Vietnam Bagdad Afghanistan Oakland
Jean Quan is the Mayor of Oakland, and now a failed leader. Not only did she make a horrible decision, unleashing the police on non-violent protesters, but she abdicated her responsibility after making it.
As the San Francisco Chronicle relates:
On Friday, two days after those two had set the process in motion, Mayor Jean Quan abandoned her initial support for the protest...
The questions were how, and when...
It would take at least five days to arrange the influx of police from other jurisdictions, and anyway, Occupy forces were planning a big march Saturday. That meant Monday at the earliest...
By then, Quan had gotten out of Dodge - flying to Washington for long-scheduled meetings designed to raise money for developing the old Oakland Army Base.
The mayor... was concerned about how it would look for her to be out of town when the cops made their move - but not concerned enough to cancel, feeling that her new police chief could handle the situation.
Are you F***ing kidding me? The Mayor gives the orders for the occupation to be cleared, an act that any sane individual could see had the potential to lead to massive protests, violence, or even a Kent State style tragedy, and then she skips town while it happens???
This is not the act of a leader. Whatever the pros and cons of the action, she should have been there when it came down.
Fortunately for the people of Oakland, a recall petition has already been initiated. In an suitably ironic twist, the people who have filed the petition seem to be law-and-order types, believing that Quan has not done enough to insure public safety. I.e., they are more likely the 1% than not. From another SF Chronicle article:
In the recall petition, the residents said they primarily wanted to recall Quan for "willfully ignoring the city's most pressing issue: public safety."
But that's all the better. There is no reason the process, once it starts, cannot be 'co-opted' by those in Oakland sickened by what happened yesterday. In fact, if I were a resident of Oakland, I would be looking to recall the entire City Council right about now. It seems like it is the only thing these politicians have any chance of understanding.
How do recalls work in Oakland?
The city will have to verify that at least 50 of the 71 signatures are valid. Recall proponents will then have 160 days to get roughly 19,800 signatures. Once those signatures are verified, an election would be called.
It's a long shot, because the people involved in #OccupyOakland probably aren't the political-organizing type for the most part. But Mayor Quan has, in my opinion, both by her bad decisions and her abdication of responsibility, lost the right to remain it office. Perhaps there is an enterprising truely progressive politician who will see an opening here.
Oh, and by the way, it's not over.
occupyoakland Occupy Oakland
TODAY 6PM 14TH & BROADWAY #RetakeThePlaza
occupyoakland Occupy Oakland
Everyone! Come to Oscar Grant Plaza tomorrow at 6pm for round three. and four. and five. and six. We will not be moved.
10:06 AM PT: Another thing.
Oakland, like many cities, is having a severe budget crisis. The cost of deploying these hundreds of police in full riot gear must be running into the millions of dollars already.
Sane leadership would not be spending this kind of money against peaceful protesters.
10:11 AM PT: MinistryofTruth Writes About the Oakland police violence
11:05 AM PT:
The city has spent several million dollars in this campaign to shut down free speech in Oakland. Meanwhile today the Oakland Unified School District will vote on closing down 5 schools: Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell Park and Santa Fe. They will meet at 5pm at Oakland Technical High, where they will be met with protestors from Occupy Oakland and other groups demanding a more sane and just allocation of the city’s resources.
OccupyOakland
11:07 AM PT: ZOUNDS!!!!
KeithOlbermann Keith Olbermann
by OccupyWallStNYC
Tonight on Countdown, brief Special Comment on Oakland's brutal repression of #OccupyOakland & need for Mayor @JeanQuan to resign
11:27 AM PT: Send a Letter to the Editor:
Oakland Tribune submit LtoE
SF Chronicle submit LtoE
Mercury News submit LtoE
11:30 AM PT: Oakland building fence around Oscar Grant Park now!
See this comment thread below
I decided to go ask the cops how much the fence is costing us. They didn't know. I asked them who was paying for the fence, they asked me who was paying to restore the grass. Um, grass bloody grows. I asked if they had children and if they were aware that schools in Oakland were closing. They compared the protesters to naughty children and again complained that they were throwing rocks and bottles at them. I told them, "Like Hell."
11:53 AM PT: White House Petition at We The People to condemn the violence against protesters.
12:29 PM PT: Allie123 on the radio on the Majority Report
12:30 PM PT:
occupyoakland Occupy Oakland
GA, 6pm, 14th & Bdwy. If it is impossible to meet there, we'll immediately reconverge at the Main Library at 14 & Madison. #OccupyOakland
2:08 PM PT:
occupyoakland Occupy Oakland
Word has it- disgusted OPD officers are resigning, walking away, or giving 2 weeks notice. Non-violence is working. Watch for provocateurs
2:20 PM PT: More evidence that Quan is completely out of her league
2:23 PM PT: AP gets story on military veteran referenced above:
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Among demonstrators injured during a clash between Oakland police and protesters is a 24-year-old Marine veteran who served two tours in Iraq.
Dottie Guy, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War, an advocacy group for vets, said member Scott Olsen was hospitalized with a fractured skull.
Olsen was hit by a projectile while marching toward City Hall. Guy said it was not immediately clear if he would need surgery.
8:22 PM PT: