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“I Vote for the Arts” - ELECTIONS 2020
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Where do the candidates stand on the arts? For the past two months, the SDRACC, in partnership with Arts + Culture San Diego and numerous community arts organizations, has hosted “Virtual Coffees with the Arts” and “Virtual Arts Forums” with City of San Diego Council candidates and County of San Diego Supervisor candidates to discuss issues of concern to the arts and culture community, and lay the groundwork for effective advocacy with the candidates who are elected. This was an opportunity for collaborative, non-partisan educational efforts with the candidates.
City of San Diego Council Candidates
100% Candidate Participation
District 1 – Joe LaCava, Will Moore
District 3 – Toni Duran, Stephen Whitburn
District 5 – Joe Leventhal, Marni von Wilpert
District 7 – Raul Campillo, Noli Zosa
District 9 – Kelvin Barrios, Sean Elo-Rivera
Click here to read and hear positions on Arts and Culture issues https://www.artsandculturesd.org/2020
To find out in which City of San Diego district you live, Click Here
County of San Diego Supervisor Candidates
83% Candidate Participation
District 1 – Ben Hueso, Nora Vargas
District 2 – Joel Anderson, Steve Vaus
District 3 – Terra Lawson-Remer
All candidates were invited to participate. Current District 3 Supervisor Kristen Gaspar’s campaign did not schedule a session despite multiple attempts by SDRACC to do so.
Key Priorities for Arts & Culture in San Diego County
A consortium of arts and culture leaders from throughout the County assessed arts and culture priorities with the County of San Diego and prepared this roster of discussion items, which was presented to all candidates who participated in the Virtual Coffee and Forum. The intent was to educate and inform the candidates to lay the groundwork for advancing our discussions after the election. All candidates interviewed express positive support for exploring opportunities outlined in the priorities below:
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County Investment in the Arts
In these times of pandemic and protest, artists and creative industry workers truly are essential as "second responders" – as catalysts and leaders for rebuilding communities and fostering healing and connection. Would you support countywide investments in nonprofit arts and culture organizations and the livelihoods of artists across our County -- especially in unincorporated areas where the County has direct oversight?
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Office of Equity and Racial Justice
In the FY21 budget, the County created a new Office of Equity and Racial Justice. As artists and creatives have been at the forefront of social movements to bring about change to dismantle systemic racism and structural inequities, would you support the appointment of artists and creative to that Office -- and to boards and commissions where their perspectives would be valued?
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Use the Arts to Advance County public health, housing, public safety, and the environment
The arts have the ability to inspire, uplift, and heal. Would you support the arts as a solution to move forward other priorities the County has historically invested in: public health, housing, public safety, and the environment?
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Champion for the Arts
If you're elected to represent the District, can we count on you to be a Champion for the Arts -- to support measures like those we've discussed today, to support budgets that make real investment in arts countywide, to support more resources to our county's artistic community and creative industries?
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Countywide Arts Council
As the second most populous county in California, San Diego does not have a countywide arts council -- unlike Los Angeles and Orange. As County Supervisor, would you support the County taking a more active role in policy making and in investing in arts and culture for our region?
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To find out in which County of San Diego district you live, Click Here