Mayor Quan gave her "State of the City" speech tonight at Oakland City Hall. It was "invitation only" despite being a public function held in a public building; needless to say, the room was packed with her supporters. Riffraff were allowed to watch Quan's image in overflow areas.
The Mayor had an unexpected guest, one whom she likely would not have been comfortable with had he actually been able to sit in the same room with her. Indeed, it might have made for quite an interesting evening. As Scott Johnson of the Occupied Oakland Tribute tweeted last night:
OccupiedOakTrib Scott Johnson
Scott Olsen is fucking kryptonite for @jeanquan. He should just follow her everywhere.
(Scott, of course, is the Iraq War veteran
nearly killed by the Oakland Police on October 25th as part of an Occupy Oakland protest)
This video of the speech and the aftermath was shot by Occupy Oakland's OakFoSho, allowed into the hall by virtue of his press credentials and perhaps his fame as an Occupy videographer.
Unless you want to sit through more than an hour and a half of the Mayor droning on about 100 bottles of beer on the wall city blocks, forward to 1:39:56 and check out Scott as he talks to a couple of reporters. Below is a transcript as best I can make it out.
R: "What is she not touching on in your opinion?"
SO: "Did you listen to it... It was stupid. It was a waste of my time being there. It was a joke. She didn't say anything important."
R: "You wanted her to address the movement and what you guys are trying to do?"
SO: "Sure, why not. yeah."
R: "Were you upset that the audience was kind of stacked with supporters of hers? There wasn't anybody from Occupy allowed."
SO: "No, no, we weren't allowed there. It was a completely different scene where we were sitting. There wasn't a lot of clapping going on."
...
R2: "You weren't allowed to go upstairs. Do you wonder why?"
SO: "I don't think Mayor Quan has the guts to face me, or the Occupiers, or the City in general."
R2: "She really didn't make any mention of Occupy. What do you make of that?"
SO: "I don't know. She didn't, okay."
R2: "What do you make of what she said?"
SO: "There was nothing of substance said. It was a joke and it was a waste of my time being here."
R2: "And how are you doing?"
SO: "I'm doing all right."
In other Occupy Oakland news, the Mayor was probably not too excited to see this: a totally unscientific poll taken on the Oakland Tribune's website yesterday:
Do you support the Occupy Oakland movement?
Yes: 9991, 94.52%
No. 579, 5.48%
Even if you think it was freeped, and I have no particular evidence that it was, that's still a pretty damned impressive result.
Also, two big events are planned for the near future -- this evening and Valentine's Day.
Forum in Lieu of Citizen's Police Review Board Meeting -- Tonight
MEDIA ALERT:
WHAT: Occupy Oakland is hosting a forum to take the place of one the
City's Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB) indefinitely postponed.
WHERE: Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA
WHEN: Today, February 9 @ 6:15pm
WHO IS INVITED: The community, the press, and city officials are all
invited to attend and listen. There will be a public speaking section
at the end of the forum.
Media Contact: oakland@occupyreport.org (510-512-4398)
More Info:
AGENDA:
INTRODUCTION
* Ground rules & listening
* Chaplains / Safer spaces
* History of OPD misconduct
* Riders case, Negotiated settlement agreement
PRESENTATIONS
* OPD actions related to Occupy Oakland - An Occupy Oakland
perspective
* NLG overview of legal issues
CITIZEN'S POLICE REVIEW BOARD
* Intro into what CPRB does and how they can help
Q&A
* Chief Jordan has been invited to answer a few questions from Occupy
Oakland and the CPRB.
PUBLIC COMMENT AND TESTIMONY
-----
Occupy Oakland is hosting a Forum on Police Actions on February 9, 6:15 pm at the Grand Lake Theater.
The Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB) announced yesterday that they had indefinitely postponed a forum which had been in the works for months. This forum had been intended to allow the community to discuss the Oakland Police Department's handling of Occupy Oakland.
Police actions on January 28 show that this forum is more needed than ever, and that the OPD has not made any significant progress or reforms since they shot Scott Olsen in the head on October 25.
Thus, Occupy Oakland is hosting a forum to take its place. The time is unchangd, the agenda will remain similar, and the same people will be invited. The community, the press, and city officials are all invited to attend and listen. There will be a public speaking section at the end of the forum.
Jim Chanin (civil rights lawyer from the Riders case) and lawyers from the NLG have already RSVP'd. The CPRB has been invited to give a presentation about their agency. And the newly appointed Chief Jordan will be invited for a Q&A session.
Federal monitors overseeing OPD's Consent Decree have requested a video tape of the forum to use in their own investigations.
Valentine's Day Flowers and Candy March
Join us on Valentine's Day to express our love for each other, and our beautiful city, on a march through the downtown Oakland area. Participants should wear red and/or pink in celebration of Valentine's Day, and are encouraged to bring flowers, bubbles, Valentine's candy to share, glitter, confetti, and flower petals.
We will hold a 6:00 PM rally at Oscar Grant Plaza (14th and Broadway in downtown Oakland), followed by a march starting at 7:00 PM. We will march through the downtown area, offering flowers and candy to bystanders, and inviting them to join us. In the event of a potentially oppressive police presence, participants are encouraged to offer police officers flowers and candy, and couples will be encouraged to stop marching and kiss in the streets in front of the police line.
This is to be a completely nonviolent, family-friendly action, and will be open to all who are interested in joining us in an expression of love for our community and each other.