Bud Clark

Infobox_Politician
name = Bud Clark


office = 44^th Mayor of Portland, Oregon
term_start = 1985
term_end = 1992
predecessor = Frank Ivancie
successor = Vera Katz
office2 =
term_start2 =
term_end2 =
predecessor2 =
successor2 =
constituency2 =
office3 =
term_start3 =
term_end3 =
predecessor3 =
successor3 =
party =
date of birth =
place of birth=
date of death =
place of death=
spouse =
profession = Restaurateur
religion =
footnotes =

J.E. “Bud” Clark is an Oregon businessman who served as Mayor of Portland, Oregon, from 1985 to 1992. A left-leaning populist with little political experience before his mayoral bid, he was one of Portland's most colorful political figures.

Before and after his two terms as mayor, Clark was a businessman and restaurateur. He owns the Goose Hollow Inn, a tavern in Southwest Portland which serves “the Best Reuben on the Planet”. Clark is known for his eccentricities. He commuted to work by bicycle, and was known for his distinctive cry of “Whoop, Whoop!” Prior to his election as mayor, he was perhaps best known as the raincoat-wearing model for a poster titled “Expose Yourself to Art”, [http://www.photographicimage.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=620&step=4] in which he appeared to expose himself to a nude female public statue, "Kvinneakt", in downtown Portland. [cite news
last=Schrag
first=John
title=This Bud's for you
url=http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=6082
work=Willamette Week
date=2005-03-09
accessdate=2007-03-19] [ [http://www.photographicimage.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=620&step=4 Photographic Image Gallery, On-line Photo Gallery ] ]

In 1984 he ran for mayor because no other candidate would come forward to challenge Francis J. Ivancie. Clark won in the primary with 54.6% of the vote. He was re-elected in 1988 after defeating 11 candidates in the primary and beating former Chief of Police Ron Still in the general.

As mayor, Clark created the nationally recognized 12 Point Homeless Plan, supported the growth of mass transit, including the MAX Light Rail line to Hillsboro, Oregon, aided downtown development, and initiated and led the campaign to build the Oregon Convention Center.

"Bud" Clark also sanctioned The Mayor's Ball, an annual charity event featuring independent musicians from all over the Pacific Northwest. It could be argued that The Mayor's Ball was instrumental in building a music scene that helped to fuel the Nineties' grunge movement. The Mayor's Ball ended after the election of Vera Katz. A spokesperson for Portland's current mayor, Tom Potter, said that the event cost Bud Clark's office $45,000. Potter later admitted that it also pulled in nearly $80,000. [http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=321185&category=37854]

Upon taking office in 1985, Clark found that the previous mayor had reduced the city's reserves of $27 million down to a few thousand dollars. Fire and Police had just received a 10% wage increase which meant the budget had to be redone in his first months in office. Managing the city resources with the Portland City Council, Clark left the city 8 years later with $20 million in reserves and an award from the AMBAC Corporation for Portland as the Best Managed city of its size in the USA. After his second term, Clark retired from public life and resumed his career as a tavern owner.

References

External links

* [http://www.goosehollowinn.com/ Bud Clark's Goose Hollow Inn]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9400E0DB173BF935A35755C0A965948260 Turner, Wallace; “How Bud Clark Got Angry and Switched Draft Beers at His Goose Hollow Inn”,] "New York Times", 6 June 1983.
* [http://www.bta4bikes.org/gear/budclarksociety.php Bud Clark Society] of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance
* [http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=118764179168600300 "Still Mayor to Many"] , Jim Redden, "Portland Tribune," August 27, 2007