Scroll down for contact information for Mayor and Council
By Mike Chek / Special to the OB Rag
Occupy San Diego has lots of friends and supporters. Over this past two week period, they’ve come out with donations and statements of support. This has been great!
But right now – Occupy San Diego NEEDS HELP!
If you support us – then we need you to get on the phone immediately. We need you to call the Mayor of San Diego and the City Council immediately. We need you to tell them – tell them – not ask – to get the police off the backs of the activists of Occupy San Diego!
The police have blocked us every time we turn around. They threw us out of Tuna Park, they tried to remove us from the Civic Center Plaza, they made it unbearable to be at 6th and Elm, and they’re putting pressure on us right now about removing our gear and supplies from the World Beat Center in Balboa Park which came to our rescue a couple days ago.
We are NOT GOING AWAY! You know that, we know that. But the political establishment in this town has not realized this yet. In other cities the politicians have welcomed the demonstrators and have helped arrange local parks where they can do their occupy thing.
We have yet to have been approached by any high-ranking politicians, either from the City, County or State. They pretend that they are not listening to us and they really want us just to go away. But we are not going away.
We have been peaceful and non-violent. The police in general have also, but there’s been a couple of moments they were not. And they obey the political hierarchy (Mayor Jerry Sanders).
So, please, call your favorite politician and/or community / labor leader. We need pressure on the political establishment of San Diego – both City and County – IMMEDIATELY.
Contact information for San Diego Mayor and Councilmembers:
Mayor Jerry Sanders
JerrySanders@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6330
Fax: (619) 236-7228
City Councilmembers:
District 1
Councilmember Sherri Lightner
Email: sherrilightner@sandiego.gov
Phone:(619) 236-6611
from north county (858) 484-3808
Fax: (619) 236-6999
District 2
Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer
Email: kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6622
Fax: (619) 236-6996
District 3
Councilmember Todd Gloria
Email: toddgloria@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6633
Fax: (619) 595-1481
District 4
Council President Tony Young
Email: anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6644
Fax: (619) 236-7273
District 5
Councilmember Carl DeMaio
Email: carldemaio@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6655
Fax: (619) 238-0915
District 6
Councilmember Lorie Zapf
Email: loriezapf@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6616
Fax: (619) 236-7329
District 7
Councilmember Marti Emerald
Email: martiemerald@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6677
Fax: (619) 238-1360
District 8
Councilmember David Alvarez
Email: davidalvarez@sandiego.gov
Phone: (619) 236-6688
Fax: (619) 231-7918
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Occupy needs your help!
Sweet, thanks!
Contact Marti Emerald and remind her that she of all people should support freedom of speech… the person who answered her phone seemed most sympathetic so far.
No offense to the OBRag or anything but having the OccupySanDiego web pages redirect here does the movement a disservice. It casts an image on the movement that conjurs up all sorts of labels that do more harm than good.
What site is still redirecting to the OB Rag?
occupysd.org goes to the obrag.
http://www.occupysd.org goes to an occupy site.
Try a Ctrl+F5 hard refresh. It’s not redirecting to OB Rag for me anymore, it redirects to http://www.occupysandiego.org.
What a double standard for you to post this up. This is exactly what A.S.A.SD.org has done to this community. It has set president when it pushed for “Restrictive Permitting” this alone bottle necked all medical marijuana users to be forced out of the city and go only to the one they (A.S.A.SD.org) associate with. I suggest you look and listen to what is happening in San Diego. Can you see what type of light is shown on you now? They sat and watch as the liaison stole work to self promote himself while all the board members sat by and said nothing knowing who’s work it was.
What a job they did blinding you to the real truth. I suggest a look at TheWeedlyNews.com and see it unveiled
And what does your comment have to do with this post?
This might be a distinction without difference to some, but Tuna Harbor Park is Port District space. The city does not directly control it.
Did you San Diego Freedom Occupiers think it was going to be easy to openly challege wealth and power in this city? As a former elected member of city government – mid-city planning board – I write in my forthcoming book, San Diego: 1st City of Empire, about how we are ruled by the most oligarchic elite in the nation.
Wealth and power will not blink at your honesty, will not listen to your truth nor fail to attack your bravery.
You cannot butt heads with the establishment, who control the cops and the courts, without getting brusied, much less, win a measure of fair treatment. I know several of the more liberal City Council people personally, to whom you suggest we plea for your Constitutional rights to free speech and assembly, but it is election time and like all politicians, they will turn a deaf ear to your message so that corporate campaign donations will continue to flow into their pockets.
While I am intoxicated by your spontaneity and instinct driven movement; I think, soberly, that it may be time to regroup and develop some semblance of strategy. San Diego is not New York, where there are tens of thousands of supporters to watch your back. Progressive, peaceniks and power liberals in San Diego will, for the most part, march, carry signs, write letters but when push comes to shove they will abandon you – or any youth or people of color movement which rocks the boat.
My suggestion is to get very creative. Give the night to the power establishment and their blue attack dogs, for now, and sleep in bunches here and there – in the canyons, the riverbed, at churches, private yards or downtown with the homeless. Then, each morning, bring your “moveable” space, your liberated zones, in front of council meetings, mayoral debates, college and university events, fundraising parties of CEO’s and other economic tyrants, sports events, on and on…………
The oligarchy in this city will not allow you to create an “alternative village” in their mist, which, as we all know, would attract the tens of thousands of local youth who are angry at their victimization by a system of greed and exploitation.
Get donations, rent a warehouse; then, create a moveable encampment; do whatever is needed; but please, dear God, don’t go away. All of us old codgers and, increasingly, many young folks, need you to liberate us from the evil American Empire as well as our own fear-driven chains. The Mayan people have a saying, “you make the path by walking.” Help us all make that first step. Thanks.
Rocky Neptun, Director, San Diego Renters Union
Good points, Rocky. I hope you can express these at a GA meeting so that we are not left leaving Civic Center with no plan. I look at OSD as a full-time job (which I currently don’t have) demonstrate 9-5 at Civic Center and if kicked out, then sleep elsewhere, but always be present in the daylight and keep the signs and flags held high until the message sinks in: We are all the 99% and we are not stopping until changes are made.
I called the Mayor’s office and, with respectful language, expressed my concern that there is not a free speech area in San Diego. The U.S. Constitution does not say that we have the right to assemble between certain hours. I was told that my concern would be forwarded. I insisted that feedback as to how this can be resolved is required. My call was sent to the Mayor’s Policy Director’s voice mail and I left a message.
The next call was Councilwoman Emerald’s office. An aide listened very well and I hope to get a reply as to how the Councilwoman will be supportive of peaceful assembly. The aide responded to encouragement that creativity and leadership is not constrained by any organizational chart or jurisdictional boundary; and the Bill of Rights extends to residents of a city. An idea that came up is that the City Council could consider an ordinance to establish a 24-hour free-speech area.
I have been making my phone calls and have used the example of Occupy LA:
“In contrast, the city of Los Angeles seems to have gone out of its way to show solidarity for the movement. The City Council passed a resolution last Thursday to formally support the Occupy LA protesters. Additionally, during the first week that occupiers camped out on the lawn of City Hall, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reportedly handed out plastic ponchos to protect them from the coming rain. ” (HuffPo)
The SDOccupiers need a permanent public space. Period.
You said it correctly, get a permit. Phone call, ” This is E.T. calling . Will you accept charges?” Mr and Mrs San Diego right wing Fascist. they MIGHT even have email at city hall. Email message. Hello I thought i would waste my time and ask that you grant me my constitutional right to …. assemble and you know make hand signals and get my human mic echo on. Oh yeah can i repeat the tired chat ” wall street is for bailouts”
or something like that. Maybe you already heard that. I appreciate that you are not part of that economic injustice. Not that you live off those underhanded shady deals , but they come in handy. I believe that these communications will change you. Thanks
Signed >>>>American Idiot
“float like a butterfly,sting like a bee” maybe the police are doing you a favor. you-all can pickup at a moments notice and move on.
political flash mob tactics might be the way to go. pick targets hall of justice,insurance drugs, oil co’s, banks,banks,banks. make non violent targeted protests.
let us know and hopefully we can by and support you.
Frank:
My 16 year old joined the occupy Irvine, while we were taking a break at Nicks.