Thursday morning Mayor Sam Adams announced that he was issuing an
eviction notice for Occupy Portland, effective at 12:01 AM Sunday.
While our Mayor has been largely supportive of our protest and our
rights to free speech, the business interests and other associated
lobbying groups were able to exert enough sustained political pressure
to create our coming stand-off with the city. We have about 600
occupiers who stay in our two-block camp, and over 1,000 who are part
of daily activities. Saturday night, we will be holding an
“occufestival” to invite the people of our city down to stand in
solidarity. We are also trying to organize Livestream house-parties
for people who cannot support us physically.
Occupy Portland began on October 6th, in non-violent solidarity with
Occupy Wall Street and all other occupations around the world. We
continue to stand with our fellow human beings around the world, many
of whom have had to face this very situation before us. Our civil
leaders the world over have been perplexed with how to make us stop.
The truth is that we won’t stop. There is nothing they can do to force
us to stop. Many other occupations have faced police action and
eviction. Not a single one of these actions has ended the protest
efforts of the occupy movement in these cities. We will not be the
first place where this tactic succeeds.
Many of our brave fellow occupiers have faced the stark reality of how
thin our rights have truly become, and Saturday night Occupy Portland
will stand with others who have faced the threat of force to non-
violently say no. We will not leave, we will not go away, we will not
be silenced, just as none of you have been. Our efforts are your
efforts, and yours are ours.
Occupy Portland thanks our fellow occupiers all around our planet who
have stood in solidarity with a message that we all feel resonating
within us; a message of compassion, justice and reason. We remember
those who have come before us within this movement, from those
arrested in the early days at the Brooklyn Bridge, to the
demonstrations in Oakland exposing the brutality of police action, to
the persistence of the occupiers in Atlanta. To all those who have
faced this before us, we follow in the incredible footsteps of your
examples, ready to continue our occupation no matter how difficult, no
matter how cold, and no matter how wet it becomes.
The 99% are united in our efforts to be heard. Over 100 years ago, a
coin toss decided this city’s name as Portland. Had the coin flipped
the other way, this would be Boston, Oregon. We all share connection
with each other, sometimes in ways we don’t even understand, and no
matter what you face at your occupation, no matter what we face this
weekend as the police come to arrest hundreds of people in Portland,
we are all members of the human race, united in our efforts to heal
our species from its sickness infecting every aspect of our society,
of our economy, of our relationships, and of our governments.
With Solidarity,
Occupy Portland
Livestream:
http://www.livestream.com/occupyptownWebsite:
http://www.occupyportland.org/PR Team:
press@occupyportland.orgInteroccupation Outreach:
outreach.occupyportland@gmail.comMayor Sam Adams
Phone:
(503) 823-4120 Email:
mayorsam@portlandoregon.gov Twitter: @mayorsamadams
Portland Police
Phone (Central Precinct - Across The Street From Camp): (503)
823-3333
Phone (General):
(503) 823-0000 Fax:
(503) 823-0342City Commissioner Nick Fish (Has been absolutely TERRIBLE)
Phone:
(503) 823-3589Fax:
(503) 823-3596 Email:
nick@portlandoregon.govCity Commissioner Randy Leonard (Mostly reasonable)
Phone:
(503) 823-4682 Email:
randy@portlandoregon.govCity Commissioner Dan Saltzman (The voice of the business lobby)
Phone:
(503) 823-4151 Fax:
(503) 823-3036 Email:
dan@portlandoregon.govCity Commissioner Amanda Fritz (Has been pretty supportive)
Phone:
(503) 823-3008 Email:
Amanda@portlandoregon.gov