Political, community leaders and friends praised the late Portland Mayor Bud Clark after news spread of his death on Tuesday, Feb. 1, by congestive heart failure.

Clark served two terms as mayor from 1985 to 1992. Before and after that, he was known as the colorful founder of the Goose Hollow Tavern in Southwest Portland who loved the outdoors and rode his bicycle everywhere, greeting people with his characteristic “Whoop, whoop” call. He was also known for posing as a flasher in a trenchcoat, his back to the camera, facing a statue in the “Expose yourself to art” poster.

Government leaders remember Clark

Mayor Ted Wheeler had this to say of Clark: “Mayor Bud Clark was an integral part of Portland history with a larger-than-life personality. He leaves behind a legacy of work addressing housing and poverty issues. I am grateful for his friendship and leadership.

Current Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said, “I just read the sad news that former Portland Mayor Bud Clark has passed away at 90 years old. When I moved to Portland 30 years ago, Bud Clark was Portland’s Mayor. It was always a blast to see our own Mayor biking all over the City and being so accessible to the community. I will miss his quick smile and sense of optimism for Portland. I’m holding his loved ones in my thoughts on this tragic day.”

Commissioner Mingus Mapps said, “Heartbroken to hear of the passing of former Mayor Bud Clark. As a two-term mayor his irreverent sense of humor and ‘whoop whoop’ made him a perfect booster for our quirky city. His legacy for downtown revitalization, light rail, and community policing resonates deeply with me today. Thank you for your service to our city, and we will continue to expose ourselves to art.”

Portland-area Congressman Earl Blumenauer said, “Let’s celebrate Bud Clark’s commitment to working together to solve our problems which is so desperately needed now. Bud was one of a kind and we mourn his passing but celebrate a life of service, inspiration and accomplishment. It was an honor to have worked with him on the City Council and to have counted him as a partner and more important as a friend.”

Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said Clark’s influence on her life goes back years before he was mayor to the days when her parents, two longtime Portland politicians, convened in Clark’s Goose Hollow bar with other city leaders. She added that her mother, Gretchen Kafoury, played a role in pushing him to run for mayor.

She described Clark’s humor, style and love for the city as the “real Portland way to be an elected leader.”

“Like most Portlanders, I was enthralled with Bud Clark,” Kafoury said. “To have somebody who was so charismatic and such a big personality as our mayor was a point of pride. People always envisioned a mayor to be a businessman in a suit and tie, wealthy, influential, and here comes this guy who’s got a big beard.”

Clark’s commitment to helping people marked a shift in direction for the city, she said.

In many ways, Clark was ahead of his time on how to address issues like homelessness, Kafoury said, noting his service on the board of Transition Projects, a housing-focused nonprofit, and his 12-point plan to address the issue.

She recently read an article printed in The Oregonian in 1987 about how well — or not well — his homelessness plan was working, saying, “You will read and think, ‘Oh, was this written last week?'”

His gift as a leader was his ability to connect with people, Kafoury said.

“The fact that he was an authentic, real person helped people,” she said. “He was so interested in people.”

The arts community shares memories

Art gallery owner Elizabeth Leach has fond memories of Bud Clark and his politics.

“I loved Bud Clark, I was very impressed when we opened the (Elizabeth Leach) gallery in 1981 in the Fine Arts building, he sent me a note right away. I didn’t really know people were paying attention. He was very aware of what was going on in the community and very aware of how important the arts are to a city, not only culturally, but economically.”

Leach said Clark had good people working for him and was accessible.

“He led in his own way, but he knew what was going on. And he wasn’t afraid to take a stand or be supportive, it really was amazing.”

She says she is not sure if he was involved in the arts before being mayor, but he ran a pub where artists hung out.

Leach believes Clark was an amateur supporter of the arts but when he became mayor he turned that into policy.

Celebrated Portland painter Henk Pander used to live on Southwest Cable Street, a few blocks south of Bud Clark’s Goose Hollow Tavern, and came to know Clark. “I used to cash checks there and eat lunch,” said Pander. “He was a very nice, personable individual. I was kind of curious: He runs a bar and all of a sudden, he becomes mayor of a big city? America sure is a weird country!”

Jane Beebe, owner of the gallery PDX Contemporary Art, remember Clark with fondness.

“We have always lived in Northwest Portland and Bud was around the neighborhood a lot. He was a free spirit who enjoyed life, and a populist mayor. The (Expose yourself to Art) poster illustrated his sense of humor and the ridiculous. He loved the city and the river, music art and beer. He was truly a Portland mayor, a figurehead with the council, running the city. Looking back, it seemed almost utopian. There were a lot of us living in beat up old houses, fixing them up and getting involved in the neighborhood politics. He always had a friendly wave and smile as he passed by on feet, or bike, or canoe.”