Oregon’s long-running debate over buying vodka alongside vegetables is back, but shoppers will not be grabbing spirits at the grocery checkout anytime soon. A new initiative would let certain larger grocery stores sell bottled liquor, challenging the state’s tightly controlled retail system. For now, the proposal has only cleared an early procedural hurdle.
Two Portland residents, David John Allison and Kyle LoCascio, are behind the proposed 2028 measure, which received a draft ballot title from the Oregon attorney general’s office Friday. OregonLive reported that the effort is another attempt to move Oregon away from its state-regulated liquor-store model.
Oregon Secretary of State election records show the petition’s organizers submitted sponsorship signatures for verification in July, with 1,472 signatures confirmed last Thursday. The proposal is now open to public comment, with comments on the draft title and the petition’s constitutional procedures due by August 14.
What The Grocery Liquor Proposal Would Change
The proposed measure would allow grocery stores larger than 4,000 square feet that already sell beer, wine or cider to seek licenses for bottled distilled liquor and low-proof spirit beverages. The petition text would also let licensed retailers set their own prices and create a new wholesale channel for spirits.
Supporters are pitching the plan as a convenience and competition measure, while also attempting to preserve public revenue. Under the proposal, retailers would pay the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission a monthly amount tied to the agency’s average net markup, with excess revenue directed toward sobering centers, substance-use prevention and addiction-treatment workforce programs.
That would represent a major change from the current setup. The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission says more than 280 independent retail agents sell distilled spirits in every Oregon county, with the agency centrally purchasing, warehousing and distributing the products.
Another Round In Oregon’s Liquor Privatization Debate
The idea has repeatedly run into organized opposition from liquor-store interests, unions and parts of the alcohol industry. Willamette Week reported that similar privatization campaigns have failed before, including a grocery-backed effort that most recently fell short in 2022.
The Northwest Grocery Retail Association has supported broader grocery access to hard liquor in the past, but the group said it was not involved in Allison and LoCascio’s filing. That distinction could matter if the proposal eventually needs the money, staffing and statewide organization required for a signature drive.
The Proposal Still Needs A Lot More Signatures
The 1,472 verified signatures were enough to move the initiative into the ballot-title process, not enough to put it before voters. Under Oregon’s initiative rules, a statutory measure generally needs valid signatures equal to at least 6% of the votes cast for governor in the most recent election.
That leaves the 2028 liquor proposal with several steps ahead, including a certified ballot title, approval to circulate and a much larger signature campaign. If organizers clear those hurdles, Oregon voters could eventually face a choice between the state’s current liquor-store system and a grocery aisle stocked with something stronger than pinot noir.
