Queena Kim

Mayor Ed Lee discusses Occupy SF at a Board of Supervisors meeting Oct. 18, 2011

Interim Mayor Ed Lee on Tuesday walked a fine line between supporting growing anti-Wall Street protests and justifying the money San Francisco has spent responding to the Occupy SF encampment.

In an appearance before the Board of Supervisors Tuesday afternoon, Lee said the city had spent about $100,000 "accommodating" the protests.

He did not specify where the money went, but his spokeswoman, Christine Falvey, told The Bay Citizen via email that about $80,000 was spent on the San Francisco Police Department. The rest, she said, went to public health and public works costs such as cleaning the encampment and providing porta potties.

During the meeting, Lee appeared to read from a prepared statement as he expressed “full” support for the Occupy movement and reminded supervisors of his past as a community advocate.

The mayor was interrupted by a heckler, to whom he responded, “We are working with you to help raise your voice peacefully and we will protect and defend your right to speech.”

But that’s not the same as “pitching tents and lighting fires in public spaces and parks that are meant for use by everyone in our city,” Lee said.

His remarks were in response to a question from Supervisor Jane Kim, who asked the mayor how city departments ranging from public health to police to parks are working to both “address public health concerns and the costs associated with that, and protect the First Amendment right of Occupy SF participants.”

Kim, as well as supervisors John Avalos, Eric Mar and Ross Mirkarimi, expressed support for the Occupy movement and called on San Francisco to set an example in accommodating this new form of protest.

About 50 people appeared at the supervisors' meeting in support of Occupy SF. During the public comment period, some urged the city to move its money to credit unions, while others complained about how police treated protesters.