors the station has
maintained
* for the past ten years with little fluctuation.*  One has to ask:

Why has there been no growth in membership after 10+ years?  What was
the purpose of changing the rules in this particular election?  Was it to
keep out candidates who recognize the already stated facts about the station
and its management obscuring or hiding its operations from paid donors and
the greater community?

Ed Keller was the Election Coordinator this time round along with the
General Manager,
Jeffrey Parker. Mr Keller is a very close friend of Stuart Campbell and
they served on the board together.
Mr Keller very much wanted Mr Campbell to become the GM when John Coate
resigned.
When Stuart Campbell wasn't hired as the GM, he remained involved with the
station
on any level he could, most specifically, in the area of budget and
finances.  At one
point, he served as Treasurer. Mr. Minson has already alerted you, Ms
Mollick, of
what he saw first-hand about the way Mr Campbell managed the station's
finances
and nepotism.

I realize that the scope of your inspection may not be one that addresses
the vast
complaints that have been made about the board and staff, *both past and
present.*

However, you cannot award money to a group of people who effectively are
not
serving the station and the community in their designated capacities.
You cannot award funding to keep a station going when the staff and board
mask
the processes by which people are hired, elections unfold, finances are
managed, job descriptions
are absent, time management and accountability are non-existent, and queries
by paid station members are seen as intrusive and eventually abandoned.

I would suggest a thorough examination of Mendocino County Public Radio
*one year prior to GM John Coate's departure. * You will then see
what patterns, practices, exclusions and adherence to by-laws were
kept by the Board and Staff at KZYX/Z.

Thank you.

Mary Massey,
Mendocino, CA


*****

MORE CHICANERY OUT OF KZYX

Dear Editor:

I was just informed by Patricia Kovner of yet another gross violation by
the person or persons who have secretly (and sometimes not so secretly)
seized control of KZYX management.

Patricia was a candidate this year for the 3rd District seat on the KZYX
Board of Directors. There are 9 members of the Board, one from each of
the 5 districts (using the same map as the Mendocino County Board of
Supervisors) plus 4 members at large. Since day 1, almost 30 years ago,
only the KZYX members who lived within a given district could vote for
that district’s local board seat, while all KZYX members voted for the
at large seats. To change that policy, the station is required to have
public discussion and a public vote either on this single issue or, if
it prefers, a public discussion of formally amending the bylaws of the
station, which would then also have to be approved by a membership vote.

Now that KZYX is being audited by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, who will perform an on-site investigation of the station
and its practices next month, you might think they would at least make a
small gesture toward remediating a corrupt situation. You would be
wrong. Instead, the autocrats who have illegally seized the station for
their own private purposes — Jeff Parker, Stuart Campbell and possibly
others — have decided to double down on corruption instead. For the
first time, they arbitrarily, without authority to do so, allowed the
entire membership to vote for candidates in districts other than their
own. Patricia voted for candidates running in the 2nd district and the
5th district, even though she lives in the 3rd district. If her 3rd
district seat had not been usurped and superseded by an illegal change
in how elections are supposed to be conducted, the results may have been
very different.

For some time, these usurpers have advocated for a smaller board to
reduce the possibility of someone being elected who might actually focus
on performing his or her mandated duties and responsibilities. Now, by
illegally forcing the local candidates to face a very non-local
electorate, this cabal can impose a tighter control on maintaining an
emasculated board of directors that would continue to enable this cabal
to commit malfeasance and misfeasance – and worse - with impunity.

I have encouraged Patricia to contact Ms. Helen Mollick, Esq., the
Assistant Inspector General of the CPB and one of the 3 people who will
be conducting the audit of KZYX, at hmollick at cpb.org or (202) 879-9600.

Ms. Mollick routinely explains to concerned members and listeners that
her scope of inquiry is narrowly focused. This is true, but it’s not the
whole story. The CPB is funded by federal tax dollars as well as private
donations. That means that KZYX is also funded by federal tax dollars,
which requires the station to acquit itself in the same manner as a
squeaky-clean government subdivision, where there must be transparency
over secrecy, strict financial oversight where there is current none
whatsoever, and strict adherence t0 EEO laws rather than nepotism and
creating “jobs” that perform little or no duties whatsoever.

There is a wealth of reference material that states that the CPB can
terminate their contract in the face of the mere appearance of
wrongdoing, let alone an out of control situation with smoking guns
going off virtually every day.

I am personally advocating for a decision in line with an “opportunity
letter.” I would like to see the autocrats at KZYX terminated and the
board of directors given the opportunity to straighten up and fly right.
It’s true that most board members lack the skill required for the
position that they hold. They see it as simply a feather in their caps
and haven’t a clue about what is required of them. Some may resign, to
which I say good riddance to bad rubbish, and can be replaced by someone
who has the skills and dedication required to hold this unpaid,
difficult position. In the interim, I and others are more than happy to
help them restore a clean and honest, democratically run non-profit.

I encourage everyone with concerns about KZYX to contact Ms. Mollick,
and I hope that she and her 2 colleagues (the Inspector General and a
professional auditor) have a safe field trip across our continent and
get to the bottom of this current mess.

(signed) (former MCPB boardmember, resigned) Larry Minson, Willlits
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