KZYX&Z

Mendocino County Public Broadcasting 2010 Board Candidate Statements

Supervisorial District 1 seat (two candidates running)

Bob Page:  I’m applying for this position because on my desire to see KZYX continue in our county, being aware of the difficult times the station is experiencing.  My family has been a member of the station since it began, and we are avid listeners and supporters.  I hope I could become an asset to the station based on my experiences in work and through my experiences in helping other organizations.

I developed, built, and managed the Redwood Health Club of Ukiah, purchased and managed Deerwood Country Club, and developed and built the Airport Club of Santa Rosa, which I now  still am the Managing Partner.  This gives me over 30 years of management experience, with an unlimited amount of opportunities to deal with problems and solutions.  I feel consensus building is the only way to build a successful organization.

I am currently serving on three boards:  Potter Valley Unified School Board, Potter Valley Youth and Community Center, and Airport Club Board of Directors.  This in not new territory for me, and of course, the School Board and Community Center are voluntary positions that I joined to be of service to my community.

I am a UCLA graduate, have lived in Mendocino County since 1972 and feel I have a good understanding of the diversity of our county.  As a board member of KZYX, I would hope to have an open ear to all facets of the listening public, realizing the large diversity of interests and beliefs.  No station can satisfy all their listeners all the time, but needs to try to be diverse enough to always be reaching out to the majority of its active membership.

Tom Davenport:  KZYX has been rescued from the brink of financial disaster by generous community support and a lot of hard work done by the Board and station staff.  But it’s not all about the money.  Community input, through local programming and news reporting, may be equally important to the vitality of community radio.

As longtime rural residents and members of KZYX, my wife Catherine and myself share a strong interest in local programming related to sustainability and localization as well as a shared passion for nearly all types of music.  As a Board member, I will endeavor to foster a greater degree of transparency and accountability between the Board and membership.  Members are encouraged to contact me directly to discuss these as well as other concerns.  My home phone is 485-7293 and email is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

The broad range of experience in my life covers a lot of ground which can benefit the station. This includes persistent volunteer participation in other public service, as a Board member of my local road association for over ten years, and as a steering committee member of MMMAB (see http://www.mmmab.net for info) since its inception.  I am a retired Landscape Contractor, with family involvement in organic gardening for more than 30 years. My background also includes having once-upon-a-time having made my living as a professional musician, performing in groups ranging from the hometown Community Orchestra to Doctor Wild Willie Moore & The Soul Surgeons to working on the road with Ukiah's own Tiny Harris Country & Western band.  Enthusiasm and technical involvement with Audio engineering began for me in grade school and has developed to include recording and producing a diverse range of material, mainly live recording and post production.  My candidacy represents technical skills in the service of shared values.  I ask for your vote in electing me to the Board, which will allow closer access in order to foster both the financial health and community needs of the station.

Programmer-elected Seat (uncontested)

Nicole Porter:   I am interested in becoming a board member because I am passionate about supporting KZYX&Z and its mission. I value having such a unique listener-supported community public radio station here in Mendocino County. As both a listener and programmer, I experience daily how radio brings people together in powerful ways and creates its own community regardless of where you live.

I will contribute a thoughtful, energetic skill set to the KZYX&Z board. I have been employed in a local public agency for a number of years, working together with diverse partners for conservation of our natural resources. I have worked in both a management and support capacity to deliver this mission, finding creative ways to leverage the social and economic assets available to us. I am experienced valuing, listening to, and working with diverse groups of people.

Last month I completed my master’s degree in information and library science through a distance program at San Jose (Nicole Porter, Continued)  State University; I feel so fortunate to have been able to live, work, and play in our beautiful, rural community while pursuing my higher educational goals. I am also involved with volunteering at the Ukiah Public Library and sit on the advisory board for the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project.

Thank you for your vote of support in the position I am seeking on the KZYX&Z board of directors. I look forward to serving KZYX&Z and the community!

At Large seat (two candidates running)

David Hopmann:  I strongly believe that KZYX&Z is one of Mendocino County’s “bedrock” community and cultural institutions that must be preserved, protected, and improved for the benefit of the entire, diverse citizenship.  I have served on the KZYX&Z Board for three years, most recently as Chair.  I am willing to serve again to support our excellent staff and dedicated, collegial Board.  Although I have owned property in the County only since 2004, I feel very tied to the community because of a 30+ year history of visiting Anderson Valley frequently.

I am a semi-retired attorney with 38 years of experience representing large and small businesses and other institutions, both for-profit and non-profit.  I was educated (college and law school) at Yale.

I am a former Army intelligence officer and Viet Nam veteran, with 3 years of active duty service.  I am a gay man.  I have been with my domestic partner for 19 years.  We maintain an apartment in San Francisco and a house in Boonville.

I serve on the Anderson Valley Land Trust Board; the Bar Association of San Francisco Board; and the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission of the State Bar.  In the past, I have served on the Boards of several AIDS charities in San Francisco.

I am an advocate for civil liberties, the First Amendment, and the strict separation of church and state.  I believe that civil, mutually respectful discourse is a desirable way to accommodate the different views and value systems that will naturally be present in any society of human beings.

King Collins:  “TRANSPARENCY MAKES GOOD RADIO” I've lived, worked and raised a family in Mendocino County. I love KZYX, listen all the time and served on the board, 2003 – 2005. At the end of my term I wrote the "Secret Life Of KZYX."

KZYZ---the most important media organization in the county---is praiseworthy in many ways: hardworking staff, quality programming, dedicated and imaginative volunteer programmers, all supported by the generosity of our listeners.

Success at raising money---a crucial responsibility of the board---depends, ultimately, on the quality of communication with us, the members: We give more when we know what is going on and our voice is heard.

The board has not kept us informed and has become more secretive. My feeling of urgency about this increased sharply last year when General Manager John Coate announced that a young news reporter had been laid off. Christina Aanestad pursued local news with the instincts of an investigative reporter. I thought KZYX was developing a dynamic investigative news team. What a let down when her crisp voice was no longer heard!  Coate said the layoff was a budgetary necessity, but we had no idea that such a move was even being considered.

My purpose in running again for the board: 

1) To increase the number of members (subscribers) and income to the station.

2) To encourage the board to be transparent and interactive with us, the subscribers.

3) To open up the closed board on-line discussion group (listserv) so that any KZYX member has the option to "listen in" (receive email copies) of board discussions between meetings. This change is easy and would give ordinary members the option to have "read only" access to the board listserv. The listserv was started while I was on the board. Some of us argued, unsuccessfully, that it was wrong for the board to hold what amounts to a continuous closed meeting. (Bylaws limit what may be discussed in closed meeting.)

Finding a solution to the board’s isolation is more important to me than winning this election.

4) Whether on not I am elected, I will bring forward (with other members) an Act of the Membership (See Bylaws) calling for transparency. If approved, the board is required to act accordingly.