I like to predict who, in this race, will be the first to respond, based on the question. I’m often right, as I was with this one—Charles Lewis, who runs an arts non-profit (one of the few toward which RACC chips in part of their annual operating expenses), was my pick as the first responder to a question on arts funding.

In a year with $33 million in additional revenue to work with, Mayor Tom Potter’s proposed budget did not include any funding for new arts related requests—like a $200,000 request for Arts Partners, which funds art programs in schools. Moreover, despite Portland’s reputation for arts and culture, we’re far behind other cities in per capita funding of arts. Are the arts a priority for city funding? Should we increase that funding? If so, what would you do as a city commissioner to make that happen?

(As noted yesterday, $150,000 has since been granted to Arts Partners… but we’re still behind overall!)

Charles Lewis
Position sought: Commissioner #1
Website: charleslewis.com
Financial status: $150,000 in public funding, $95,469.78 currently in the bank

I have spent the last ten years developing Ethos Music Center into a nationally recognized arts nonprofit that reaches over 2,200 children in our community. Ethos was founded in response to massive budget cuts that decimated funding for music education in Portland Public Schools. Currently, only half of all public schools in Portland have a certified music instructor. This is simply unacceptable. Funding for the arts needs to be increased, particularly in our public schools.

The Portland region ranks 24th in the nation with regards to government arts funding. We should set a goal of breaking into the top ten nationally. In order to do this, we will need to work with the Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah County governments. As Executive Director of Ethos Music Center, I have built connections with private donors who are interested in funding grassroots level arts programs. I have a decade of experience finding creative ways to fund crucial arts programs. As a City Commissioner, I will bring together elected officials from all levels of government in the region to find a way to increase government spending on the arts.

The question brings up the topic of a specific program that the Mayor chose not to fund. On the surface, I agree with the goals of the “Arts Partners” collaboration. I certainly believe that every child deserves to have access to the arts. This belief was what drove me to create an arts nonprofit for underserved children. However, the Arts Partners collaboration has failed to provide an adequate blueprint for what they will do for the Portland Arts Community and our children. I have spoken with a number of people who work at small and medium sized grassroots arts organizations who are confused as to the intentions of the Arts Partners collaboration and concerned about what this apparently top-down initiative will mean for the future of our organizations. In addition, several of Ethos’ staff members attended Arts Partners meetings and came away with the feeling that this project was being forced on the community and that it is not a true partnership whatsoever — that’s not acceptable.

Portland has a unique artistic culture that would benefit from increased government funding. However, we must make sure increased funding does not come at the expense of what makes the Portland arts scene unique. What worked for the Arts Partners collaboration (Big Thought) in Dallas won’t necessarily work in Portland. We should use additional resources to strengthen Portland’s existing nonprofit arts organizations. Funding top-down and bureaucratic projects like the Arts Partners collaboration won’t help bring more arts education to Portland youth — directly funding and supporting grassroots arts organizations will.

John Branam
Position sought: Commissioner #1
Website: john4pdx.org
Financial status: $150,000 in public funding, $61,210.24 currently in the bank

Yes the arts are a priority for city funding and it is extremely unfortunate that RACC’s $200,000 request for Arts Partners funding was not included in the Mayor’s budget.

The arts and culture play a critical role in the life of a city. Both literally and figuratively, they are important threads that run through us, connect us, define us, and inspire us. They also provide us with opportunities to both collaborate and have conversations and they challenge what we think we believe, while also helping us to form our beliefs. They give us pause, encourage us to be tolerant, confuse us, and help us dream. They are, in a nutshell, both who we are, and who we aspire to be.

As the Director of Development for Portland Public Schools, I have been deeply involved with the Arts Partners collaboration. More than one year ago I was one of six Portlanders who visited Dallas, TX to explore the Arts Partners model. Despite stiff competition from more than fifteen other cities, our collaborative effort convinced the Dallas to adopt Portland as the city they would mentor. Since then I have spent countless hours trying to make the Arts Partners model here in Portland a reality.

Arts Partners represents an essential step forward for helping Portland's children have equitable access to the arts. Presently the arts are not taught widely in Portland's schools. In most cases the presence of arts and music, and the degree to which the arts are integrated into "core" classes, parallels the socio-economic standing of the schools (our wealthier ones have greater access.) This trend, which is not unlike that of other cities, is particularly disconcerting, however, because studies show that the arts are highly effective at helping to close the achievement gap between white students, and kids of color. In an era of relentless pressure on student achievement and in a world that is becoming less forgiving of those who fall below benchmarks, investments in arts education and in arts integration are proving to be particularly smart.

In addition to being good for our kids, the inclusion and expansion of the arts in our schools is also good for Portland's economy. Clear evidence has emerged that the ability to be creative within the workplace is not only a skill employers value highly, but it is one of the few qualities that distinguishes an employee as one who is "highly valued." As we in Portland continue to position ourselves as a mecca for the creative industries, ensuring that we're home-growing our talent makes sense. After all, what a tragedy and how unsustainable it would be if we relied (or continued to do so) on the outside world for our creative talent. Developing a pipeline of young Portlanders who are themselves creative and innovative is essential to the sustainable growth of our creative industries. Ensuring all of our kids, regardless of the color of their skin or the names of their neighborhood schools, have access to the arts is the primary, and most critical, step forward.

And let's not forget, developing talents in the arts does not happen by accident. Few, if any, "artists," are born prodigies. Developing such talent takes time. Portlanders value the rich and ever-growing array of artistic offerings around town, but those offerings do not happen accidentally. In contrast they're rooted in those early finger painting, clay making, recorder classes and elementary school plays. Fast-forwarding to adulthood, on any given evening our city is full of concerts, plays, exhibits, etc. that are offered by artists who likely had robust childhood experiences with the arts. Their home city, and schools, supported the arts. So too must we.

As a "founding" member of this collaboration I have already committed, on behalf of Portland Public Schools, significant time and money to Arts Partners. If elected, I will continue to offer significant resources both by serving both as an ambassador for the program as it works with the school districts, the counties, the philanthropic community and the private sector to raise additional dollars, and as a funding advocate for city dollars. Doing so will be a distinct pleasure as we work to make sure we're living up to our mantra of being a city that is passionate about the arts, passionate about our kids' education, and passionate about the belief that ALL of our kids should have access to meaningful artistic experiences.

In terms of funding, RACC currently receives approximately $3.6 million from the city's general fund (including $424,000 from the Percent for Arts Program.) In contrast, investing $15 million per year would put us in the top ten among major American cities in terms of per capita spending for the arts. Obviously it would be difficult for us to allocate such an immediate and significant increase in funding, but knowing where the bar is remains useful. While the goal, and my commitment, would be to make modest but meaningful increases each year towards joining the top ten, it seems clear we'll have to identify alternative dedicated sources of funding to augment the city's general fund support. As someone who believes strongly in the value of the arts, I would work actively to both support such increases, and to acquire alternative dedicated sources of funding for the arts.

Chris Smith
Position sought: Commissioner #1
Website: citizensmith.us
Financial status: $150,000 in public funding, $41,280.51 currently in the bank

I’m delighted that Mayor Potter has changed his mind on this and recommended $150K to fund the Arts Partners program.

As a past board chair of Artists Repertory Theatre, I had the opportunity to participate in the development of ArtsPlan 2000, and I know that the arts are not just entertainment, but a vital part of the soul of our community and culture. The arts are also an important economic driver for our community, generating business for restaurants and hotels in our city. They are also a critical part of our creative economy and a driver for innovation.

The Arts Partners program is especially important since it focuses on bringing the arts to our schools, where the arts have been much less present since the funding constraints of Measure 5.

As a City Commissioner I’ll work to find a sustainable, ongoing funding source for public support of the arts in our region.

Jeff Bissonnette
Position sought: Commissioner #1
Website: portlandersforjeff.com
Financial status: $150,000 in public funding, $113,739.31 currently in the bank

The National Endowment for the Arts' slogan is "a great country deserves great art." We could adapt that same slogan for great cities as well.

While some may think of art as an "extra," we must realize that art is a core value, not just in a soft sense but having hard economic value as well. And to do this, we have to view "art" in its totality - not just paintings, sculpture, and museum pieces but also performing arts, film and video work and book publishing as well.

The economic value of art can be measured in several ways: the ability to attract artists of all mediums to the city; the ability to attract visitors to Portland to take part in arts events thus getting those outside dollars; the ability of artists to make a living and contribute to the local economy; the economic value of increased creativity in influencing improved business activities and the educational value of the arts with its ability to start conversations and explore new ways of thinking.

A recent poll commissioned by the Regional Arts and Culture Council (http://www.racc.org/resources/research/docs/2008PublicOpinionPollFMMA.pdf) found that a majority of Portland-area voters took part in arts and cultural activities at least a few times a year. It also found that voters thought that having arts offerings enhanced the "family-friendly" aspect of the region and that they perceived a threat to arts funding, particularly as part of school curricula. About half of those polled believed that arts funding was either stagnant or decreasing. And the poll found that about three-quarters of those polled thought that having a strong arts and culture community fueled creativity that helped the local economy. When it came down to dollars and sense, more than 70 percent of voters supported a dedicated source of funding for arts and culture organizations.

So, if we can acknowledge that arts and culture does have an economic value and we have broad public support for arts activities, what do we do? Here are some of my ideas:

1) Support a broad range of community arts organizations to connect art to the everyday life of Portlanders. As an example, Portland Community Media - a community non-profit whose board I've been part of for six years - has a program called OLLIE (Oregon Learning Lab for Information Education) where trained instructors work in classrooms and as part of other youth activities to assist students in making videos about the topics being covered in their classes and other activities. It teaches media literacy, critical thinking and communication skills. And isn't that what art is all about?

2) Enable artists to live and work in Portland. Affordability is a key concern across the city. And it also plays a role in helping those Portlanders who make their living in the creative arts. It often takes a long time to build the economic viability of an "arts practice" and artists of all stripes need to be able to have the time to develop their particular art. Having affordable living and working space is vital as well as having an overall affordable cost of living is crucial. The best thing is that affordability helps the rest of us too.

3) Support artists as business people. It's a cliche that artists are not good business people. While that may be true in some cases, it is more often the case that artists just have never learned the specific trade skills of business management. Providing the resources and support in management skills, or supporting business opportunities for non-artists to work in arts management will enable artists to both practice their craft and operate as the business entities they are.

4) Recognize that the arts community needs a strong business community. Increasing arts and culture availability depends on a strong and stable economy overall. Although art does have an intrinsic value of its own, the private sector can fully support the arts if the margin is there to do that. Thus, support for all locally-owned businesses and building the top two to four key strategic industrial sectors will enhance opportunities for support for the arts.

5) Increase arts funding. The city does have to lead the way in demonstrating support for the arts. The city council recently increased its commitment to arts funding from one percent for the arts to two percent for the arts. That's a step in the right direction but not enough. We are still well below per capita spending on the arts when compared to other great "arts cities" like Chicago, San Francisco and even Charlotte, NC. The city council should undertake a brief study of municipal per-capita arts spending, find a level that we can strive toward and set the policy goal to reach that level.

A great city does indeed deserve great art. More to the point, the great residents of our great city deserve great artists and those artists deserve our economic recognition and support.

Amanda Fritz
Position sought: Commissioner #1
Website: amandafritzforcitycouncil.com
Financial status: $150,000 in public funding, $51,998.48 currently in the bank

Arts are vital to the cultural, educational, and economic infrastructure of our region, as well as our city. Yet although both the cultural/entertainment aspects and the economic factors benefit the whole Metro region, the City of Portland already picks up most of the funding for arts and culture organization through the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC). I will work to encourage Clackamas and Washington Counties, Metro, and the State of Oregon to contribute their fair share to support the arts in the community and in schools.

The traditional reaction on support for cultural resources and activities is to consider arts for their aesthetic and soul-satisfying qualities. In 2008, however, "Creative Arts" is one of the known growth industries for Portland, the Metro region, and Oregon. We tend to think of "starving" and "artist" in the same phrase, but for thousands of Oregonians, Arts = Jobs. Graphic design and advertising fit well with our existing concentration of technology-based businesses. Arts industries generate over $300 million in spending in the Metro region, and support over 10,000 jobs. I will support economic development programs that promote good paying jobs in creative arts industries.

Right here in the heart of Portland, in the Central Eastside Industrial District, successful companies are producing films, commercials, and graphic art such as Nintendo games. If I am elected to the City Council, I will support not only leveraging funds for non-profits in the community via RACC, but also other ways the City can protect and add good jobs in creative arts industries. Keeping the Central Eastside's Industrial Zoning to ensure preservation of large warehouse spaces for production, is one example. Another is considering the impact of traffic flow changes in the Burnside-Counch couplet on sound studios nearby. I will work with the State to continue and enhance economic development incentives with proven success, to ensure that our film industry can compete with other locations.

My daughter is heading to Southern Oregon University in September, to try out for the Acting specialty in their Theater major. SOU hosts one of the premier drama programs on the West Coast, in partnership with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Knowing the odds of my daughter becoming a star are low, I'm glad I know there are many good-paying jobs off stage, in design and production. But hey, here's Ali's mom, with a good chance of winning a seat on the Portland City Council, thanks to Public Campaign Financing and my years of service in our community. Sometimes surprising things happen. Blogtown readers are warmly invited to see "Alice in Wonderland" at Wilson High School, May 7 through 10, to assess whether Portland's Public Schools are still producing stars.

My response to the Regional Arts and Culture Council's questions is posted here. Willamette Week made fun of my answer, saying the details I gave on the sources of funding put the reporter to sleep. I believe we need a new City Commissioner who will pay attention to important details, particularly when watching over taxpayers' money and looking for ways to bring more good paying jobs to Portland.

Mike Fahey
Position sought: Commissioner #1
Website: friendsofmikefahey.com
Financial status: $15,215.00 in contributions to date, $7,591.24 currently in the bank

Did not respond by deadline.