[Sfbay-video] 8/10 OEA Teachers To Challenge Jerry Brown And Oakland Police On Free Speech In City Center-Need Video Coverage

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Oakland OEA To Challenge Jerry Brown/Oakland Police On Free Speech Rights





August 5, 2005



The Honorable Jerry Brown, Mayor
City of Oakland
One Frank Ogawa Plaza
(One City Hall Plaza)
Oakland, CA  94612
 

Re:    Mandel, Bob/OEA - Oakland USD

Dear Mayor Brown:

I represent Robert Mandel communard2 at juno.com on behalf of the Oakland
Education Association.  My co-counsel, Matt Ross represents him on behalf of
the National Lawyers Guild. We are asking the City Council to take steps to
protect his right and all of our rights to free speech in City Center and to
support the campaign by the Oakland Education Association to have the
corporations which profit from our community to contribute to its public
education.

I am attaching a leaflet Mr. Mandel has been distributing in City Center and
other public spaces in Oakland.  On June 20, 2005, Mr. Mandel was told by a
security guards from the Shorenstein Corporation that he was trespassing and
after he insisted that he had a right to free speech, he was threatened with
arrest by a police officer of the Oakland Police Department. The letter on
the back of the leaflet is one addressed to Mr. Shorenstein from Ben Visnick
the President of OEA, asking him to participate in convening a meeting of
corporate and community members to discuss supporting legislation which
would place higher taxes on the corporations to enable Oakland Schools to
pay off it's debt, aid the schools and restore democratic control.

While it might be in the interest of Mr. Shorenstein corporation or other
corporations interest to muzzle dissent, criticism and advocacy for change,
we assume that the elected representatives of the citizens of Oakland have
an interest beyond the profits of those corporations. We hope that you will
take the time to place an urgency item on your agenda which supports the OEA
and Mr. Mandel in this campaign and another item which declares that City
Center is a public space that has a history of broad public use and that the
City Council supports the right of unfettered political free speech in such
areas and furthermore directs the police department of the City of Oakland
to cease and desist from any enforcement efforts which would have the effect
of chilling free speech in Oakland and specifically in City Center.
Mr. Mandel and others plan to once again distribute leaflets at the City
Center at the upcoming public concert this coming Wednesday, August 10, 2005
at noon. The OEA welcomes and invites others to join in this campaign and
will be inviting the local media to observe and witness whether the rights
of Oakland citizens to free speech will or will not be protected, both by
Mr. Shorenstein and by the City Council and Oakland Police Department.
 
Can you please let me know if you will support these items or, if not, the
basis for your position?


                     Very truly yours,




                     David N. Weintraub


DNW/lh

Attachment

cc:    OEA  (Ben Visnick)
 NLG  (Carlos Villareal)
 San Francisco Chronicle
 Oakland Tribune




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