Interesting write-up on Alan Graf in the Tribune today

[0rganism]

Laying down the law
Hippie lawyer’ Alan Graf quits career defending local activists for life on the Farm
By TODD MURPHY Issue date: Tue, Nov 29, 2005
The Tribune
It’s his mother’s fault, Alan Graf figures. No, he doesn’t mind seeking out a bit of attention. Can even use it to his advantage — and has, dozens of times over the years.

Seeking attention, making noise, for no good reason other than to turn the spotlight on himself, is what Graf’s detractors — city leaders and others who’ve tangled with him over the years — call it, anonymously. He throws media bombs just to throw media bombs, they’ll say.

Guerrilla theater. Guerrilla theater for positive change, is what Alan Graf calls it.

And Graf figures it partly goes back to his mother.
“My mother, God rest her soul, when she walked into a room, she did demand attention,” Graf says. “I probably did inherit some of that. But she forced it on me!”

Forced it on him because Alan Graf — possibly Portland’s most notable legal leftist, and the 55-year-old lawyer who this year helped wrest more than $800,000 from city of Portland coffers because of police actions against Portland protesters — wasn’t always up front and in your face....
more at http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=32849

Definitely one of the notable Portlanders over the past decade, he will be missed. His activism will be missed, and his call-in shows on KBOO will be missed. I had halfway hoped that eventually he'd run for a spot on the council, maybe even for mayor -- sort of a Bud Clark character with a legal background -- but I guess that would have been too close to the establishment for his taste. He seems to be the kind of person who grows through challenging authority, rather than becoming authority. Oh well, our loss is Tennessee's gain.

Alan's website: http://www.hippielawyer.com/

[funflower]

1. Alan is Alan, but who else will do what he does?

Somebody needs to take on the Portland Police!