Approved by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly 10-31-11:

RESOLUTION TO PREVENT DELIBERATE MISREPRESENTATION OF OCCUPY OAKLAND

As Occupy Oakland’s profile and power have grown, politicians, police, and other established authorities have begun trying to open lines of communication with Occupy Oakland, and wish to identify representatives of our movement with whom they can negotiate demands. Their proposed transaction frames our power as a commodity that we have wrested from established authorities, and we are expected to give it back it to them – to spend it – in return for their meeting certain demands.

The purpose of this resolution is to discourage people and organizations from representing themselves as delegates of or negotiators for Occupy Oakland without the sanction of the General Assembly, and thus to preserve the power Occupy Oakland is building and ensure that it remains within the General Assembly. We know that such meetings have already been happening and this resolution shall serve a warning to would-be opportunists that we will not tolerate usurpation (by supposed allies) of what we are building.

BEGIN PROPOSAL:

Occupy Oakland hereby asserts that the only line of communication with Occupy Oakland is the General Assembly and our committee meetings. Unless they have the full knowledge and support of the General Assembly, no person or group shall participate in any formal meeting with established authorities intended to shape or inform official policies toward Occupy Oakland. This includes meetings containing significant discussions of Occupy Oakland’s logistics, communications, group dynamics and politics, strategies for managing our activities, or our demands. If it is demonstrated that any person or organization deliberately entered or participated in such a meeting without the fully informed consent of the General Assembly, Occupy Oakland will issue a public statement and press release containing our evidence and details of their actions, disavowing any connection between that individual (and any groups they were representing) and Occupy Oakland, condemning their unprincipled behavior, and discouraging supporters from future collaboration with individuals and groups involved in the meeting. Proposals for public statements must be presented to the GA and will be released upon the agreement of 60% of the Assembly.

END PROPOSAL

A copy of this resolution shall be sent to the Oakland Police Department, the City Council members, and the Mayor’s Office, with the expectation that they will not problematize the situation of any community organizations they communicate with by engaging them in such conversations without showing them this resolution. Community groups shall be encouraged to be a part of Occupy Oakland by joining our the General Assembly, and information on how to participate in the GA shall be made available to instruct them in how to properly and effectively do this. Meetings that have occurred prior to this resolution are exempted. Private or casual conversations are exempted.

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