First Phil Tagami fended off anarchists armed with hammers, poles and spray paint bent on trashing his historic downtown office building. And he did it by racking his shotgun, sending the hippies scattering into the night. Now he’s fending off calls to run for mayor of Oakland after he criticized the city’s handling of the mob current mayor Jean Quan likes to think of as peaceful demonstrators. It’s amazing what a conspicuous display of backbone can accomplish. And that hasn’t gone unnoticed by other Oaklanders…
mercurynews.com has the scoopage:
One Facebook commenter pleaded for Phil Tagami to run for mayor.
Another wrote: “Phil, You have always been my hero, but now you have reached super hero status.”
The long list of comments cascaded below a black-and-white surveillance photo he posted on his own page. It shows Tagami, wearing what appears to be a military tactical vest and carrying a shotgun in his right hand, walking through the lobby of his landmark Rotunda Building.
He obviously wasn’t impressed with the namby-pamby, appeasing attitude he heard coming from the mayor and other officials whose job it was to deal with the situation.
Tagami has been critical of how the city has handled the Occupy Oakland movement, saying the protesters have been handed free reign of the downtown while police officers’ hands have been tied. His story struck a nerve with many online commenters who were fed up with the vandalism and violence accompanying many protests.
But understandably enough, the developer doesn’t seem terribly anxious to dip a toe into shark-infested political waters. Being productive, creating jobs and improving the city in real terms likely takes up enough of his time.
On Friday, Tagami said by phone he hoped to move on from those events, hoping the City Council was moving toward clearing the encampment so business could continue.
And he has no plans to run for mayer — yet.
“Those two things don’t really mix,” the 46-year-old Tagami said of his developer job and running the city. “Maybe when I’m older and wiser.”