Portland Mayor Sam Adams on Monday accused protesters associated with the "Occupy Wall Street" movement of losing their focus by fighting with liberal mayors.
"I bet Wall street ill-doers are gleeful about how the #ows movement has gotten so distracted from its original aims," he wrote using the Twitter service TwitLonger. "Often fighting with liberal mayors & cities whose own services are being cut by Wall street caused misdeeds."
Adams said the encampments around the nation were a great way for the movement to start, but called on the demonstrators to change their tactics.
"It was a fantastic way to start a global movement but it is not working anymore," he said. "It needs to evolve. Fast."
Citing an "Occupy Portland" press release, the liberal mayor said there were inherent security and public health problems caused by camping on city grounds.
"Rarely mentioned anymore either by #ows are efforts in the nation's capital that will tear the heart of basic compassion out of this nation," he added.
Adams had voiced his support for the "Occupy Portland" protest that began five weeks ago, but last week he announced that the demonstrators would be forced to abandon encampments at two adjacent city parks. Adams claimed the crack down was necessary because of multiple drug overdoses at the encampment and numerous arrests for various crimes.
The protesters retorted by saying that the problems with the encampment were a reflection of the problems in Portland as a whole.
Thousands of protesters initially delayed police from breaking up the camp late Saturday night and Sunday morning, but officers in riot gear eventually re-took both public parks.
"In response to all this, has our response been perfect? It never is," Adams wrote. "And neither is yours. But together Portland has done better than most."
"I was not going to wait until someone died or was killed," he said.
Photo credit: Reid Beels
