Oakland police have canceled all training exercises for next week, which is a "pretty good indication" that the cops are making plans once again to clear out the Occupy camp outside City Hall, according to a source in the Police Department.

The next step - if there is one - would be to cancel police leaves and put out the call for mutual aid from surrounding law enforcement agencies.

According to the source, police brass issued the no-training order just about the time Mayor Jean Quan handed out a warning Tuesday to the Occupy camp that "we cannot ignore violence, property destruction and health and safety issues in Frank Ogawa Plaza."

Plus, Quan said, "neighborhoods are hurting because city services already stretched by budget cuts face additional demands responding to emergencies downtown."

Quan has been under fire from all sides for her handling of the Occupy encampment. Her activist supporters on the left criticized her decision to have police clear out the camp Oct. 25, while others were stunned by her subsequent decision to let the Occupiers return.

The warning comes as some critics are also calling for Quan's recall.

As usual, Quan asked Occupy campers to "dialogue" with her office about a "peaceful resolution" to the encampment.

But apparently, if that doesn't work ...

Power play: If Ed Leedoes come out the winner in Tuesday's mayoral race in San Francisco, it will be the capper to one of the biggest political plays in San Francisco history.

From Lee's emergence out of the shadows of City Hall until election day, it was former Mayor Willie Brown and Chinatown powerhouse Rose Pak who were pulling the strings. First they worked with Gavin Newsomto persuade the Board of Supervisors to name Lee interim mayor, then they talked him into running, and finally they delivered the key money and endorsements, said University of San Francisco political science Professor Corey Cook.

It all proves once again "that Willie Brown is the smartest guy in the room, no matter what room it is," Cook said.

Pak brought Lee into City Hall during the Art Agnos administration, and he spent the next 20 years working with what he likes to call the "city family." Others call it the "permanent government" of city department heads, union leaders, nonprofit chiefs and city commissioners who manage to survive every change in mayoral administrations.

"And you can see that relationship with things like pension reform, where (Lee) went for a consensus solution," Cook said.

Brown may have pushed Lee to where he is now, "but that doesn't mean that Willie is going to control him," Cook said. "One look at Lee's track record so far shows that the relationship is a lot more nuanced than that."

And indeed, one of Lee's first moves as interim mayor was to engineer the ouster of Brown's good buddy Nathaniel Ford as head of Muni.

Indebted: Win or lose, one of Lee's first chores in the coming months will be retiring a $300,000 campaign debt.

Lee, who skipped public financing for his campaign, spent more than $1.7 million in his short sprint to election day - but he raised only $1.4 million, according to election filings. The mounting costs forced Lee to curb his TV buys in the final days of the campaign.

His political team was intent on avoiding running up any more debts than necessary. But Lee's team was also aware that it would be much easier to raise money once he was declared the victor - reaching out to some of the groups and individuals who backed his rivals. Particularly labor groups.

"Campaign debt gets stale," said Chris Gruwell, a lobbyist who raised money for Lee and numerous other candidates this season. "So you have to go fast to get rid of it as soon as possible."

Ranked redo: San Francisco SupervisorsSean Elsbernd and MarkFarrell are moving ahead with their call to end ranked-choice voting in San Francisco.

As for what might replace it? The idea seems to be a June or September primary followed by a runoff in November, thus ensuring a big voter turnout for the final showdown.

If the board balks at putting the ranked redo before voters, look for a signature drive to place it on the ballot.

Heat is on: After a week of appearing on camera to explain why power is still out in some places after an East Coast snowstorm Oct. 30, Connecticut Light and Power Co. President Jeff Butler might be wishing he were back at his old job in San Francisco - in charge of gas and electric operations as senior vice president of PG&E.

Then again ...

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