The Utah Cultural Alliance surveyed candidates running for public office in Utah, including local, state, and federal candidates.
The survey was sent on August 12, 2016 and candidates’ answers were collected until the end of September. The answers of candidates who replied were used to generate a report of candidates’ positions in regards to issues facing the cultural sector of Utah. The complete survey results can be found here:http://bit.ly/2dyztL2
Some of the questions include: “Should government be involved in funding the arts and humanities? Do you consider the arts and cultural sector an economic driver in Utah? Do you support Utah’s Percent-for-Art Act, which designates 1% of public building costs for public art? If your office could impact legislation, would you support a bill that exempts cultural non-profits from property tax?”
The answers to the survey were graded to reflect which candidates are arts and humanities friendly. An “A” grade reflects that candidates have positions friendly towards arts and humanities in regards to education, tax distribution, and in seeing the Cultural Sector of Utah as a viable part of Utah’s economy. The grades continue from there with an “F” grade representing candidates with platforms that threaten public support for arts and culture in education, arts and culture in the community, and whose platforms pose a threat to those working in the cultural sector. Further break down of the grading can be found in the survey.
Individual survey answers and the complete survey are already posted to UCA’s Facebook page, as well as blog. The report is available at the UCA website. The UCA hopes that voters will use this information to be informed and vote for candidates that are interested in funding culture and arts education, and in preserving and promoting the cultural sector as a valuable and viable part of Utah’s economy.
Of additional interest, UCA released its first State of the State Report detailing the impact of Utah’s cultural businesses on the economy. This is the first of an annual report and was presented to the Business Economic and Labor Legislative sub-committee on September 22. This can be found at: http://www.
