Mayor Jean Quan's Legal Adviser Quits Over Clearing Of Occupy Oakland Camp

WASHINGTON -- As a platoon of Oakland Police Department officers began clearing out Occupy Oakland's encampment for a second time at Frank Ogawa Plaza downtown, one of Mayor Jean Quan's advisers resigned in protest. Quan's legal adviser Dan Siegel announced his decision via Twitter early this morning.

Siegel tweeted:

No longer Mayor Quan's legal advisor. Resigned at 2 am. Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1% and its government facilitators.

Siegel's resignation should not come as much of a shock. The attorney said he had come close to resigning over the city's first raid, in which the police used tear-gas and rubber bullets to disperse the activists.

"I did think about it," he told The Huffington Post in an interview Monday afternoon. Siegel relented when Quan reversed course amid condemnation over her handling of the Occupy protests. Quan apologized for the raids and let the activists retake their old space.

But with Quan's latest reversal, Siegel suggests the mayor is showing weakness in the face of the city's entrenched powers. "I do think she was overrun by the opposition," he explained. "It was a combination of councilmembers, the chamber of commerce and some administrators in the city, including the city administrator and chief of police."

Quan justified her latest sweep of the Occupy site on the growing allegations of violence surrounding the site.

"We came to this point because Occupy Oakland, I think, began to take a different path than the original movement. It was no longer about the pieces of the financial system or foreclosures or the unemployed," Quan said, as reported by MSNBC. "The encampment became a place where we had repeated violence and last week a murder," she said. "We had to bring the camp to an end before more people got hurt."

Siegel said there is no evidence that the Occupiers are to blame for the murder, and that the victim had been a sometime participant at the Occupy camp. Siegel compared Quan to a character in a Greek tragedy. "Circumstances have put someone in a position where they wind up doing something against their own goals and values," he said. "That's what occurred here."

"I didn't agree with it," Siegel said of Monday morning's raid. "I really do think it's an extremely important movement that hopefully will continue to grow and have a big impact on American society. So given the choice between expressing my solidarity with the Occupy movement and remaining a legal adviser to the mayor when we were clearly not on the same page was really a pretty easy choice for me."

 

 

Comments

[David Hundley]

09:30 AM on 11/16/2011

WAR on Terror, War on drugs, war on the middle class..This whole boondoggle is getting to be very expensive

[brokerthanu]

06:57 PM on 11/16/2011

You forgot the war on the Middle East.

[TheAnorexicSumo]

02:58 PM on 11/15/2011

Jean Quan, the Accidental Mayor.

[claraluz]

10:12 AM on 11/15/2011

Clearly, groups of opportunists are infiltrating the legitimate OWS groups. Misfits and malcontents who join in search of excitement or personal agendas, There is alos a strong possibility that some PAID groups of hooligans are infiltrating the peaceful protester groups to cause problems requiring police intervention, like in California. Corporate power and money pulls the strings of many political puppets...

[Tquin]

06:46 AM on 11/15/2011

This has been a group with no clear goals or purpose, but wanted everyone to understand their message which was not clewar either. Time to go.

[claraluz]

10:12 AM on 11/15/2011

The original purpose was very clear!!

[carburetor]

05:53 AM on 11/15/2011

GO Occupy Wall Street! Carry on... it's working!

[Birdsong3000]

02:14 AM on 11/15/2011

Siegel forgot one group in his litany of opposition: that would be the small matter of Mayor Quan's constituents. We the struggling workers of Oakland want these pests out of our city hall and out of our park lands. They do not represent the citizens of Oakland and no loudmouth commentator sitting in a studio in NY is going to change that. Take your dirt and trash and drugs and crime and destructive, violent hoodlums with you and go back to where you came from. Trashing Oakland is a bully's game a crime against poor people in a city that can't defend itself.

[BNevrgivup]

11:47 PM on 11/14/2011

The occupy movement unlike the T thing was not bankrolled and organized with the Republican Party think tank guiding it from the press box, ala Dick Armey etc. The OWS movement needs organization and leadership, the DNC is squandering it's own potential to capture lightening in a bottle, amongst other national organizations. Still this movement is real and shaking things up it needs to have real direction and a set of achievable demands.

[sviolette]

12:01 AM on 11/15/2011

The occupy movement doesn't want the DNC. They are actually against the present government. Unless they get the money out of elections, OWS will have nothing to do with them.

[Boo Day Seus]

10:44 PM on 11/14/2011

Whether conservative, liberal or many other options, come on, Quan is a mess. She has lead two raids where she almost killed a veteran and injured another, then she arrests clergy and her attorney resigns. she cannot control the police chief, which is why the feds threatened to take over before occupy even existed. she was elected by very liberal contingent, yet she has breached their trust. she has neither those who support or don't support occupy on her side; no confidence. She really needs to go as a leaders she has done more to harm the city's image than the occupy movement. i'd prefer she were ousted and a real democratic leadership process be implemented. lets evict quan.

[carburetor]

05:39 AM on 11/15/2011

"Sold out" is how many liberals feel... whether Obama or Quan. It just shows OWS is on the right track and needs to keep up the fight.

[brokerthanu]

07:01 PM on 11/16/2011

However you may feel about her, Quan WAS elected by a democratic process.

[Boo Day Seus]

09:55 PM on 11/16/2011

we all make mistakes; her mistake is not fully disclosing her values and a series of lies. she will not be re-elected by the same process and likely evicted by the process. our process of election is not a true democracy; its a hybrid.

[booksNOTbombs]

07:05 PM on 11/14/2011

People are saying they'll go back. Can all this protest energy rise up from the camp and go forth to Washington? I mean, the cops, the Mayor.. winter's coming. What does physically occupying the space mean at this point?

It's time to make this movement into something that can be sustained beyond the front lawn of City Hall... maybe a political party. You're sitting, you're occupying, you're hosting talks. I realize Occupy is in the name but where is this going? What can you accomplish by sleeping there at night?

How about you continue to host talks at the space, get people out to Oscar Grant Plaza every day of the week, keep building awareness but meet just for the purpose of organizing and building the movement and then get out of there. What are the benefits of staying? Do the work, meet at the Plaza, invite the media. Then go home and come back the next day.

Where's the physical occupation going? What's the fear in ending it? Afraid of losing steam or being ignored by the media?

[iworkforaliving]

08:55 PM on 11/14/2011

It is NOT Oscar G Plaza. It is Frank Ogawa Plaza. Period.
Yes, what have the occupiers accomplished? They have used up millions of the city's (ie, taxpayers) dollars. They didn't draft any useful legislation, come up with concrete ideas, or knit scarves to keep themselves warm in the winter. Instead they voluntarily decided to sleep in Frank Ogawa Plaza, and pretend that they are heroes while trashing the park, causing a public health threat (rats, lice, ....), and smoking a bowl.
Booksnotbombs: I'm with you. Protestors and campers should do something constructive. Complaints should be taken to aisle 3 at WalMart.

[hellayella]

09:10 PM on 11/14/2011

Why don't you come down and see what we're doing before you criticize. I just loooove how all the couch potatoes have all the inside knowledge.

[sviolette]

11:44 PM on 11/14/2011

Closed minds suck.

[Tarpon22]

06:19 PM on 11/14/2011

Dan ( THE MAN ) Siegel.
Thank you Dan, you are a true American Patriot.
You have chosen to support WE THE PEOPLE.

There are going to be more and more people like Dan joining Us.

We are the 99%

[caryberry]

05:43 PM on 11/14/2011

Bless Dan Siegel for living his convictions.

It takes courage to live one's convictions. I pray that it is contagious.

[Abby Kravis]

04:55 PM on 11/14/2011

Clarity of its ideals and demands will not only strengthen #OWS, but will bolster public opinion and better focus reporting & media coverage. http://littlebiggy.org/4660547

[NY Guy]

04:42 PM on 11/14/2011

He resigned, so no unemployment checks should be coming his way.

[nero1967]

05:50 PM on 11/14/2011

He actually was a volunteer senior legal adviser and not being paid. You might consider having some facts before mouthing off.

[iworkforaliving]

09:00 PM on 11/14/2011

A legal advisor's personal opinion should not enter into what is legally the best decisions for the taxpayers of the city. Allowing illegal activities to occur opens the city to many avenues of liability. The city is going to be sued - the number and magnitude of the suits are yet to be seen. Its too late for the taxpayers. This legal advisor should have quite much sooner.

[NY Guy]

07:07 AM on 11/15/2011

He was overpaid.

[gmb007]

02:43 AM on 11/15/2011

And that's the most important comment you could make?

[IamChicago]

04:34 PM on 11/14/2011

Good for him, God Bless and watch out for him

[structurequity]

04:19 PM on 11/14/2011

The tipping point has not been reached, currently in Oakland's employ are protectors of the 1%; they will stop at nothing collect their wages including decimating their children...

[iworkforaliving]

09:06 PM on 11/14/2011

Occupy Oakland gave a rousing round of applause to Michael Moore (a 1%-er). Why does he get off? Why wasn't he asked to join the camp, or donate half of his millions? Oh yes, and Occupy is able to recruit protestors quickly due to Zuckenburg's company - again a 1%-er. Why isn't Occupy Oakland banning the use of Facebook? Hypocrisy.
btw, how specifically are some in Oakland's employ protecting the 1%??

[hellayella]

09:17 PM on 11/14/2011

You do realize that saying using Facebook is hypocrisy is like saying riding BART or living in America is hypocrisy. You can live within a system and still work to change it.

[claraluz]

10:24 AM on 11/15/2011

Michael Moore earned his money, did not get free money for growing a field of alfalfa nor did he get rich by cheating people out of their money or by employing slave labor.