Two former KDHX DJs are asking a judge to remove seven of the eight people on the community radio station’s board of directors.
Stacy Bernard and Christopher Schwarz filed suit in St. Louis Circuit Court on Wednesday on behalf of themselves and 14 other station volunteers.
The other plaintiffs are remaining anonymous to avoid potential retribution by KDHX leaders, according to a statement released by Love of KDHX, a group representing station volunteers, former DJs and others critical of station leadership.
The suit seeks to dismiss Gary Pierson, Joan Bray, Paul Dever, Jeffrey Fernhoff, Ray Finney, Franc Flotron and Caryn Haddix from their positions as board members of Double Helix Corp., the nonprofit organization that runs the station.
Judge Christopher Edward McGraugh was assigned to the case. No hearings had been scheduled as of Friday morning.
Neither the plaintiffs nor station leadership could be immediately reached for comment.
Ongoing turmoil
The suit is just the latest challenge to KDHX leadership by station supporters who say its board retaliated against critics in the DJ ranks and drove the organization to a financial precipice in the face of defections by many longtime donors.
In a single day in September 2023, KDHX dismissed 10 volunteer DJs and informed another 12 that they must complete a mediation process if they wished to keep their shows. None of the 22 DJs has returned to the air, and many others later quit their shows in protest.
Board President Gary Pierson said at the time that station leadership dismissed DJs who were insubordinate or whose continued presence was not consistent with an enhanced focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. But Pierson has never publicly cited any specific complaints about DJs’ alleged noncompliance with DEI efforts and later made conflicting statements about that concern. The DJs dismissed on those grounds said Pierson’s public statement was the first they’d heard of any alleged issue.
The station weathered claims of racism and sexual harassment in 2019, including accusations aimed at Executive Director Kelly Wells, who still holds her position.
The turmoil led to many gaps in the station’s on-air schedule.
Last year, the station added 31 new radio programs, gained 50 new volunteers and added 400 new donors, according to KDHX. But it entered 2024 with such financial uncertainty that Wells told the board she could only budget for one quarter at a time, pending the status of new donations.
The station held repeated fund drives throughout the year. Many KDHX supporters worry that the Double Helix board will address financial woes by selling the station’s broadcast license and converting to an online-only operation.
Station leaders did not directly answer the question when STLPR asked last month if it was considering selling its license and becoming an online-only station. It provided a statement praising KDHX leaders as “good stewards of the station” who are “working every day to fulfill the mission.” Station leaders have communicated with STLPR exclusively through an external communications consultant since late 2023.
A series of lawsuits
Station critics have used the courts to seek changes in the past, with mixed results.
Andrea “Drea” Stein sued unsuccessfully to get her show back in 2024. Anne Silverstein sued in August 2024 seeking to compel KDHX to release financial records that she says are required to be public under state law; a jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 24.
Station critics sued last year to force the KDHX board to accept three people whom volunteers had elected to the board, during a meeting that Pierson said was called improperly. The station settled with plaintiffs out of court in August, agreeing to seat Kip Loui and Courtney Dowdall.
Then the board suspended Loui and Dowdall after their first meeting. Loui resigned; Dowdall awaits reinstatement.
This story has been updated.
