Category: government

## Local Election Supervisor’s Report – Philip M. Botwinick 

Anyone not familiar with the election process for the Local Advisory Board should understand that is was a time consuming, arduous and complex job. This report addresses a number of issues that were faced during the process. The primary goal of this report is to elaborate on problems that occurred during the process and to suggest ways in which these difficulties might be avoided in the future. A second goal, but one no less important, is to put the role I had into context. 

I came in as a volunteer to the Election Committee at the start of November and did not attend another meeting until a month later. Although I had inquired earlier about joining the election process Joy Williams, the Election Supervisor, did not return my call immediately. Many of the early elements of the process would come to me later through conversations with staff, listeners, and the candidates. My years as a manager and worker in the environment of Corporate America have provided me with skills and insights to understand the workings of organizations. No matter whether the goal was for profit or some humane agenda, the commonality of agencies is the fact they are run by people who bring with them their own issues and personal and political agendas. I understood that the election process was as much a process as any project I had worked on at various companies. 

The Candidate Liaison position was assigned to me on December 6, 2003. This role appealed to me as it would provide me with the opportunity to interact with the candidates and to learn what issues the station was facing. I had become a listener only recently, after the events of what was to be referred to by many callers as the “coup.” 

My intent was to spend a few hours a week on the task assigned to me. By the end of the first week of service the amount of time I spent working on the campaign was closer to 30 hours. By the mid December the hours were well over that number and I saw a number of problems that could prevent the election from becoming a reality. 

By the end of December I was willing to take on a more official role. I knew that a more official designation was necessary if I was to get the cooperation of the station in planning the on-air appearances and recording of carts. If I were to replace the current Supervisor all the problems and difficulties that existed would have been impossible to repair by this late date. Based on my own experiences I believed that had I taken on the role of Election Supervisor I would most likely have been seen as the source of the difficulties and the cause for dissatisfaction with the process 

Considering the work to be done, it was my suggestion to leave the Election Supervisor in place and to divide the duties between us. At this time I was elevated to the position of co-Election Supervisor. This way we could each take responsibility for an area during the crunch time before ballot counting was to proceed. Her responsibilities fell within the 

area of violation decisions and ballot supervision, leaving me to attend to the day-to-day process issues of the campaign such as on-air scheduling and ballot counting. During the ballot counting process Joy was ill and did not want to work past midnight. In order to allow the ballot counting to continue Terry Bouricus officially elevated me to the position of full Election Supervisor which allowed me to make decisions based on questions raised when the data entry people were inputting the ballots. 

What follows is a summary of tasks followed by observations, evaluations, problems, and recommendations. 

- I. Database 

   - a. Needs to be cleaned up 

      - i. Remove duplicates 

      - ii. Validate addresses and phone numbers 

      - iii. Add volunteers were not added to database 

         - The station is dependent on the goodwill and efforts of listeners. Those who donate their time in exchange for membership were treated poorly and disrespectfully by not receiving ballots or being put on the database. This oversight by those who are responsible for these efforts can’t be overestimated. Volunteers were irate about giving time and then being lost in the shuffle. 

         - Recommendation: There needs to be better organization regarding the lists of volunteers. Copies should be made of these lists and filed away somewhere secure. 

         - By not successfully adding volunteers to the database the responsible party failed in their task and should be held accountable. An on air apology to those who gave their time would be a generous act to show contrition. 

         - It is impossible without the sign-in lists to determine how many volunteers did not receive ballots and were unable to vote. 

         - Volunteers were irate about giving time and then being denied ballots and recognition. They could not even obtain a “replacement” ballot, as there was not sufficient time for them to obtain a letter, which provided proof of the service they gave. 

      - iv. Couples 

         - There were couples that only received 1 ballot yet they donated an amount that entitled them to 2 memberships. 

            1. Database has to be changed to generate 2 ballots where warranted. 

            2. A report can be generated which lists all memberships that have 2 people and the amount they donated. 

      - v. Database issues may be solved as easily as speaking with the technology specialist responsible for maintaining the software. A simple phone call might be all that is needed to provide the changes necessary for a more efficient database. 

- II. Candidate Certification 

   - a. Although I did not perform this task I became familiar with many of the problems from my role as Candidate Liaison. 

   - b. Some candidates did not fill in all fields on the applications. Lack of personal data made contacting them difficult. 

      - i. I recommend that in the future all candidates must supply the following pieces of information: 

         - Address 

         - All phone numbers 

         - An email address 

      - ii. If all the contact information is not supplied on the application the applicant should be rejected immediately. 

         - It should not be the Election Supervisor’s job to chase down any parties who fail to submit completed paperwork. 

         - If filling out paper work is such a difficult task then those wanting to run are not suited to hold a position on the board requiring the ability to deal with more complicated tasks. 

   - c. Email addresses should be mandatory for all candidates. This form of communication allows Election Supervisors to maintain a paper trail of all inquiries in case misunderstandings and confusion occur later. 

      - i. Free email accounts are available from vendors like Yahoo. 

      - ii. For those with no computers at home 

         - Libraries provide free access to machines 

         - There are Internet Cafes around the city where computers can be rented at a nominal fee 

      - iii. Using emails gives the Election Supervisor and Candidate Liaison a more organized way to sent out notices of events, which need to be scheduled. 

      - iv. Candidates should check their email accounts at least 3 or 4 times a week. 

      - v. Candidates should always respond to any requests from the Election Supervisor or Candidate Liaison even if the response is a “no” to wanting on-air time or recording of carts. This lets those managing the election have clarity when organizing this number of people. 

- III. Candidate Communication 

- a. Candidates should always contact either the Election Supervisor or Candidate Liaison if they have any question or require some information. Even if there is no definite answer to the inquiry all messages should be responded to out of courtesy letting the candidate know there inquires have been received. 

- b. If a candidate’s contact information changes or they are going out of town they must inform the Election Supervisor or Candidate Liaison immediately. 

   - i. A number of candidates changed their email addresses and phone numbers during the campaign. They did not inform me of this change and I was not able to contact them regarding events. 

   - ii. A number of candidates left New York during the campaign period, but did not inform either the Election Supervisor or myself. This lack of communication caused confusion and chaos when I was scheduling on-air events and the candidate carts. I wanted to give all candidates the opportunity to use the station’s resources but was unable to do so when candidates did not respond to calls or email. 

- c. Questions and future concerns regarding the certification process: 

   - i. Questions 

      - Does an audit trail exist for all changes to the membership database? 

      - Can the membership database be accessed from any other machine besides Evelyn’s? 

      - What database did Joy use when validating the applicant? 

      - Was Joy given a copy or an extract of the membership database? 

      - If an extract file was used was it a copy of the existing database or were criteria used to create a subset of the existing database? 

      - If a subset of the database was created what criteria were used for this file creation? 

   - ii. If a copy of the file was provided to Joy does this file still exist? 

      - In the future this file should be kept in the possession of the Election Supervisor 

      - Another copy should be kept with all the election materials, which are shipped at the end of the election process and held for 3 years. 

      - It is an important piece of evidence when complaints filter in regarding why people were rejected as candidates due to membership issues. 

- d. Problems 

   - i. Without knowing what original source was used to validate applications it is impossible to determine now why certain candidates were rejected. 

   - ii. **I believe the current database is not secure and that information on it is incorrect or not current. There is no way of tracking when information has been added to the database making it difficult to validate applicants who claim they submit candidate applications.** 

      - **The Palumbo and Rodriguez situations revolved around these members not having up to date information on the database. They also either did not fill out the forms with all possible contact information or their handwriting was unreadable.** 

      - **Records for them exist now, but it is impossible to assume that these records were not added or edited at some point after the record date.** 

- e. Recommendations: 

      - Add a field called “Date Recorded Added” 

         1. This would be a system inserted date 

      - It would not be editable by anyone. 

      - Would provide absolute proof of date the record was added to system. 

      - Caution: Someone with extensive computer skills could modify the system date. 

      - Add other fields that would provide an audit trail for researching any editing performed 

   - ii. Class Identification: Staff or Listener 

      - The bylaws are clear regarding identifying staff and listeners; however, these criteria need to be revised to create a more level playing field. 

      - Staff is considered anyone who has been on air for 30 hours during the preceding 3 months. 

      - Issues with this definition 

         1. Is the 3-month period considered a rolling period? 

         2. For how long is a person who met the 3-month/30 hours rule considered to be staff? 

         3. Which preceding 3 months are being referred to in the by-laws. 

            - The period before Date of Record for certification 

            - The period during the Nomination Process 

      - This definition could easily be manipulated by those who would flow in and out the class of “staff.” 

   - Considerations 

      1. They could have been considered staff for most of the year. 

      2. Then immediately before the nomination process they could cut their hours back to less than 30, even 29 would be accepted, which would them allow them to run as listener. 

         - These individuals would enjoy name recognition other listener candidates would not have. 

   - Example 

      1. Father Lucas’s being on Al Lewis Live provided him with a forum other candidates did not have 

      2. Michael Warren’s name being mention on Morning Call could be seen as endorsing the candidate 

      3. Ray La Forest being a frequent guest on the Haitian show. 

      4. Panama Alba appearing on air as a guest. 

   - Should Father Lucas or any of the above candidates been allowed to run as listeners? 

   - His appearances on Al Lewis Live put him into a vague area. As a semi-regular he becomes associated with a show. This would place him in a different arena than candidates such as Tami Gold, Diane DeVeaux, David Goldman or Sharon Davis. 

   - I contend that this type of exposure puts people into an entirely different class than those who never appear on air. 

   - I recommend a new class be created to fit those candidates running who exist in a grey area. A new class called Activist should be added to the types currently existing. The rules to identify this class could be addressed in the future by the National Board. 

   - I recommend that candidates running who have appeared on air be classified as staff, unless they haven’t appeared for at least 1 year. 

   - On air appearances do have an impact on listeners. Why else would authors, filmmakers, activists, and writers want to publicize whatever book, film, or event they are working on. If public appearances did not work then why would public relations firms work so diligently to increase the exposure of their client? In the same vein those candidates who have appeared on air will benefit from being on air. 

- IV. Candidate Responsibility 

- a. Fair Campaign Release 

   - i. Candidates must understand they are responsible for all their actions during the campaign period. 

   - ii. By signing this form they claim they understand what they are signing. 

   - iii. Claiming ignorance should not be an acceptable defense for any campaign violation. 

   - iv. Violations will result in some form of censure. 

   - v. A candidate should inquire to the Election Supervisor before taking an action that may result in their expulsion from the campaign. 

   - vi. Fair Campaign Issues During Prior Election 

      - Father Lucas appearing on Al Lewis Live 

         1. Father Lucas claimed he didn’t know he was breaking any rules. For a man of his experience and insight this showed a lack of insight for the repercussions for such an action. 

         2. His being a guest on a show bestowed upon him certain benefits and privileges that other candidates could not share. 

         3. Guests receive the full attention of a program host. Such an appearance could be considered an endorsement of the candidate. 

         4. Correcting the situation becomes impossible. 

            - Would the violating host give the same opportunity to each candidate running? Is there even enough time during the campaign for this correction? 

            - Candidates may be offered time to correct the problem, but I don’t believe this situation can be corrected so easily. 

            - Ignoring the implicit benefit of being a guest compared to merely being a candidate on an election show does a disservice to the other candidates. 

         5. Producers and Hosts should be informed that having any candidate on their show would result in their being censored as well as the candidate. 

## b. Orientation Session 

- i. An Orientation Session must be scheduled once candidates have been approved. 

- ii. Schedule this session for the week after the nomination process is over. 

- iii. At this session candidates will be informed of what the campaign rules are. 

- iv. Candidates themselves must attend this session. 

- v. Failure to attend this session should automatically result in expulsion from the ballot. 

## V. Carts 

- a. Candidate Statements 

   - i. Carts were recorded very late during the prior election. Due to this candidates were not able to get their message out to listeners. 

   - ii. When candidates are notified about Orientation Session they should be informed to prepare a 40 second statement to be recorded. 

   - iii. Scheduling of the cart recordings can begin immediately after the orientation session. 

   - iv. Only those who were at the Orientation Session will record carts. 

   - v. Carts can be put up on the Internet and begin being played the week after they are recorded. 

   - vi. By three weeks after the nomination process is over carts should be on air. 

   - vii. Carts should be played during shows with maximum number of listeners. Morning carts should alternate between Wake Up Call and Democracy Now! 

- b. Listener Events 

   - i. Carts about listener events were not aired soon enough to allow listeners enough notice to come to these appearances. These carts should be run at least 2 weeks prior to the event. 

   - ii. Organizers of events should consider that listeners need enough notice to show up at these events. Some events were planned with little time to have carts recorded and played on air to allow listeners to know about event. 

   - iii. Carts featuring information about listener events should be played more often throughout the day. These will maximize the number of people hearing about the event. 

   - iv. Any event that is asked to be listed on the website becomes open to candidates outside the group/individual requesting the posting. The website should be considered a station resource. 

- c. Schedule for Prior Campaign 

   - i. The campaign period for last year’s election fell during the holiday season. This scheduling wound up having a negative impact on the campaign. The holidays and winter weather were major influences for low turn out at live events. People are distracted by commitments due to the holidays. Harsh winter weather and shorter days were impediments in traveling to events. 

- ii. Since this year’s event is being conducted during warmer weather traveling to events should be easier. Cool, but not frigid weather would not deter people from coming out to the events. 

## VI. Internet 

- a. The Internet is a tool that has wide ranging possibilities, however, to depend on listeners having access to it is a great mistake. It alienates and limits those listeners who don’t have access to it or are not familiar with it from participating in this forum. WBAI is first and foremost a radio station and not an Internet Station. 

- b. It is good to have the candidate’s statements up on it, and to list all events, but these items such be understood as being complementary to the other ways of providing listeners with information about candidates and the election process. 

## VII. Programming 

- a. Too few, if any, programs were aired that focused on the elections and its importance to the station, to the listeners and to the community. Hosts and producers chose to ignore the topic thereby setting the tone for how the election was perceived by many. Because producers and hosts ignored the elections, participation of the audience was greatly reduced: this scenario imitates that of both the Democratic and Republican parties. 

- b. Even with no encouragement from the station the listeners donated over $18,000. Had there been more participation from programs during the campaign this amount could have been double or triple the amount. Fund raisers that go on endlessly are not what the listeners want. The election earned enough money to pay for those expenses that were not originally budgeted for. I believe the election took no additional money from the station to cover its cost. 

- c. In the future more shows should be done which focus on the election process. 

- d. Election specials were aired with little notice to listeners. They were not scheduled on a continuing schedule allowing listeners to follow the process weekly. 

- e. Future elections need to have election shows aired weekly to allow listeners a place to discuss the issues, learn about the process, and feel that problems are being addressed. 

## VIII. Forums 

## a. Formats 

- i. Locations should be accessible to handicapped persons. 

- ii. The format of candidates speaking to the audience for 3 minutes and then answering questions was too limited. It did not allow enough discussion on issues between candidates and was not informative enough to give audiences a real sense of the differences between candidates. 

- iii. Future events should use a variety of formats for on-air and inperson events 

- iv. Candidate’s responses must be limited to a time period, which keeps the answers focused, and keeps the event moving. 

- v. Those who go over the time will be cut off, and have their next response reduced by the amount of time they went over. 

- vi. Debates between candidates should be encouraged. 

- vii. Written questions should be encouraged. This will force listeners to focus on what they want to know. Too often people calling and attending events want to vent and just go on endlessly about a topic. 

   - Slips of paper can be handed out when listeners arrive at events. They can be collected throughout the evening. 

   - Listeners can email questions to an account, which can be mentioned on the carts advertising the on-air event. 

   - Allow few listeners to call in or come up to a mike to ask questions. Too often this act takes too much time away from the event itself. 

- viii. Suggestions on having events run smoother in the future 

   - The number of candidates allowed to speak must be limited to a number that allows the candidates to answer questions and debate issues fully. Having 4 candidates on air gives the moderator a chance to keep the process moving and on topic. The same limitation can only help in person events. 

   - There were many candidates who refused to inform me that they were showing up for an event, and then showed up. Future elections should not allow these candidates to speak at these events. It is considerate and respectful to other candidates to give the Election Supervisor some way to maintain a well-organized and smoothly run event. 

   - Allowing candidates to speak at events for which they just show up has a deleterious effect on those candidates who have been waiting patiently for their turn to speak. 

   - Evenings have run long, and the audience begins to leave. 

   - • Many of the events had more candidates than listeners. Offering more events and giving listeners more lead-time could encourage more people to attend these forums. 

   - When an event was set up to have 5 candidates up for a 20minute period and more candidates show up unannounced the time the later candidates had to be shortened. 

   - Limit a live event to a maximum of 3 hours. They should start promptly at the scheduled time. For those events at night 

beginning at 7pm and ending at 10pm would be the best time slot. 

## b. Staff Events 

      - i. Only one staff event was scheduled for this election. Notices weren’t posted and so turnout was very low. 

      - ii. More staff events need to be organized. 

      - iii. Staff needs to be better informed of these events. 

      - iv. Staff is entitled to have a fuller understanding of the election process. 

   - c. Listeners 

      - i. More listener events should be organized to allow the listeners to see, hear, and question the platforms of those running. A listener can only be informed if the listener candidates have the opportunity to speak out about their agendas. 

- IX. Election Violations 

   - a. The decision making process for violations was a disaster. Decisions should have been made in a matter of days and not weeks. By dragging on the process enforcement of the decisions became a joke. This was the first election and problems were bound to occur. 

   - b. Future Election Supervisors must make decisions within 2 days of being informed of the possible violation. 

   - c. Election Supervisor must have access to the archives in order to hear the context of what is being challenged. 

- X. Voter Education 

   - a. Choice Voting was a mystery to many voters. Some didn’t even vote because they didn’t understand the process. 

      - i. By having live seminars and on-air segments dedicated to the process we can help educate voters. 

   - b. Other stations managed to have seminars at locations, which educated listeners about the process. The least we can do is to provide the same courtesy for our listeners. If we are willing to accept their money to keep the station solvent and running then we can also provide them with live seminars about Choice Voting. 

   - c. A presentation should be made at lease once every month either at the station or at a location around the city so that listeners can come and learn about Choice Voting. 

   - d. In addition to the live seminars one election radio show per month should be dedicated to the process of Choice voting. This would reach out to more listeners, but I am not sure that this process can be easily explained without visual aids. 

## XI. Ballot Mailing 

- a. Current Election 

   - i. The decision to use Fourth Class Mail for ballot mailings was fiscally responsible. However, the length of time for the ballots to arrive should have been considered before using this method. The short window of time between mailing and ballot return was a major stumbling block in this situation. 

- b. Future Considerations. 

   - i. Fourth Class Mail – is less expensive, but due to the timing of the campaign this deliver method is not the best suited to insure timely arrival of the ballots to the listeners. 

   - ii. First Class Mail would insure timely delivery. 

      - This additional cost needs to be factored into the budget of the next election. 

- c. Problems 

   - i. Incorrect or duplicate ballots 

      - Some staff received a listener ballot 

         1. Any listener ballots that were sent to staff shows a problem with the file used to create the ballots 

         2. This was not supposed to happen 

         3. Any ballot that was sent in this case was an illegal one. 

         4. It was left up to the member to be honest and not send in a 2[nd] ballot. 

         5. This must be prevented from happening in the future. 

         6. Those receiving ballots should not be allowed to be part of two distinct classes. 

   - ii. Never Received ballots 

      - A complete account of who didn’t receive a ballot has yet to be generated. 

      - Some process should be implemented to determine which listeners did not receive a ballot. This is an important piece of information to possess. 

      - There were also cases where candidates who were approved did not receive a ballot. 

      1. An example of this was in the case of Reggie Johnson 

      • There were instances where staff received a listener ballot in addition to their staff ballot. 

         1. I have no examples of this, but the situation occurred and was discussed among the Election Supervisors. 

         2. It was left up to the integrity of the voter to not send in a ballot, which was not theirs to cast. 

         3. If these ballots were cast they were not valid votes. 

         4. This situation must be prevented from occurring in the future. 

iii. Replacement Ballots 

- A process was instituted for listeners to get a replacement ballot for those ballots that did not arrive. 

   1. It was confusing and unclear how to apply for a ballot in the case of ballots that arrive. 

   2. Many listeners were so confused they never bothered to even initiate the process and so did not vote in the election. 

      - No clear count of how many of these cases exist is available. 

      - This frustration will surely only alienate listeners from the station and the election process in the future. 

- This process was instituted only after the ballots were mailed when it became evident there was a problem. 

- Next year a more comprehensive and simple methodology should be created to avoid confusion to listeners. 

   1. The procedure that was followed was complicated, tedious, and time consuming. 

   2. Carts announcing the procedure were not run often enough. 

   3. The cutoff date to apply for the replacement did not provide enough time for many listeners. 

- The process was a 2 step one for many people unless you sent in the required documentation with the inquiry. 

   1. First, people were asked to send in a notice that they did not receive a ballot. 

   2. A response was sent. 

   3. If a ballot was not sent out proof of membership was required in the form of cancelled check or a membership card. 

- Methods for requesting a replacement ballot 1. Mail: 

      - It was ludicrous to attempt using the mail to resolve this issue. 

      - With only a 2-week period to complete the communication in any inquires sent using USPS would have taken most of this time period. 

      - It was the stations error. Why ask the listener to spend any more money o the process? 

   2. Email: 

      - Better than using the postal service. 

   - Only if you didn’t have access to a computer and a scanner you were still forced to make this a 2-step process. 

   - First listeners would email their request. 

   - If they were on the database they would be mailed a ballot 

   - If they were not on the database listeners would have to send in proof of membership. 

      1. Those who could scan a copy of the documents could email them. 

      2. Those with no scanners accessible would have to either mail or fax. 

3. Fax: 

   - At first a fax number was not supplied. Listeners could only mail supporting documents via USPS. 

   - Once a fax number was set up listeners could make use of it. 

4. Phone: 

   - No phone number was provided to listeners to request this ballot. 

   - Next year a phone number and temporary worker should be hired during this period. 

   - Phone would allow many listeners to feel their needs are being attended to. 

## XII. Ballot Counting Process 

- a. Location 

   - i. Location should be chosen by the election supervisor only and kept secret until the week of ballot counting. 

   - ii. Location should not be affiliated with any candidate or relative of any candidate. 

   - iii. Location should be open to public. 

   - iv. Location should be best suited to allow little disturbing of the ballot counters when observers are in the room. 

   - v. Location should allow for public to observe the counting process easily. 

      - The room we had this year was limited due to the desks being bolted to the floor. 

      - This could be avoided if we are able to obtain laptops for next years ballot counting process. 

   - vi. Location should be accessible to public transportation 

   - vii. Paying for location should not be an issue. If possible get a location for free; however, cost should not be the primary issue. Finding a space that is reasonably priced is paramount. 

   - viii. If possible location should be available for all hours during the ballot counting process. 

      - Scanning of ballots will take much more time than validating and entering the ballot information. In order to complete the ballot counting process in a reasonable number of days having 24/7 access during the ballot counting process will enable this task to be completed. 

- b. Computers 

   - i. We were able to secure state of the art machines. 

   - ii. It would be preferable to obtain laptops for next year’s election. 

   - iii. Laptops 

      - Would us to have more options in choosing locations 

      - Would allow more flexibility in configuration of room where ballot counting occurs 

      - Machines 

         1. We used 6 machines this year for ballot counting 

         2. We used 1 machine for verifying ballots 

         3. For counting process 7 laptops should suffice 

   - iv. Houston was able to get Hewlett Packard to donate laptops for the duration of their ballot counting process. 

   - v. We should attempt to contact local companies that would donate machines for the election process. 

      - WBAI has the computer show on Wednesdays. Surely Hank could aid us in finding a source for machines. 

      - The station could easily play a cart thanking the donor for their contribution to the election process. 

- c. Scanning of ballots 

   - i. Houston scanned their ballots and put them up on the website to enable full disclosure of the ballots. Those who wanted to could run their own ballot counting process from home. It is important to consider that Houston received much fewer ballots than New York did. 

   - ii. To provide this service we would need to have a few things in place. 

      - We would need at least 2 high speed scanners 

      - Additional computers that had scanware software installed on each machine used for scanning 

      - A burner for each machine to write the information onto CDS 

      - Enough storage on the website to accommodate thousands of ballots 

## d. Ballot Counting Personnel 

- Volunteers 

   1. Positives 

      - Doesn’t cost the station anything 

      - Have vested interest in station 

## 2. Negatives 

      - They are not dependable. Many did not show up for their scheduled shifts. 

      - Constant retraining must be done for each new set of volunteers that arrive. 

      - Their interest in the election slows down the process. Too much talk about the candidates, too much emotional investment. 

      - Just as a group reached a rhythm someone had to leave. 

      - Problem with honesty and integrity. Volunteers who had personal relationships with candidates should not have input data. It wasn’t until after a candidate’s significant other completed their service that it was found out that an intimate relationship existed. This conflict of interest could have caused the entire election to be challenged. Volunteers should have realized the risk they take by not respecting the process and keeping it hones and free from scrutiny. 

   3. I need to acknowledge the assistance of John Almeleh and Chris Zguris. They’re knowledge of computers, dedication, and energy were invaluable to complete the election process. They assisted me in all areas of the ballot counting process and without their aid I can’t be sure I would have been able to complete the task. For two people who I never met before they were under no obligation to me at all. Just as the temps were paid, these two gentlemen should have received some stipend for a job well done. They worked two days straight, 16 hours on Saturday and 15 hours on Sunday. 

- Temp Workers 

   1. Positives 

      - Are dependable 

      - Work diligently 

      - Are rapid 

- Are focused on the job and not on the content of the ballot 

- 

- 

- 

   - Arrive on time 

   - Are professional 

   - Worked faster than volunteers 

- Processed more ballots in 1 day than volunteers did 

- 

- Only had to be trained once 

## 2. Negatives 

   - Must be paid 

3. An interesting side note about the temp workers. 99% of the temp workers were people of color. They were comprised of men and women who were from a wide spectrum of ages, from their 20’s to their 40’s. During training I asked if they were familiar with the radio station. Not a single one of them was familiar with the station, so none of them was a listener. This response pleased me as Election Supervisor as it ensured that they had no vested interested in any of the candidates running; however, the station may look at this in a completely different way as they are obviously not reaching this group of individuals. 

## XIII. Comments and Suggestions 

- a. Kathy Davis’ assistance and cooperation when scheduling carts and additional airtime for the candidates was instrumental in aiding me in providing these items to those running. The delay in these items occurring was due to Dan Coughlin’s delay in issuing a decision on them. It is evident that Dan must make his decisions more rapidly during such a period where campaigning is occurring during such a tight time period. 

- b. The hiring of temps should have been a non-issue when they were requested for a few reasons. 

   - i. The number of listeners coming up to plate to donate their time was minimal. 

   - ii. Having disinterested parties enter the ballots ensures a more fairly run ballot counting process. 

   - iii. I could only assume those in charge were unwilling to acknowledge the importance of this process remaining free from influence by overly interested parties. 

   - iv. The station so frequently criticizes the decisions of Corporations going for profit over people. Here was an opportunity for WBAI to provide wages, small as they were, to a group of people trying to make ends meet. The cost of the workers was minimal compared to 

the goodwill that is generated by this act. Here is an example where the station is helping those people that it claims it is trying to educate, inform, and represent. 

- c. Slates 

   - i. A problem area in many ways. 

      - One person should act as liaison between the Election Supervisor regarding placing events on the website. 

         1. Two members of the Justice and Unity Slate gave me conflicting instructions regarding a live event. The outcome of this was that I posted and event to the website that was not supposed to be open to other candidates. This created confusion and chaos for myself and other candidates. Had there been only a single contact person this situation could have been entirely avoided. 

         2. A second situation occurred during an event held out in New Jersey. A unilateral decision made by a member of the People’s Radio slate wound up with a hostile and angry audience. Any change to an event should be communicated to the Election Supervisor only after agreed to by candidates. 

         3. The liaison’s job would only be for events to be posted to the web or information sent out to other candidates. 

         4. A liaison would not have the right to inform Election Supervisor that all people on the slate would appear at an event. Each candidate must respond to the email or phone calls by the Election Supervisor. 

         5. On air times and cart recording times would not be a responsibility of the slate liaison, but would be up to the Election Supervisor to work with the liaison on this to facilitate smooth running scheduling. 

## d. Election Supervisor Position 

- i. It was a mistake to believe this position could be done part time by anyone. It is a full time job. 

- ii. Even with knowledge gained from the prior election the job is still a grueling, demanding, and time consuming one. 

   - The demands of the position may decrease over time, but for the first few years this seems unlikely. The amount of tasks this position entails is greatly underestimated by those in charge. 

iii. Salary 

- The salary of $1600/month came to less than $5.00/hour when working up to and exceeding 70 hours many weeks. 

The hourly rate drops below the minimum for such a position. This is not a position to be filled by a volunteer and the position should be treated in a respectful and professional way with regard to the salary allocated to it. 

      - Salary should be increased to $3200/month for the next election period. The Election Supervisor Position should be a full time one. The number of hours put in exceeded 70 most weeks between email, phone calls, conference calls, scheduling events, moderating events, coordinating on-air and in-person appearances. Travel time, researching disputes and other tasks that arise unexpectedly. 

   - iv. After election expectations 

      - The expectations of the Election Supervisor after the election should be clearly stated by the LAB and a compensation rate should be agreed upon before any work is gone by the Supervisor. 

- e. Election Committee Recommendation 

   - i. With so many unresolved issues to be dealt with it is my recommendation that a standing committee be formed regarding the election process. An ongoing group will be able to focus on the issues and resolve without such restrictions as time constraints that are impossible to meet. 

- f. Air America 

      - Why not use this new liberal station as a resource. 

      - They are located in New York only a short ride from WBAI and others from WBAI have appeared on the station. 

      - Amy Goodman is frequently mentioned. 

      - Election Supervisor and LAB members not up for reelection could appear to: 

         - Inform people about listener sponsored radio 

         - Educate people about our election process 

         - Let listeners know about Choice Voting 

      - Would show a unity to listeners among progressive and liberal media. 

      - During a crucial Presidential Election this act could demonstrate Democratic process in action. 

      - Could provide people with a stronger voice in media through this cross-pollination. 

The role of election supervisor officially ended on February 8, 2004. No election supervisor was required to submit a report. Each station was supposed to negotiate the fee for any time the Supervisors gave after the election was completed. None of the time I spent on this report (approximately 40 –50 hours) nor any of the hours spent preparing 

and running the elections for the Local Advisory Board have been paid for yet while other Election Supervisors have received payment for their reports. I will submit an invoice to the Controller of Pacifica and the General Manager of the station and will expect prompt payment now that the work has been completed. 



Question: When was Philip M. Botwinick assigned as Candidate Liaison for the local advisory board election, and what contact information does he recommend requiring on all candidate applications?
Answer: The Candidate Liaison position was assigned to him on December 6, 2003. He recommends that all candidates must supply an address, all phone numbers, and an email address, and that incomplete applications should be rejected immediately rather than chased by the Election Supervisor.