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Station Engineer Jerry Chamkis' letter to Board of Trustees member Aida Franco

In November 1997, KOOP's volunteer station engineer wrote a critical letter to Board of Trustees member Aida Franco (below). Jerry's wording was very strong, and board supporters (e.g. Eduardo Vera) labeled this as an "attack" on Aida, and condemned the letter as racist and sexist.

Jerry quickly apologized for the strong wording in his letter, but denied that it was racist or sexist. He further maintained that wording aside, he felt he had brought up some serious issues that deserved a response. He made repeated attempts to have an honest discourse with Aida, but she refused. Here you can listen to a RealAudio clip of Jerry very politely trying to set up a discussion with Aida at a public board meeting, and her absolute refusal to do so.

You can judge for yourself what you think about the letter by reading it below.

Our points regarding this letter are:

  • We agree that Jerry's wording was strong.
  • Wording aside, Jerry absolutely did NOT attack Aida's ethnicity. That much is made abundantly clear in the very first sentence of his letter.
  • Much of Jerry's criticism has merit, and that it deserved a response.
  • Jerry quickly and publicly apologized for the strong wording.
  • As strong as this letter was, it pales in comparison to the hostile statements made by board members and their supporters.
  • The fact that Aida as a board member would not discuss these issues with Jerry is disappointing, and yet another example of the board's unwilling to hear the concerns of the membership.
  • Unlike the board and their supporters, which try to conceal their unpopular actions, we're presenting this issue about one of our own members publicly, out in the open. We want to assure you that we have nothing to hide.

Friends of KOOP members have not always acted with 100% perfection. However, unlike the board, when we make mistakes, we acknowledge them, and we take action to try to resolve them. We will put our overall record up against the board's any day.

Station Engineer Jerry Chamkis' letter to Board of Trustees member Aida Franco (emphasis added)

11-15-97

Ms. Franco:

Please be assured that I am in no way concerned with your gender or ethnicity. My concerns are the hostility and apparent disrespect that you display for long-term honored members of our cooperative. You seem to have completely missed the point of my effort to highlight and publicize your comments. Can you not hear on the tape that your tone of voice and perspectives are uniquely hostile and insensitive? How very unfortunate and counter-productive that you immediately assume any criticism of your behavior is based on considerations of your race or gender.

Let's examine each of the five sections on the tape:

1. You suggest that John Duncan may be unaware of the ethnic composition of the station. John has spent possibly 1,000 hours or more managing the office and other affairs of KOOP. Are you suggesting that he is supremely un-observant? Perhaps extraordinarily incompetent and insensitive? Possibly you are suggesting that he is a racist. Are you familiar, Ms. Franco, with the psychological term 'projection' ? Are you aware that John Duncan is a most honored and respected member of the Austin progressive community? You cannot imagine how foolish and racist you appear to almost everyone in the room when you make your brutal reply to John.

2. You haughtily dismiss Scott's concerns about the unhealthy connections between the CB and the BoT. Really? Do you see no influences between the two bodies? Even the facilitator goes on record to disagree with you on this one. Do you imagine that you were brought on to this BoT for your knowledge of the operation of a radio station? For your interpersonal relationship and managerial skills? For your ability to raise funds or contribute directly to the financial welfare of the station? Why are you on this board, Ms. Franco? Do you suppose that you are the most qualified 'strong woman of color' in Austin to serve in this capacity? In my opinion, you are exactly as qualified to sit as a trustee of KOOP as Clarence Thomas is to be a judge of the supreme court and I believe you were appointed for the identical reason.

3 & 4. I decline to comment on these. I suggest you listen to the tape again and try to gauge the rate at which information is being transferred or useful work is being accomplished.

5. You state that it is sufficient to post the minutes and agenda on the door of the office and that you are not sure that KOOP has the capability to post them to the E-mail list. Is posting on the door sufficient for Rod Moag? Since you seem to be totally unfamiliar with the personnel of KOOP allow me to point out to you that he is totally blind. Is it sufficient for me? KOOP is an hour bicycle ride for me. Do you consider that a good use of my time to come to the station for the express purpose of informing myself of the actions of this most alarming body? Are you unaware that KOOP likely has the most powerful computer communication connection for miles around? It runs 24 hours a day not 12 feet from where you sit as a member of the governing board of the institution. Admittedly it is presently only on loan, but there are multitudinous connections adequate for that job accessible to other members of the cooperative including other board members. Are you aware that the CB meets off-site because of access problems for mobility impaired folks at KOOP? Are you comfortable denying them access to your paperwork? Do you believe that is legal under the ADA?

In closing, I can only express my extreme disappointment that you seem to have come to us as an enemy. You have no history with nor apparent interest in the radio station. You are doubtless unaware that the space you so comfortably occupy had a 75 year accumulation of raw cotton and cotton dust just a year ago. The people you so readily dismiss and insult put in hundreds of hours in hot sweaty inadequate dust masks to make the space ready for additional hundreds of people-hours of construction and refurbishment. You probably have no idea that almost all of the equipment in the control room is my personal property. In a different world, with a different attitude, you would only have had to tell me that you needed a computer to serve effectively as a board member and I would have cheerfully provided you one. Instead, I will provide you with hard copies as you request.

Jerry Chamkis

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