The beerchaser's advice for Tina Kotek and Bud Pierce

Part 3 of Don Williams' look at Oregon and its gubernatorial candidates through the lens of its drinking establishments

Photo by BENCE BOROS on Unsplash

Don Williams, who writes Thebeerchaser.com blog, is taking a unique view of Oregon’s gubernatorial race, by matching the candidates with bars around the state. In the first article, he described two bars that candidates for Governor for each party should visit to have meaningful dialogue with Oregonians – not campaign rhetoric, but down-to-earth conversations with bar regulars over beers.

The rest of the articles identify the best bars or breweries for each candidate to visit and chat with locals based on the candidates’ backgrounds, personalities and political positions.  Part II focused on Betsy Johnson, the independent, and Republican Bob Tiernan. Today’s column picks bars for Democrat Tina Kotek and Republican Bud Pierce.

I read that Tina Kotek, a front runner for the Democratic nomination, loves her two dogs Rudy and Teddy, and immediately thought of Sniff Café. I first visited this establishment in 2011, shortly after it was founded. It’s a family-owned business in NW Portland, not far from Kotek’s residence in NE Portland.   

I visited this unique watering hole - the only one at the time that was integrated with a canine day-care and hotel.  If you stopped in for a glass of beer (five taps) or wine during Happy Hour, you got a $1 discount - plus, your pooch got a free romp in the indoor play area. Instead of hard-boiled eggs, sausages or other unhealthy stuff for snacks, Sniff had dog biscuits!!

Unfortunately, while the Sniff Daycare and Hotel still thrives, the bar was discontinued several years ago.  But Kotek should consider their daycare service while traveling to my alternate suggestion – LJ Brewskis on Main Street in Union, Oregon.  That’s because a news article stated, the candidate would never drive her 2004 Honda Civic (250,000 miles on it) “a mile over the speed limit – she’s a very cautious driver.”

LJ Brewskis is a formidable 278 miles from NE Portland with a driving time of 4.5 hours.  And some bars in Eastern Oregon don’t welcome animals as in Portland. I saw signs such as “Keep Your Dog in Your Rig!”  in Prineville and Burns).  

Now why Brewskis?  Kotek is perceived by many as being too close to major Oregon labor unions – her top three campaign contributors as of the last campaign finance reports were labor organizations.  It would be a chance for her to talk with people who are more conservative while staying in “Union” territory – so to speak… (To her credit, she did vote in 2019 to make small cuts to PERS.)

Brewskis is a wonderful saloon.   One reviewer stated, “Super fun place to hang out in Union, Oregon - perhaps the only place to hang out in Union, Oregon!”  It’s a favorite stop for beer and wine lovers and music enthusiasts. Visitors and locals enjoy the hometown hospitality and neighborly atmosphere - appetizers, salads, and burgers, and always a daily special and hand-made dessert.

Now Bud Pierce, a Republican who won the party’s primary in 2016, is a dedicated oncologist, a person of faith, a veteran and a professor at OHSU.  He’s contributed politically to candidates of both parties and called for a more moderate Oregon Republican Party and rescinded support of Trump. 

However, one criticism is that “he’s just kind of boring.”  It doesn’t help that a recent campaign event was at the Waffle Hut in Klamath Falls and he loves to bake carrot cake. Bud could mitigate this perception by having a “meet and greet” at the Old Oregon Tavern in the heart of Lincoln City.  

As stated in the wonderful Letitpour.net blog, “The interior of the Old O reflects the taste of the owners and its rich history as a tavern.  According to one patron who smoked cigarettes and drank beer while attached to a portable oxygen tank, the joint dates to World War II, but maybe earlier.”

It’s a community and when I visited, they had Tye Dye Tuesdays and were having a wake for a regular who died of a heart attack.  A sign said, “Come in and have a drink on Rod.” (not literally…)   

Another guy named Irish Mike, burly, bearded and dressed in motorcycle garb, sat in the back of the bar and motioned me to come back.   With trepidation, I approached. He handed me $2 and said, “It’s your turn to pick the juke box songs.  Don’t screw it up!”  (Fortunately, he liked the Eagles and Van Morrison.)

Bud could get some good feedback and loosen up by spending time at the Old O or the Sportsman Pub and Grub in Pacific City, another classic dive bar.  At the Sportsman, he could see a model bi-plane made from Coors Light cans and chat with interesting patrons.  

I met a woman working on an iPad sitting at the bar who had once been a bouncer in Bozeman, drove semi-trucks for a living, had a graduate degree in math from Oregon State and whose drink-of-choice was Pendleton Whiskey

And why not while he was raising a pint, adopt a new campaign slogan ”For all you do, this Bud’s for you!”