Barfight! Surf City Councilman Goes Ballistic on Anti-Alcohol Activist

​Everyone knows downtown Huntington Beach is pretty much overrun with bars full of drunk bros. Including all the alcohol-serving restaurants, there are no less than 38 establishments with liquor licenses downtown. So when Bomberger, a Main Street burger joint, filed an application to serve beer, you'd think few eyebrows would be raised.

But after the city's planning commission denied the restaurant's request, the item came up for discussion at Monday's City Council meeting. That's when councilman Keith Bohr allegedly went stark-raving mad and started railing against the Downtown Business Association's virulently anti-alcohol spokesman, Kim Kramer. Apparently, Bohr was so pissed that he continued attacking Kramer even after Bomberger withdrew its request to have the council appeal the planning commission's vote.

Bohr was so agitated that he continued yammering even after several other council members interrupted him; finally, Mayor Joe Carchio succeeded in getting Bohr to simmer down and shut up. As you might expect, the Bohr-Kramer kerfuffle isn't exactly the first time the two have sparred. Bohr has used his seat at the dais as a bully pulpit, expounding on his long history of not liking Kramer. They've exchanged e-mails, each one accusing the other of being a devious bully.

Besides the fact these two classy gents hate each other's guts, the basic issue appears to be that Bohr likes beer and Kramer does not. To wit: Kramer has been so vocal about his opposition to drunken bros he once had to be escorted from a downtown restaurant after he showed up, clipboard in hand, demanding employees answer questions about occupancy rates and the like. (He had already barged into several other restaurants that day).

The Huntington Beach Independent has a story about Bohr going bat-shit loco that you can read here. And if you're really into watching heated verbal exchanges, there's video and audio you can watch over here.