Stuart rocks out, Clark County style

Last week I wrote about Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt and his love of the Clark County Fair. But there are two commissioners who were born and raised in Clark County, and if Boldt’s theme song could be “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” then Steve Stuart’s could be, well, whatever song comes to mind when you see this:

Since we blogged about Battle Ground Deputy Mayor Phil Haberthur attending a Britney Spears concert, I felt Stuart’s attendance at the New York Dolls/Poison/Motley Crue show last week merited a post.

While Haberthur watched Spears’ concert from the comfort of his law firm’s suite at the Rose Garden in Portland, Stuart dressed up and walked around the fair before the show at the Sleep Country Amphitheater.

He even went up to the Clark County Democrats’ booth, where the volunteers ignored him until they realized the long-haired dude in the sunglasses was actually the only ‘D’ on the Board of County Commissioners. (The fact Stuart’s wife, Heather, walked up was a clue.)

Stuart kept the wig on once inside the amphitheater. He said he saw Justin Kobluk — executive director of the fairgrounds and the person responsible for ensuring every detail in the Crue’s 40-page tour rider was taken care of — and yelled, “Hey, square, what’s your problem?”

“Kobluk stopped, looked over at me with an annoyed look, then shook his head and laughed when I took my glasses off and smiled at him,” Stuart wrote in an email.

As for the show, Stuart, who did later take off the wig, said his favorite song was “Live Wire” by the Crue.

“They played it early in the set and it was perfect to get the crowd fired up. I was never a big fan of glam metal, so their early stuff like Live Wire was more my speed. They really did rip it up, though, as did Poison and New York Dolls,” Stuart wrote.

Midway through the show, Stuart and his wife were joined by Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, who sent Andrea a text with a photo of Poison playing what must be his favorite power ballad, “Every Rose Has Its Thorns.”

Glad to see that a potential run for Congress can’t break apart this bromance.