In a move that some bar owners will almost certainly see as long overdue, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has moved Jason Evers, the Bend-based regional manager of the organization who has been accused by licensees as using unfair and allegedly retaliatory enforcement tactics, out of his current position to one in Medford. Also, it appears that an outside investigation into the OLCC’s enforcement practices will soon be underway.
Bend City Councilor Jodie Barram, who has been involved in the ongoing dialogue between liquor licensees, local government officials, tourism representatives and the OLCC, confirmed Evers’ relocation to Medford this morning during a conversation with the governor’s office, but said it wasn’t determined what position Evers would hold there. In that conversation, Barram also learned that the Department of Justice will soon begin investigating the enforcement practices of the OLCC.
Although Barram said this is a step in the right direction for the OLCC, she insisted that it’s hardly the end of the road in the process to rebuild the community’s sense of trust in the OLCC.
“I think it was a good step to rebuild the trust between the local licensees and the OLCC and I think now that trust is being rebuilt. Time will tell if the goal of equal enforcement comes to fruition. So, that’s going to take time to assess,” said Barram.
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2009.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
ding dong, the wicked witch is dead. it’s about time olcc. nice move, albeit two years too late. now let’s finish the job and get the rest of your act together in bend. no more weird mafia like bs. no more archaic impossible to understand rules. no more strangling local entrepreneurs. whatever it is that you’re supposed to be doing, do it with some competence and ethics. it will be a new thing for you, but who knows, you might just like it. and mr. evers, good luck and good riddance.
Sorry “guest’ but if you think the reason that Mr. Evers was relocated was because bars were over pouring you have not been paying attention. The OLCC through a systemic process of intimidation, obfuscation, and out right lies drove this communities licensee to the brink of financial distress. You do not get the response from elected officials D and R for change fro bars over pouring.
“Guest” I find it *interesting* that you post anonymously. But, by my last glance, the issue with the OLCC wasn’t with the bars serving “public drunks”. Bend Brewfest was cancelled, a major draw and influx of tourist cash from other parts of the state. Have you noticed the economic doom and gloom in Bend? Well, the OLCC is doing their part to make it worse. The other high profile issue was when Josh, owner of Astro, served *himself* in *his own bar*. Not “public drunks”. Or, forcing Silver Moon to disallow minors starting at 6:00pm while Deschutes serves them until 11pm. Or telling local restaurant owners they should have checked the *architecture and layout* of the restaurant with the OLCC before building, or worse, leasing a previously built space. Or, threatening fines when a minor walks thru an aisle way to get to the bathroom in a place like Flatbread Community Oven. Or, laws against advertising “happy hour”, a time honored tradition the world over. In fact, guest, very few of the complaints against the OLCC have had anything to do with “public drunks”. Ingorance is bliss, though.
Just a note, while the world over may advertise, advertising happy hour outside of a bar in Oregon has always been against administrative rule. Usually we are warned and then given a ticket if we do it again. I live in Willamette Valley and we get the same conversation over here. The manager didn’t create random laws in this particular case, he just enforced them. Who knows, maybe the bar owner had been warned before…??