Ramonans Join 'Occupy Wall Street' Rally in San Diego

A loosely structured protest movement that formed in New York City three weeks ago to decry the perceived sins of banks, corporations, political elites and other power brokers drew support in San Diego Friday as hundreds of chanting demonstrators took to the streets.

Among them were at least seven people from Ramona, according to Dave Patterson, a member of a liberal progressive group called and a former honorary mayor of Ramona. He estimated the crowd to be close to 1,000 people. He said the Ramonans there are not all members of the forum and that they are "from all walks of life."

Local supporters of the campaign—which began as a rally dubbed "Occupy Wall Street'' before spreading across the country—gathered at Children's Park in the Marina district in the late afternoon before marching north to Civic Center Plaza at City Hall for a demonstration and "sit-in.''

There were no reports late Friday afternoon of unruly behavior or illegal activity among participants.

The event was staged "in protest of the global financial corruption currently invading politics, media and corporations, exemplified by the recent financial-industry meltdown and subsequent recession,'' according to the group's website.

Participants would "peacefully occupy'' the public courtyard indefinitely, or until they got desired action from "all levels of government, including the city and county of San Diego, the state of California, the federal government and ... private and public banks and corporations,'' the announcement stated.

The group did, however, agree to yield the plaza Friday evening to make
way for an observation of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur that previously had
been scheduled for Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Organizers of the protest rally did not immediately detail their self-described "list of demands.''

The ongoing demonstration will include marches, sit-ins, educational programs, "practice of the democratic process'' and "general assembly meetings wherein solutions to overlapping issues are identified,'' the group's online message asserted.

Ray Lutz, a spokesman for the local offshoot of the movement, encouraged
San Diegans to take part.

"The Occupy Wall Street movement is sweeping across the country,'' he said. "People from all walks of life, political persuasions and occupations are joining together to demand that our economic system become more just. Join our movement. With you, we can bring about change.''

The "occupiers,'' many of them young adults, have gathered in recent weeks in dozens of cities, including Los Angeles. The rallies have been largely peaceful, though in New York some protesters have scuffled with police, and hundreds there have been arrested.

—City News Service contributed to this report.