Oakland, Calif.–Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said Wednesday that the city probably would be unable to stop future Occupy demonstrations from shutting down the Port of Oakland and that attempting to do so would require at least 500 police officers, which the city would deploy if the port paid the $1.5 million cost.
In a meeting with Chronicle editors, Quan said that even with that many officers, a handful of protesters could sneak around police lines and shut down the port.
"I don't know what you know about the port, but with the longshoremen it only takes one person with a bike getting through a fence and getting to the gate. Then they stop working and call a mediator," the mayor said.
Her statement came hours after a faction of the Oakland City Council blocked several other members from presenting a directive ordering the city to keep the port open by any legal means necessary during future demonstrations. Councilwomen Jane Brunner, Nancy Nadel, Rebecca Kaplan and Pat Kernighan voted against allowing the proposal to be heard.
City overwhelmed
Port officials and those within Quan's administration had pledged to keep the port open on Dec. 12, but activists were able to shut down shipping operations as part of Occupy Wall Street demonstrations over wealth disparity. Quan said city officials were surprised and overwhelmed by the number of protesters.
Authorities had planned for only about 300 protesters, Quan said. She said that eventually 1,200 protesters showed up. A Chronicle reporter had estimated 3,000 protesters.
Port officials on Wednesday said they had not been informed of Quan's plan to charge for police services during demonstrations.
"This is the first we've heard of this," port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said Wednesday. He said the port hoped to work on avoiding disruptions. "Keeping the port open and operational is how we're going to sustain jobs for the region."
Michael Jacob, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, the lobbying arm of the containerized shipping industry, said he has worries about Quan's plan.
"We're concerned about any port costs that increase the overall cost of shipping goods for the Port of Oakland and make the port less competitive," he said. "At the end of the day, we're very sensitive to prices."
Police have told The Chronicle that they were ordered not to engage with the protesters during the Dec. 12 port action. Protesters blocked roads and jumped onto trucks that were waiting to enter the port while police stood by. Quan said the call to clear the roads would have been a tactical decision of the police chief.
Taking the heat
"I'm really curious as to why I'm getting all the blame for all of it. I understand why politically, but … the port and we thought 300 cops would be enough. It wasn't enough. So interim Police Chief Howard Jordan couldn't feel like he could do more than he did. It was his call," she said.
Retailers unhappy
The port has seven shipping terminals, four of which were blocked that day, costing the port an estimated $4 million to $8 million.
Quan said it is "absolutely" impossible to promise the port will stay open during future protests.
The Chronicle reported Wednesday that major retailers, including Target, Walgreens, J.C. Penney and Crate & Barrel, are threatening to pull out of the Oakland port and move business to the Port of Los Angeles. Quan said she was unaware of any specific threats by businesses.
"Are businesses threatening to leave? Maybe. That's why we have to have a discussion with the Bay Area community about the economic harm," Quan said.
She made clear, however, that the costs of keeping the port open would not fall on the city of Oakland.
Future protests could prompt "the port to ask the police chief to develop a plan to keep roads open," and the chief "has said he could do that with 500, 600 officers. And if the port wants to pay for that, we can do that."
Police in riot gear
At least two City Council members – Brunner and Nadel – oppose the use of police in riot gear to deter protesters.
"Our police really help us in the city, but they're not the answer for a social movement," Brunner said during Tuesday night's council meeting in which she and others blocked the directive from being heard.
The directive was introduced by council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Libby Schaaf, who said they feared that Occupy Oakland would shut down the port again before the end of the year and that police needed direction before then. So far, Occupy has not announced any further port actions.
The directive would have ordered City Administrator Deanna Santana, who oversees police actions, to do what was necessary "to prevent future shutdowns or disruptions" at the port.
Quan's critics
De La Fuente and Schaaf said they believe Quan, who has the unilateral authority to direct police, failed to appropriately deal with the Dec. 12 demonstration.
The discussion at Tuesday's council meeting brought out scores of Occupy activists and supporters, as well as a handful of port officials.
Jacob of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association told the council he feared that the repeated shutdowns would scare away investors, who are critical to the port's growth.
"We need to grow cargo there," he said. "We need to finance the commitments we made as companies and tenants and customers that help us finance the commitments to the port."
Other speakers, including representatives of several unions, repeatedly brought up what they considered the aggression of police in response to Occupy Oakland demonstrations on the nights of Oct. 25 and Nov. 2. During those nights, police used tear gas, batons, bean bags and rubber bullets to quell the protest. Many of those police actions came in response to projectiles being thrown at officers, fires being lit or buildings illegally occupied.
"You have blood on your hands," said Eric Larsen, an executive board member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 444.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan says "one person with a bike getting through a fence" at the port would be enough to get longshore union members to stop working "and call a mediator." Photos by Judy Walgren / The Chronicle
