Whether the Framers of the Bill of Rights knew it or not, Pacifica is exactly what they had in mind when they drafted the First Amendment. Especially now, with falsity rampant and the truth scarce, free and independent media that provides honest, reliable news and information is what this community, this nation, and the world, needs. I’ve been a dedicated listener and supporter of WPFW for decades and would be honored and humbled to help WPFW evolve into a stronger, more commanding source of news and information.
My connection to Pacifica goes back to my youth in New York City. While I was in high school in the 70s, my rock/funk band, ‘The New Message’, appeared live on WBAI at the old, converted church studio. I continued to be a regular listener and was pleased to discover WPFW, and the broader Pacifica family, after I came to Maryland in 1979.
Liberal, progressive and left-wing values must have a home where they can be expressed openly and without fear and I embrace (and support) Pacifica for being a champion of that goal. I also recognize that recent years have been especially challenging for Pacifica and that mature guidance would benefit the station, the listeners and the community. I also believe that WPFW could do a better job of covering news and events at a “local” level (including the federal government, among other things) and in that way become a national media leader. The vast changes and opportunities in modern day broadcast options should make that easier, not harder.
Left-wing values of equality, justice and freedom underpin the dream of the United States. That is why we should be winning. But it is easy sometimes to feel we are not. I believe that a broadcast agenda that helps people achieve those sacred goals in their daily lives would be a successful agenda for a powerhouse independent media station and future WPFW.
I graduated from the University of Maryland law school in 1982. I spent 24 years practicing law and was appointed for a 14-year term to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland (Baltimore) in 2006. One decision that stands out among thousands is the City Homes case. There, I rejected bankruptcy ‘business as usual’ as embodied in the relentless efforts of the landlord business owners to relieve themselves of potential responsibility for millions of dollars in lead paint claims.
I left the court when my term ended and have taught at my alma mater law school since, where, among other things, I managed the student bankruptcy clinic for impoverished debtors. I’ve been a community servant for decades, and that includes my time on the bench. Two things I’m most proud of are my leadership roles in an unprecedented, nationwide program to diversify the federal courts in 2018-19 and the Baltimore bankruptcy court’s Debtor Assistance Project created to aid debtors without lawyers.
I hope you will consider me favorably as a board candidate.
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