August 16, 2011
City Council candidate Paul Beyer advocated for the Arts as an economic engine Tuesday afternoon at the steps of the McGuffey Arts Center.
The Democrat says the Arts help to drive the local economy.
"We know tourism is a $450 million industry in the region, and the Arts have the same kind of leverage and pull. It's about thinking strategically about them in that they drive local jobs and business," he explained.
Beyer pitched two ideas to help stimulate that drive. First, he suggested the City create a cultural affairs position which would oversee tourism, local business and non-profits.
Second, Beyer would like to see the City re-institute the "Percent for Art" policy that sets aside one percent of public building projects for public arts and arts initiatives.
Beyer believes the Arts are extremely popular and would provide a huge opportunity for economic return.
"I'm a pragmatic small business owner who also has an arts background. This is an area where City Council can combine these two perspectives to really have a concrete value on our local economy," he said.
Click here to view the media release on the event.
Beyer is one of seven Democrats hoping to get the party nomination at Saturday's Firehouse Primary. Three will be nominated.
The comments sections of Newsplex.com are designed for thoughtful, intelligent conversation and debate. We want to hear from our viewers, but we only ask that you use your best judgment. E-mail is required, but will not be displayed with comment.
As a host Newsplex.com welcomes a wide spectrum of opinions. However this is a site that we host. We have a responsibility to all our readers to try to keep our comment section fair and decent. For that reason The Newsplex reserves the right to not post or to remove any comment.
If you have any ideas to improve the conversation or this section let us know. Send an e-mail to webmaster@newsplex.com.
powered by Disqus
