Remy Drabkin

Remy Drabkin was born in McMinnville, Oregon. She is the owner of and winemaker at Remy Wines in Dayton, in the Willamette valley in Oregon. Remy started to work in the wine industry when she was 14 years old, “volunteering” by 8, learning to love her craft locally. In 2006 Remy started Remy Wines. Since its inception, Remy Wines has been committed to making great wines in a climate friendly and equitable way, for which the winery and Remy have been nationally recognized. Remy is a graduate of Linfield College and a Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In addition to her public service with the City of McMinnville, Remy sits on the board of Wine Country Pride, a 501(c)3. In 2022, Remy became Mayor Drabkin, first through a unanimous appointment when the former mayor resigned. Remy then won by election the following November. As Mayor, Remy has worked hard to make local government more accessible and to communicate with State and Federal agencies about McMinnville’s needs. She is dedicated to community engagement and public discourse. Mayor Drabkin increased effective communication by regular visits to schools, businesses, sending out a newsletter to constituents, returning the State of the City to a public forum, and led increased Spanish language translation throughout the organization. Mayor Drabkin has hosted many leaders in the last two years to share McMinnville’s story including the Governor, multiple members of Congress, Senators and State Representatives. She has invited and hosted round tables on economic development, housing and child care with the Executive Directors of Children’s Institute, Oregon Housing and Community Services and Business Oregon. Remy has worked hard to knit together her community and built bridges between Councilors and organizations that found themselves at odds. Before becoming Mayor, Remy served two terms on the McMinnville Planning Commission, starting in 2011. She then served two terms on City Council, one term as Council President and on the boards of Visit McMinnville, McMinnville Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and most notably the McMinnville Affordable Housing Commission. During her time on Council, Remy was appointed by Governor Kate Brown as a Director on the Oregon Wine Board. While on the City Council, Mayor Drabkin pioneered the McMinnville Affordable Housing Commission (MAHC). This involved eliminating restrictive code regulations and bringing in over $10 million dollars in partnership-funding for various housing programs. Remy ran MAHC with a budget of $0 dollars yet successfully created a permanent funding stream to have dedicated resources to address housing issues, such as a Navigation Center (drop in center for the unhoused with direct access to services) that is set to open in June of 2024. Mayor Remy is often described as tenacious, and this is an accurate term for someone like Remy who is driven to effective public policy as a non-partisan representative focused on good governance. Throughout her thousands of hours of volunteer work for the City, Remy has focused on housing and economic development for the City of McMinnville and surrounding regions. She works regularly and collaboratively with the Oregon State Legislature, Oregon State University, Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde and McMinnville Economic Development Partnership amongst many other organizations.