A special election by shareholders of Qualstar Corp. fell short in replacing the board of directors of the financially struggling company. Dissident shareholder BKF Capital Group could not garner a majority vote of all outstanding shares in the Simi Valley manufacturer of tape-based data storage devices and power supply products. There were 5.7 million votes in favor of removing the board and 5.3 million against. There needed to be 6.1 million votes cast for board removal for the measure to pass. The vote was taken on June 20. BKF Capital Chairman and CEO Steven Bronson expressed disappointment in the results but claimed a victory in having gotten out a message that change was needed at Qualstar. “What we and the other shareholders demand is a return to profitability by rationalizing the tape library business and focusing on the power supply business, a dividend and distribution program that returns excess cash to shareholders, and management compensation aligned with shareholder interests,” Bronson said in a prepared statement. BKF and Bronson together hold more than 2.1 million shares, or a 17.3 percent stake. Shares in Qualstar closed at $1.86. Mark R. Madler
