WBAI Local Election Supervisor

WBAI Local Election Supervisor

Pacifica is governed by the Pacifica National Board, and each of Pacifica’s 5 stations is overseen by a Local Station Board elected by the members of that station. Pacifica is hiring a Local Election Supervisor for each station to oversee the election.
The duties are as follows:
1) Overseeing the nomination of candidates to the Local Station Board. This involves preparing and running announcements on the radio station and the station website to inform listeners how they can be nominated and what the duties of a LSB (Local Station Board) member are. It also involves ensuring that the election is explained and promoted by station management, staff and programmers and in community newsletters, websites and any other place available for free publicity. It also involves attending community meetings to inform communities and groups about the importance of this nominating process. Finally, it involves helping potential candidates turn in the required forms for the nomination. This period begins June 1, and ends July 1,2009.
2) Overseeing the campaign. This involves ensuring that all candidates prepare oral statements about their candidacy and that those statements are aired both regularly and fairly (all candidates are to receive the same amount of air time during the campaign period). It also involves setting up forums on the radio so that all candidates are given the same amount of time to be live on the air. Organizing community meetings, and perhaps cable TV shows that regularly air Pacifica programs, to introduce candidates to the widest possible community, is a must. The Local Election Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that all candidates follow the fair campaign provisions of the Pacifica bylaws, including the interpretation of the bylaws by the national Election Supervisor.
3) Overseeing the balloting. All ballots are to be returned by September 30th of this year. The ballots are to be sent out Saturday, August 15th, and P.O. Boxes at each station are to be monitored to ensure that all ballots are secure, and that the quorum for the election is met.
4) Overseeing the location for ballot counting. The location should be a secure but public location to ensure that all who want can observe the counting.
5) Write a report describing the joys and pitfalls associated with the job.
Skill Set
1) The patience of a middle school teacher.
2) The humor of a Dave Chappelle
3) The ability and willingness to use progressive discipline to ensure that election policies are followed by station staff, both paid and unpaid, should persuasion prove inadequate
4) Community organizing skills
5) The ability to work with a very diverse group of people, some with very large egos.
6) Some familiarity with election procedures, in particular the Single Transferable Voting method, a form of proportional representation that Pacifica uses. In any case, the capability of learning the voting procedure with the help of the National Election Supervisor.
Supervision
1) The supervisor for the Local Election Supervisors is an NES( National Election Supervisor). The NES is responsible for the election being conducted in the fairest possible manner.
2) The NES is also responsible for the training of the Local Election Supervisors.
Remuneration
1) The pay for this contract position is approximately $18,000.
Contact for an Interview:
Les Radke
National Election Supervisor
les@pacifica.org
(510)798-8622