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Protestors prepare for mayoral conference
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by Amanda Novak
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Creative Peoples Resistance, a local group, is searching the nation for protestors in an attempt to recruit people to demonstrate at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Madison this summer.
Demonstrators said the mayor’s conference was planned without the involvement of the community and is elitist. The 70th annual conference will be held at Monona Terrace June 13-18 and is expected to attract more than 600 mayors and guests. Organizers hope President Bush will attend the conference.
To protest the relationship between big business and government, protestors said they are considering organizing a flotilla on the lake. They are also considering an “anti-capitalist walking tour,” “anarcho caddies” aiding mayors on the golf course and organizing a tent at a park as an area free from police repression.
Creative Peoples Resistance is teaming up with the Progressive Dane, a local liberal party, to create a larger protest called Cities for People. Although there is no schedule yet, there are 60 local groups, including the Wisconsin Greens, Urban League of Greater Madison and teacher and labor unions, that are considering joining the protest.
With dozens of local groups getting ready for action, Mayor Bauman and the city police said they are preparing for anything to happen. But city officials said protestors should realize that the city provides numerous services.
Andy Solomon, spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., told the Wisconsin State Journal that legal, nonviolent protests are not a problem.
“We respect everyone’s right to free speech,” Solomon said. “It would be our hope that no one crosses the line to disrupting an important policy meeting.”
