Get Your Vote On! Guest Blog by Candidate Coakley
As part of MALC’s Get Your Vote On! series, we invited four of the five gubernatorial candidates** to guest blog about their policies and share their thoughts about our sector.
Our third guest blogger, presented below, is Candidate Martha Coakley.
Candidate info:
Martha Coakley (Democrat)
Campaign Website: http://www.marthacoakley.com/
MALC analysis of Candidate Coakley’s campaign platform: http://wp.me/p2W9Iu-12y
Running Mate: Lt. Governor Candidate: Steve Kerrigan (Democrat)
Answered Lt. Governor MALC questionnaire (PDF): http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/Kerrigan.pdf
Campaign website: http://www.stevekerrigan.org/
Massachusetts is home to one of the most vibrant creative economies in the nation. As a Commonwealth that values our cultural treasures and creative talent, we need a champion of the creative economy in the corner office – one with a strong vision to build upon our existing strengths in the sector and keep it moving forward.
My running-mate, Steve Kerrigan, and I believe in the power of the creative economy, and a Coakley-Kerrigan administration has a plan to keep the creative economy growing by expanding arts education and supporting small business development.
I know that the creative economy is a powerful economic driver, accounting for 10.2% of the overall Massachusetts economy, supporting over 100,000 jobs, and generating $1.2 billion of direct investment into the Commonwealth every year. And I know that the arts enhance learning in our schools, expand creativity and enrich our communities.
However, beyond all of these economic and educational reasons to support the arts, it’s important to remember that art for art’s sake is enough of a reason to champion support for our creative class.
State government has an enormous stake in stimulating creative projects and ensuring access to the arts for all of our citizens. My proposal will integrate policy planning for the arts and culture into all areas of state government, support local creatives, and incorporate creative education into the school day.
First, I will support small creative businesses with a range of measures, including greater access to working capital, less regulatory complexity and lower healthcare costs. I will also be committed to collaborating with leaders from the business community and the creative community to protect intellectual property rights and strictly enforce fair labor standards, which will ensure that all artists are compensated for their work in an appropriate fashion with fair wages.
Second, I believe incorporating creative education in schools is a critical component of a well-rounded education that will develop a strong creative workforce.
Growing up, I was fortunate to have parents who valued the arts and who taught my siblings and I how empowering the arts can be. Ever since, I have seen the arts in all forms not as a luxury, but as a necessity — especially for young people. It is important to understand that by instilling in our youth an appreciation of Massachusetts’ wide-ranging creative economy, we are supporting the artists of tomorrow, whether they are painters or graphic designers, sculptors or architects. These young people will be the leaders of the creative economy in Massachusetts for years to come.
My administration will promote expanded learning opportunities and facilitate a shift from STEM to STEAM. This also means not only encouraging teachers to incorporate more creative learning into traditional subjects like math and science, but also building partnerships between schools, nonprofits, and working artists to help formulate curricula to increase cultural awareness among young people.
I believe that one way to bring more arts education to students, while also supporting working artists, is to establish artist-in-residence programs at public schools. With at least partial state funding, working artists can commit to spending a period of several months to a year working with students, while continuing their individual work as an artist. An artist-in-residence program in public schools will accomplish three important goals: building artistic skill and appreciation for the arts in students, fostering a relationship among young people and artists, and supporting working artists.
Another top priority is to double funding for the Massachusetts Cultural Council in order to ensure that the state continues to support creative industries and the next generation of arts leaders in the Commonwealth*. I believe the state budget is a reflection of our priorities, and as Governor I will always seek opportunities to fund Massachusetts’ creative economy.
One of these opportunities I will pursue is the appointment of an Undersecretary of Arts & Culture, who would be tasked with driving a comprehensive policy agenda for the creative economy. The Undersecretary would also be responsible for fostering collaboration across state agencies dealing with economic development, education, housing and transportation.
The creative economy in Massachusetts is a cornerstone of our cultural advancement. My administration will be a committed partner in ensuring the success of this critical sector and the creatives that make our Commonwealth such a wonderful place to live.
– Martha Coakley
*This sentence has been updated from the original by request of the campaign.
**MALC invited four of the five candidates for Governor to guest blog and the candidates will be featured in reverse alphabetical order. (MALC did not reach out to the Lively/Saunders Campaign.):
Tuesday, October 28th Candidate Jeff McCormick
Wednesday, Oct. 29th Candidate Evan Falchuk
Thursday, October 30th Candidate Martha Coakley
Friday, October 31st Candidate Charlie Baker
MALC does not endorse candidates for office, but seeks to provide needed and timely information about candidates’ platforms and policies that impact artists of all disciplines, the art, and cultural and creative economies. Nor does MALC take positions on the statewide ballot questions.