County Commissioner Candidates in Asheville NC Fail to Respond to Artists
Even though the largest turnout of voters so far this election season, showed up for a Meet the Candidates forum at the
Flood Fine Arts Center, few county candidates for commissioner appeared. Worse, the 5 that did show up were unprepared, prompting a response that even though they were given an "open book test" they all failed! Here are their responses to questions given them weeks before the Meet the Candidates forum.
Flood Gallery
Candidates Forum on the Arts Questionnaire
All thirteen candidates running for County
Commissioner were invited to the Candidate Forum held at the Flood Gallery on
October 9th. Of the
thirteen: Ellen Frost, Carol Peterson and David Gantt sent regrets because of a
commitment to another event, but David Gantt sent his Campaign Manager, Carmen
Ramos-Kennedy to represent him.
Brownie Newman, Holly Jones, Terry Van Duyn, David King and J.B. Howard
attended the event with over 150 concerned citizens present. There was no
response at all from the other candidates. Written responses were requested for publication from all
candidates and sent to them two weeks before the event. Below are the responses sent by David
Gantt, Holly Jones, Brownie Newman, Terry Van Duyn and Christina Kelley G.
Merrill. None of the other
candidates cared to respond.
1.
As noted in Americans for the Arts, 2012 report of the “Economic Impact of
Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences in Buncombe
County” the total non-profit arts economic impact on Buncombe County is over
$43.7 million a year, provides over 1,400 FTE jobs, and generates almost $2.3
million dollars in local government revenue. Taking into consideration
that Buncombe County’s non-profit arts sectors’ numerical data is nearly double
the amount found in other counties with a similar population base, have or
would you research policies that have been put into place by other cities
around the country that value their art communities, (i.e. Minneapolis, MN as
well as other cities such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia) and if so, have you
given any thought to what Buncombe County can do to protect and encourage the
arts organizations that are providing these jobs, incomes, and government
revenues?
David Gantt: Buncombe County is blessed with a very strong and vibrant
arts community. I would
value and give strong consideration to programs and incentives that nurture our
good and economically powerful non-profit arts community.
Holly
Jones: I was one of two elected officials who
attended a presentation about this survey this summer and have reviewed its findings.
I was not surprised to read the results nor was I surprised that Buncombe
County arts organizations outpaced other communities. Clearly, arts
organizations play a valuable role in making Asheville the incredible community
and destination that it is today. Policymakers should approach support of local
arts organizations as it does other investments in local infrastructure, which
means determining the return on investment as it relates to community economic
viability and quality of life. This support should be determined by merit and
ability to document measurable outcomes. I look forward to this conversation
and learning more about other communities’ successes.
Brownie
Newman: I have
looked through the links provided here. I do not have any specific policy
proposals at this time for how Buncombe County can protect and strengthen arts
organizations, but I am open to hearing ideas, proposals and suggestions.
Terry
Van Duyn: Absolutely.
For example, The Community Foundation of WNC has chosen “protecting natural and
cultural resources” as one of it’s three focus areas. We are partnering with
Handmade in America to fund a position that will identify grant sources,
provide technical support for grant applications, and track outcomes associated
with that work. We have also set
aside some funds for matching dollars to help small, rural communities qualify
for grant funding. Buncombe County could do something similar in collaboration
with the Asheville Area Arts Council.
Christina
Kelley G. Merrill: First of all I want to start by saying that I very strongly
support the Arts culture of our County and if elected to the BC
Commission, I hope to be a BIG part of shifting support to help grow and
nurture our Arts community! I would absolutely be interested in researching
policies in other areas of our Country and think it is extremely important to
restore the reputation our County and the city of Asheville to an "Arts
and Artist Haven" vs what it has become.
2. A
strong arts sector is an economic asset for Buncombe County that stimulates
business activity, attracts tourism revenue, and retains a high-quality work
force. For each non-profit arts
event attended in Buncombe County an average of $35 additional dollars (not
including ticket or admission revenue) per person are put back into the local
economy. The arts have also been
shown to be a successful strategy for revitalizing rural areas and inner
cities. What impact, in your opinion, does the local arts community have
on the quality of life for the citizens of Buncombe County, and how important
do you consider that to be?
Do you think there should be policies that minimize the displacement of
artists if the greater good of the city and county is served by the services
provided by these artists?
David
Gantt: The local arts community has a huge
impact on Buncombe County’s quality of life and job offerings. I would like to review and consider a
coordinated policy recommendation customized to our County that minimizes
displacement of artists during development and growth cycles.
Holly
Jones: My opinion about art’s contribution to
our community’s local quality of life is best answered by a look at our
family’s calendar and checkbook for the last two months. Our activities
included: shopping excursions for art in the RAD, attendance at NC Stage’s
latest performance of Buckminster Fuller; visits to the Artery for a poetry
performance and an opportunity to see photographer Ralph Burns’ exhibit; ballet
rehearsals for the Nutcracker with Asheville Ballet Conservatory at Diana
Wortham Theater as well as tap classes; piano instruction with Asheville Music
Center and auditions for the Asheville Children’s Chorus and a week at art camp
at the Asheville Art Museum. These activities depict how our family’s quality
of life is greatly enhanced by our local art community and I believe this to be
the case for thousands of Buncombe County citizens. Furthermore, our daughter,
as a student in our community’s public schools, greatly benefits from the many
contributions of art through her public education. The richness of this is in
large part due to the foundation that has been built by the artists in our
community. I am open to a conversation about artist displacement and learning
about viable options. I think the
idea of cultural district is an interesting one. Any solution to this problem
will clearly need the cooperation of state and city officials. However, prior to making any decisions
I would want to continue conversations with the artists that have made
investments (in the RAD for instance) in order to understand all the dimensions
of this issue.
Brownie
Newman: I think the
arts community is very important to Asheville and Buncombe County for the
reasons you outline above. I understand that the need for affordable spaces for
artists to work. While the County government is not in a position to dictate to
private property owners what they charge to lease their space for, if some of
the arts organizations have specific policy recommendation for how we can
encourage or create affordable space for artists, I am open to considering it.
I am not aware of any specific proposals that have been made at this time.
Terry
Van Duyn: When I moved to Buncombe County 20
years ago we had a population of about 120,000, an Art Museum, a Symphony, the
Diana Wortham Theatre, ACT, a ballet company, and thriving art galleries, to
name just some of our cultural treasures. There is no doubt about the impact
the arts have had not only on our economic vitality, but on our quality of
life. We need to acknowledge the importance of the arts and recognize the
fact that that economic engine is able to move elsewhere. I am certainly interested in looking at
ways to mitigate the ill-effects of artist displacement in creative ways, like
collaboration with non-profits that already work to support artists.
Christina
Kelley G. Merrill: I absolutely agree with the statement
above about the benefits of a strong art sector, however I am not sure I
understand what is meant by "displacement of artists".
3. "Artists
are the advance guard of what's hip and cool," says Bert Sperling, founder
and president of Portland (Ore.)-based Sperling's Best Places and compiler of
BusinessWeek.com's list of the Best Places for Artists in America, because
creativity leads to growth.
A vibrant community of art and culture attract and encourage not only
tourists, but also the creative class who are essential to the design
innovation that is spurring the tech and eco industries that are and will
continue to shape urban centers of the 21st century. Artists and designers in the creative
class are willing to take risks to achieve success, but they need affordable
housing, living wages, and affordable creative spaces to work in. How
would you propose that Buncombe County value, support, advocate and create
affordable space for artists and others in the creative sector?
David
Gantt: We must continue to work hard on
workforce (affordable) housing for artists and all other residents. I am very open to consider other
targeted policies to create and retain affordable space for artists to live and
work in.
Holly
Jones: While I am in complete agreement with
the value that the creative class brings to our community, my advocacy for
affordable housing and living wage is neither limited to or prioritized for
artists. The affordable housing deficit we experience in our community cuts
across all economic sectors. All workers in Buncombe County should be able to
find safe, attractive affordable housing. The addition of the Glen Rock Depot
to the River Arts District has been a recent driver to the area’s
vitality. This successful housing
development has contributed to an increased opportunity for artists and their
businesses as more people have discovered the area. I have been a long-time
advocate for the creation of affordable housing throughout our community and
will continue to push hard for this if re-elected. Promoting a living wage is
important. However, data tells us that workers making a living wage would still
require monthly rents to be between $525-575. Safe, attractive housing stock in
that range, in our community at this level is inadequate. My policy ideas for
increasing the availability of affordable housing include: identifying a
dedicated funding stream for the development of safe, attractive affordable
rental units as well as the promotion of inclusionary zoning.
Brownie
Newman: I don’t
have any additional comments to add beyond my response to question #2. If the
arts community has a proposal to address this concern, I am open to considering
it.
Terry
Van Duyn: Buncombe
County has a long track record of working with non-profits like Habitat for
Humanity and Mountain Housing Opportunities that seek to address the issue of
affordable housing. We have a long
way to go, but we have good partners to work with. Identifying the arts community specifically in objectives
around affordable housing and workspaces would seem to make a lot of sense.
Christina
Kelley G. Merrill: As far as the
Buncombe County board of Commissioners providing affordable housing for just
one particular group or industry it is difficult to separate the need verses
all who need affordable housing.
4. In light of the 8.5
million dollar incentive package the City of Asheville gave to New Belgium Beer
to build its brewery in the River Arts District, are there other incentives
that can be offered to artists and business owners in general to stay or come
to Buncombe County?
David
Gantt: Our current economic incentive policy
involves benchmarks of total investment dollars, job creation numbers,
mandatory health insurance benefits for employees, and other easily measurable
figures. Since I have been on the
Commission, this policy was amended to include expansions of existing
businesses as well as new relocated businesses. I don’t think it’s unreasonable
to say that most artist and other small businesses are unlikely to meet the
parameters of our current policy.
Holly
Jones: For the record, Buncombe County
provided $8.5 million in tax incentives for New Belgium and the City of
Asheville provided $3.5 million. I am not a fan of the tax incentive game.
However, it is a necessary evil local policy-makers must engage in if our
community is going to be able to compete. The tax incentives that were recently
granted to New Belgium were based on: # of jobs created paying a living wage
with benefits; the amount of investment in the tax base; and the commitment to
revitalize a Brownfield area. Artists and businesses that can bring these
benefits to our community are currently encouraged to approach Buncombe County
to discuss incentives. I am also open to discussing new ideas that promote such
ends.
Brownie
Newman: Artists are
mostly small business owners or people who work for small businesses. One of
the ways that Asheville provides financial support for small business
owners (or people who have an idea to start their own business) has been
through funding of Mountain Bizworks, which offers both a small training
program as well as start-up capital. The Mountain Bizworks program has helped
hundreds of small business owners in Asheville and western North Carolina start
successful small businesses. I would like to learn more about how beneficial
this type of program has been specifically for artists and the arts industry.
Is this a successful model that we can build off of, or are the needs of
artists sufficiently different from other types of small businesses that
something different is necessary?
Terry
Van Duyn: Gentrification of the River Arts
District seems to already be driving artists out of their studios. Perhaps some kind of tax abatement,
possibly around artist co-ops, would make it more attractive to maintain
existing studio spaces.
Christina
Kelley G. Merrill: I have said
throughout my campaign that I do not think it is fair and it causes resentment
to offer incentives to outside industry and not offer the same to our hard
working Entrepreneurs and local businesses already established in the
County. If there are going to be incentives for any business than they should be
offered across the board.
5. Currently
Buncombe County provides little to no support to the local creative sector.
A couple of options for the County to consider in shaping its support for
the arts locally, is to initiate a 2 to 1 match for the Grassroots Grant that
the N.C. Arts Council gives to Buncombe County for local redistribution,
(currently approximately $50K annually), and partnering with the City of
Asheville’s Cultural Arts Division to expand programming to the rest of the
county. What are your feelings about this?
David
Gantt: I would consider such an
allocation. I do not recall a
specific request or vote on this idea, but would favorably consider it after
getting a consensus from the arts community on the desirability of this. I feel matching Arts Council money
would be a good investment in a valuable part of our economy and local
employment picture.
Holly
Jones: I am very supportive of the proposed
matching approach. I would initially support a 1:1 match requiring
accountability through measured outcomes. My understanding is that the current
grassroots grants are available to all of Buncombe County, so it should not
require an expansion of service area.
Brownie
Newman: I
need to be better educated on the program to provide a meaningful response. I
would like to sit down with folks from the organizations that are involved in
the NC Arts Council funding process to better understand how their funding
process works, how the funds are utilized, what funding (if any) Buncombe
County is currently providing, and how additional funds would be used if the
County budgeted matching funds as suggested. One other question is
how are these types of decisions are currently made by the County? For example,
what staff or department is this run through and is there currently a specific
decision making role played by the Commissioners?
Terry
Van Duyn: I would whole-heartedly support working
with the Asheville’s Cultural Arts Division around programs like the Grassroots
Grants. We need to look at ways to
grow the amount of dollars we have for investments like these.
Christina
Kelley G. Merrill: We need to look at
the over 200 non profits already receiving money from the County first,. There
needs to be a reduction and redistribution of these funds, we can not put any
further burden on our Tax payers.
6. In what ways can the art community reach out and connect to the
greater community beyond financial impact and numbers, and how can we
improve/expand on what is already taking place? How would you like to see
the arts bring different communities together?
David
Gantt: I would love to meet with you and
discuss programs and offerings tailored to Buncombe County. I do not have sufficient knowledge of
what is available and possible for our goals. I will make myself available when asked to meet. We should strategize on the best way to
obtain maximum “bang for the buck” on behalf of the arts community.
Holly
Jones: I believe the arts can bring
communities together and profound opportunities exist. Our community is
experiencing renewed divides as it relates to the newly drawn and unnecessary
political boundaries in our county. Helping to reject that false division and
find ways of working together would be very important. I also believe that the arts community
would do well to continue to bring itself together and begin determining clear,
defined and strategic initiatives.
Continuing the political conversation and advocacy will require a united
and committed front.
Brownie
Newman: When I was
in high school, I was very involved in arts stuff, especially creative writing.
I attended Interlochen Arts Academy in the creative writing department in
Michigan my Junior year of high school. I attended the South Carolina
Governor’s School for the Arts as a creative writing student. My Senior year of
High School, I attended the Greenville Fine Arts Center, also in the writing
department. While I did not specifically pursue being a “writer” after school,
the things I learned in my writing and art classes had a larger influence on my
life and had a more useful impact on my future professional career than any
other parts of my educational background.
In terms
of how the arts community can be more engaged with the larger community here in
Asheville, I certainly do not have all the answers. I think public art is a
great investment for the community, and I will support that for our county
properties and facilities, including the use of artists from Buncombe County. I
also like the idea of connecting the artists in our community with our young
people, both in school settings and outside the schools. I am especially
interested in ways we can help connect the most disadvantaged kids in our
community with arts. In so many ways, these kids need the arts more than
anyone. One of my favorite arts groups in Asheville is the Evergreen Charter
School Marimba Band. How do we
give more kids in Asheville the chance to be a part of something like this?
Terry
Van Duyn: In an effort to get to know my district
even better, I did the Leicester studio stroll and was blown away by the
quality of the art that was being produced by that community. We need a way to identify, link, and
market our regional artists in a way that is countywide and celebrates that
countywide heritage, much like ASAP does for farmers. I don’t want to reinvent the Asheville Cultural Arts
Division, but I’m wondering if we could work together to brand it so that the
Leicester Arts community and the River Arts District, Handmade in America and
the Southern Highland Craft Guild can support and promote each other.
Finally, we
need more arts education in our early childhood development, K-12 schools, and
institutions of higher education, like AB Tech. Ensuring that the arts are an educational priority in the
face of the huge state-wide budget cuts to education will be a challenge, but
one that’s worth taking on.
Christina
Kelley G. Merrill: Buncombe County has
it's own TV Channel - Charter Ch 3 BCTV and production budget. This is a huge
missed opportunity to have an on going "Artists showcase" style show,
where we can promote local Artists and businesses throughout WNC! I would be
willing to head up this project.
Running
for County Commissioner in November, 2012:
CHAIR:
David
Gantt (D)
J.B.
Howard (R)
District
1: (2 seats)
Holly
Jones (D)
Brownie
Newman (D)
Don
Guge (R)
District
2: (2 seats)
Ellen
Frost (D)
Carol
Weir Peterson (D)
Mike
Fryar (R)
Christina
Kelley G. Merrill (R)
District
3: (2 seats)
Terry
Van Duyn (D)
Michelle
Pace Wood (D)
Joe
Belcher (R)
David
King (R)
Where
can I find out where I vote and what district I am in?
