Pacifica’s National Office next door to KPFA is functioning once again, three weeks after an Alameda County court granted the network a temporary injunction against former executive Summer Reese, who along with her mother and a small band of supporters, were obstructing the network’s operations. UPDATE: The court issued a preliminary injunction reiterating its ruling against Reese 6/2.
Judge Ioana Petrou’s 17-page decision on May 12 demolished every single argument of the plaintiffs, the so-called “Pacifica Directors for Good Governance,” who filed a lawsuit on Reese’s behalf. Evidence raised during the hearing confirmed that Reese’s allies on the national board had prepared and signed a separate, secret contract with her that would have made Reese essentially unaccountable and unfireable — and given her a huge pay increase to $105,000 a year — all without the knowledge of the rest of the board.
For these reasons, the judge issued an injunction upholding the validity of the board majority’s action and ordering Reese to leave the national office immediately. But that injunction was temporary, and now the court will rule on whether to make the injunction permanent. While the issues are the same, Reese and her supporters are now challenging the right of Pacifica’s lawyers to represent Pacifica – a move clearly borne of desperation on their part.