It was only fitting that the final remembrance of Bud Clark, the “citizen-mayor” who epitomized the city’s keep-it-weird culture and was responsible for many of Portland’s enduring symbols, felt more like a party than a funeral.
Several hundred people gathered in a rainy Pioneer Courthouse Square as Mel’s B-3 Organ Group serenaded the damp crowd on Sunday, many sporting roses on their lapels, one of Clark’s signature looks, to remember the man who many credit with putting Portland on the national stage.
Mike Lindberg, a former City Commissioner who served for the entirety of Clark’s tenure, recalled the former mayor as a unique and iconic figure in Portland politics.
“He was such an intelligent, complex person in so many ways,” Lindberg said. “He came into office and wanted Portland not just to be known as a friendly city, but for all its citizens to feel like one big family.”
Clark, who served as Portland’s top elected official from 1985 through 1992, died Feb. 1 at the age of 90 after he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure in October.
Clark worked for years as the successful owner of two taverns, the now-defunct Spatenhaus and the Goose Hollow Inn, which is still run by his daughter, Rachel Clark.
He had no inclination to run for office before the mayoral election of 1984, but he’d
become disenchanted with the incumbent, Frank Ivancie, because of Ivancie’s reaction to student protests at Portland State University and a host of other issues.
After waiting months for someone more qualified to step up and run, Clark announced his candidacy and would go on to oust the incumbent. In one of the biggest upsets in Portland political history, he walked away with more than 54% of the vote in the primary and avoided the November runoff.
The day after the election, Clark poled a canoe to City Hall sporting a pair of shorts and a fishing vest. Images of the mayor-elect were splashed across newspaper pages around the country and landed him a spot on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
The culture Clark cultivated in City Hall stood in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, a strait-laced conservative who was often escorted to work by a police detail. Clark rode his bike to his downtown office, often stopping to talk to as many of his constituents as he could on the way.
“He came in at a time when City Hall was very closed off and insular,” said Jonathan Nicholas, a former metro columnist for The Oregonian who covered the Clark administration. “He literally threw open the doors to both City Hall and his own office.”
Clark’s willingness to engage with anyone who would talk to him was only matched by his pragmatism, with a nearly singular focus on getting things done, said Jack McGowan, who served as Clark’s press secretary for part of his first term.
Clark was instrumental in securing funding for construction of the Oregon Convention Center, which was built during his administration and now has a hall named in his honor. He expanded the downtown transit hub, established Bike to Work Day in the city and championed a community policing model.
“His compass was always pointed north, and north for him was honesty,” McGowan said. “You could doubt his words or his style, but you could never doubt his integrity. He led through sheer perseverance. The rest of us just followed along.”
Rachel Clark said the warmth and sincerity that earned her father so many fans in City Hall carried over to his home life and stayed with him until the very end.
“When people asked him to run again, which happened often, he always said ‘It’s your turn,” Rachel Clark said as she remembered “Papa Bud” as an avid lover of nature, conversation and his extended family.
Rachel Clark said her father had a “gentle decline” after his heart troubles were diagnosed, taking trips to his beloved Deschutes River and making drives through the Columbia River Gorge in the months before his death.
He celebrated his final birthday in December at the Goose Hollow Inn, affectionately known to its patrons and staff as simply “The Goose,” Rachel Clark said.
“He wanted me to tell you something,” she said to the crowd. “He loved this city and he loved all of you.”
– Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
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