PORTLAND, Ore. — Bud Clark, who served as mayor of Portland from 1985 to 1992, has died at the age of 90, a family member confirmed Tuesday.
During his two terms as mayor, Clark became known for his "whoop, whoop!" greeting, riding his bike to work and an iconic photo of him "exposing himself to art."
Clark lived in the Rose City for most of his life. He moved to town in 1938 when he was 6 years old. In 1967, he opened the Goose Hollow Inn, a tavern in Northwest Portland.
Clark was elected to his first term as mayor as a bar owner with no previous political experience. It was one of the greatest political upsets in Oregon history. His ascension to mayor began as a challenge to beat the unchallenged incumbent, Frank Ivancie.
Clark's former press secretary Jack McGowan shared about the moment Clark told his family he would run.
“It was Christmas and Bud slammed his fist on the table dinner and said ‘Damnit, if nobody's going to run, I'm going to run!'” said McGowan.
Last May, in what would be his final interview with KGW, Clark recalled the moment he knew he'd won, a full week before election day.
“There was a parade in St. Johns,” said Clark. “The former mayor was in the front of the parade and I was in the back of the parade. They weren't giving very good greetings to the mayor in the front of the parade and they were cheering me in the back and that's when he first realized he was in trouble.”
McGowan said Clark would make time for everyone, from the citizens he served to celebrities.
“I remember that Pete Townshend from The Who came in and wanted to meet with Bud,” said McGowan. “Bud would just scratch his head because after work we'd all sit down on the floor in the mayor's office and have a beer and Bud would take off his shoes and we would discuss city policy… We had a man who unabashedly loved his city and wanted to get things done and the ego was never there.”
During Clark's time as mayor, the city built the Oregon Convention Center and extended the downtown transit mall. He helped the city recover from a recession.
“He was the people's mayor,” said Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury.
Kafoury's mother, Gretchen Kafoury, served on Portland City Council with Clark. Kafoury remembers Clark for the example he set.
“He loved Portland so deeply and Portland loved him because of his authenticity,” said Kafoury. “He didn't feel the need to try to be anybody else.”