Head of troubled Oregon liquor commission abruptly retires

Craig Prins, the state administrator tapped by Gov. Tina Kotek to steady the beleaguered Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, announced Thursday his abrupt retirement after two years on the job.

Prins, 55, told the commission of his plans to leave the agency during the commission meeting.

He said his retirement is effective July 1. His salary is about $233,000.

“I am very proud of what we accomplished since I came on board,” he said.

He said the decision is a personal one.

“I really feel this is the right decision for my family,” he said.

Chair Dennis Doherty praised Prins for steadying the agency and said he knew Prins had planned to stay for only two years when he took the job.

“I said, OK, but I held on to you for what, two years, four months,” Doherty joked.

Prins leaves at a critical time for the agency as it shepherds a major new warehouse project in Clackamas County and rebuilds its ranks after the departures of top managers.

The agency regulates the sale of liquor in Oregon, generating a projected $576 million for the current two-year budget.

Kotek’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about plans for Prins’ replacement.

Prins came to the OLCC from the Oregon Department of Corrections, where he served as longtime inspector general. He succeeded OLCC director, Steve Marks, whose tenure was clouded by a bourbon diversion scandal that engulfed the liquor commission and led to turnover in its upper-management ranks.

Kotek at the time said Prins would “correct the course of the commission and support the employees doing the work everyday.”

Prins has a long career in state government and held management positions at the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission and the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

Earlier this year, he was investigated by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for leaving a work conference in Florida to attend the Orange Bowl.

An employee complained that Prins had potentially misused state resources on the trip; the investigation concluded that Prins paid for his own game ticket and rental car when he attended the high-stakes semifinal college football game between Notre Dame and Penn State.

He did not misuse state money, the investigator found, but the report noted that Prins drove to the game during work hours, later submitting a request for 4.5 hours of time off “after being notified of this investigation.”

Prins bought the ticket a week in advance but did not tell his boss about it until the morning of the game and then asked to skip out on the afternoon meetings at the conference, according to the investigation.

Prins said the allegation was “thoroughly investigated” and did not find wrongdoing.

Prins took over the leadership of the liquor commission after a 2022 human resources investigation concluded Marks and five other managers used their positions to access prized bourbon.

The managers bought highly sought-after bourbon that had been held in reserve, a supply known as safety stock, an internal investigation found.

The managers said they had the bottles sent to liquor stores, where they purchased it and that they kept it for themselves or gave the liquor as gifts, according to the investigation. All denied reselling the bottles, which are coveted on the secondary market.

— Noelle Crombie is an enterprise reporter with a focus on criminal justice. Reach her at 503-276-7184; ncrombie@oregonian.com