Forty-seven out of 117 candidates running for mayor and Portland City Council positions responded to a survey about Portland’s arts and culture sector, voicing strong support for the arts, recognizing the impact the arts and culture sectors have on economic and neighborhood vitality, and the role the sectors can play in revitalizing downtown Portland.
Find all the survey results by race here.
The survey was created, in partnership with Oregon ArtsWatch and a coalition of a dozen people representing arts organizations in Portland, ranging from individual art consultants to the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art to Schnitzer Properties, LLC. ArtsWatch obtained the campaign emails of all the candidates as they were listed on their filing applications and invited them to participate in the survey. ArtsWatch sent six email invitations, sending them weekly between Aug. 28 and Sept. 30.
Among other work to advocate for Portland’s art sector, the coalition of arts leaders co-wrote a brief that informs political candidates about Portland’s art sector and its economic impact.
The group convened earlier this year at a critical juncture for Portland’s arts and cultural sector. For much of this year, the fate of the Keller Auditorium – whether to renovate the existing building or build an entirely new performance space that can host Broadway events and Portland’s opera and ballet companies – has been fiercely debated. On Oct. 10, the Portland City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to renovate the Keller and also develop a second venue at Portland State University.
The council is also considering eliminating the city’s $35 annual arts tax in favor of a levy that would pay for arts and parks programming. In place since 2012, the annual arts tax taxes each Portlander making more than $1,000 a year, and it has provided stable, consistent funding for at least one arts-certified teacher for every 500 students in a K-5 elementary school within Portland’s geographic boundaries. The arts tax also supports a wide variety of arts programming.
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And, on top of those two seismic policy proposals, in July 2023, the City Council announced it would cut off the funding for the Regional Arts & Culture Council’s operating support, which has provided pivotal funding, services, and advocacy to Portland’s arts organizations since its founding in 1995. The city has since approved RACC as administrator of a limited amount of arts grants using city money.
The upcoming election will usher in historic, dramatic changes to Portland’s City Council. Through ranked choice voting, Portlanders will elect 12 people to City Council, three to represent each of four geographic “wards.” A city administrator will be hired to oversee the city’s bureaus, while the city councilors will legislate. The mayor will be able to introduce and advocate for new laws, hire the city administrator with Council approval and work closely with her or him, hire and potentially fire the police chief and city attorney with Council approval, draw up an annual city budget, and cast a tie-breaking vote on City Council when necessary.
Majority of respondents endorse, express willingness to implement “Our Creative Future” cultural plan
Of the 47 candidates who responded to the survey, a majority said they had read “Our Creative Future,” a strategic plan to make the arts more accessible and affordable for residents of the Portland metropolitan area. Adopted by the Portland City Council last May, the plan ambitiously lays out high-level goals related to arts policy and funding the arts over the next 10 years.
“We envision a tri-county region where all of us have access to relevant and dynamic arts, culture, and creative experiences as an essential part of our lives,” the plan’s vision statement reads.
In addition to advocating for dedicated funding streams to support arts programming, the plan also calls for increasing inclusivity and equitable access to the arts.
In their survey responses, most candidates for City Council and mayor expressed support for the ideas outlined in “Our Creative Future.”
A few expressed some criticisms.
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“I wish this plan was stronger and more specific,” wrote Jamie Dunphy, who is running to represent District 1, which includes much of east Portland.
Dunphy is a musician and artist who sits on the board of MusicPortland, a trade advocacy organization for Portland’s music industry. In his survey answers, he disclosed that he was “heavily involved” with the process that led to creation of the “Our Creative Future” plan, including organizing a public feedback session from those in the music industry.
“I absolutely endorse the plan, but will fight to make it more accountable, and to get meaningful buy-in from lawmakers in every jurisdiction, and not just high-level values based affirmations,” Dunphy wrote.
Marnie Glickman, running for a City Council seat in District 2, also critiqued the plan with her endorsement. “The plan is vague and does not spell out definitive grant plans or monetary dispersal for artists and arts groups,” she wrote. “I would help usher in firmer guidelines on how city funding and granting will work and make the process easy to understand.”
Laura Streib, also a candidate for District 2, is one of a small handful of candidates who have worked in Portland’s arts sector. She is the founder and executive director of Vibe of Portland, an arts education nonprofit.
Streib was the project coordinator for Portland and Multnomah County, in partnership with RACC and Americans for the Arts, for the Arts and Economic Prosperity 6 Study, released in 2022, which measured the economic impact of the arts and cultural sector in Portland.
She wrote that “Our Creative Future” should be used “as a reference point for us to create an actual action plan informing policy from the findings with steps, dates, and measurable outcomes to create the vision of empowering our creatives, having affordable spaces for them to live and work AND make sure performances, public art, and creative endeavors are accessible to all.”
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Sandeep Bali, a candidate for District 3, which includes much of North and Northeast Portland, wrote that “the lack of respect for artists and their work” has “hindered the flourishing of art in Portland.”
“Our city has seen statues toppled, buildings vandalized with graffiti, and parks neglected — spaces that should be sources of inspiration for artists, but instead have become disheartening,” Bali wrote. “Portland’s artists deserve a city that respects and uplifts their craft.”
Revitalization of downtown Portland recognized as pivotal to supporting and growing the arts
Bali was not the only candidate who brought up a proverbial elephant in the room – downtown Portland and efforts to revitalize the downtown core.
With the Keller Auditorium, Portland Art Museum, Oregon Historical Society, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, the Newmark, Winningstad and Brunish theaters, Oregon Historical Society, and other artistic venues all located in downtown Portland, the arts have been recognized as key to revitalizing Portland’s downtown core in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, emptying of office buildings, and closure of numerous businesses.
“Art brings energy and excitement into a location,” Timur Ender, a candidate in District 1, covering outer east Portland, wrote. “It signals people care about a location. We must support investments that incorporate art into a larger strategy around revitalization, living wages, hiring local, and beautification.”
The majority of candidates listed a wide variety of ideas for enhancing support for Portland’s artists, art organizations, and art sector. But, given the space allotted in the survey, few provided policy proposals or specific funding mechanisms for bringing those ideas to fruition.
Ideas ranged from making housing more affordable so that artists could afford to live in Portland to converting empty office space to maker spaces, live/work spaces, or artistic studios.
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One candidate wrote it was necessary to “increase funding for the arts,” and another wrote that “we need to invest in both workforce and infrastructure projects.” Neither listed specific projects or proposals for how to accomplish either goal.
Two of the leading mayoral candidates support neighborhood-level arts programming
Only two of the four leading mayoral candidates responded to the survey: current city commissioner Mingus Mapps and businessman Keith Wilson.
Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez, both of whom are current city commissioners vying for mayor, did not respond to the survey. Dan Ryan, a current city commissioner running for a council seat in District 2 who has overseen the arts as part of his portfolio and was instrumental in pulling funding from RACC, also did not respond.
In his answers, Mapps leaned into his support for the “Our Creative Future” plan. He voiced support for “sustained and increased public funding to support arts organizations” and investing in arts education programs – two things the city’s Arts Tax helps provide. He did not specify whether he supports the proposal to eliminate the Arts Tax, or to increase it.
He also listed creating a grant program to support neighborhood-level arts projects and events, designating specific Portland neighborhoods as “cultural districts,” and developing tax benefits, grants, and “affordable workspace programs” as a means to create incentives for artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs.
Similarly to Mapps, Keith Wilson, who is the president and CEO of trucking company TITAN Freight Systems and the founder of nonprofit Shelter Portland, which has built shelters for homeless Portlanders, also wants to create more neighborhood-level events, similar to the art gallery scene’s First Thursday. Calling them “Neighborhood Nights,” he proposes that the city work with Prosper Portland and business associations that would “spotlight neighborhoods like Kerns, the Alphabet District, and Multnomah Village with evenings of local art, performances, food, and community gatherings.”
Wilson expressed support for “integrating additional funding for arts and culture into Portland’s parks budget, reinforcing the connection between our vibrant cultural scene and green spaces.”
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Taking a businessman’s approach to the arts, he wants to see a “robust marketing campaign” to increase Portland’s national reputation as an artistic city.
“Cleaning up our downtown and revitalizing our parks” are part and parcel to revitalizing downtown and seeing it “buzzing with concerts, art exhibits, festivals, and events that bring people together and foster community,” Wilson wrote.
Portlanders can expect to receive their ballots in the mail approximately two weeks before the election, which takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
