Get Your Vote On! November 4th Attorney General Race
Get Your Vote On! Candidates for Attorney General
MALC, as we said in the primary Attorney General race post, has had a great working relationship with the current Attorney General’s administration and we hope to continue this with the next administration. Such key issues as labor law and the protection of intellectual property fall under this Office’s watch. These are critical issues to our community and it is of the greatest importance that artists have a place at this particular policy table.
MALC sent out a brief questionnaire to the candidates and followed up with emails and phone calls. (Please note there are no independent candidates running for this office.) We have created pdfs of the candidates answers that share the same formatting for visual consistency and have linked to the candidates’ campaign websites. Also, below, we have published the questions MALC submitted to candidates and the informational links that were included in the questionnaires.
MALC does not endorse candidates for office. To find out where to vote: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.aspx
Be sure to follow the complete Get Your Vote On! series and remember that the week after the election MALC will be holding its 8th Annual Artists Under The Dome Event at the State House.
The candidates for Attorney General (in alphabetical order) are:
- Maura Healey (D)
Link to answered questionnaire: http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/Healey.pdf (PDF)
Link to campaign website: http://www.maurahealey.com/ - John Miller (R)
No questionnaire was returned.*
Link to campaign website: http://millerforag.com/
*Please note there was no phone number on Republican candidate’s website. MALC sent several follow up emails and also tried to follow up with this candidate via Facebook messaging to no avail.
MALC Questions for Attorney General Candidates
(Note: Questions 1-3 can be answered with a yes or no, but please feel free to elaborate beyond a one word answer.)
- MALC has had a great working relationship with the current AG’s administration. Would you continue this open door policy to MALC and by extension to the arts and creative economy communities?
- Labor Issues impact artists of all disciplines. The current AG’s labor team has been very supportive in ensuring artists of all disciplines are not exploited.
- One key labor issue facing our community is the treatment/exploitation of adjunct professors. Would you be willing to work with MALC and other stakeholders to better address this issue?
- The Massachusetts Independent Contractor 2004 law change has been an issue that has been negatively impacting artists of all disciplines and those in the Creative Economy. This law change made it next to impossible for people to be classified as independent contractors in this State. Once you are classified as an employee, you do not own or control your intellectual property. It is the property of the employer. Many artists of all disciplines and others need and want to be classified as independent contracts to retain total control over their intellectual property and by extension their livelihoods. MALC, along with Labor and the AG’s office, have been trying to solution to this issue. Would you and, by extension, your office work with MALC, our friends in labor and other stakeholders, to craft a solution to this key issue?Key background info on the IC issue – http://www.artistsunderthedome.org/MAindependent_contractor.html
One recent piece of legislation MALC worked on to address the issue: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/188/Senate/S875
- Intellectual Property is the 21st frontier and needs safeguarding. Identity theft is one example that most are familiar with. Copyright protection is critical for artists of all disciplines.
- Would you and your office work with MALC to better ensure and advocate that copyright protection (as well as the monetary and moral rights that go with it) is upheld and strengthened in our changing and expanding digital age?
- Would you use the power of your office to promote the benefits of copyright and sponsor public education on proper use and etiquette surrounding creative works of all kinds?
- Would you and your office support state legislation that protects the commercial value of artists, entertainers and other notable personalities? This would allow a person and their family to protect the use of a person’s images or personality in advertising, etc.. Thirteen states have enacted statues that specify a transferable right to publicity that survives death. Link to the most recent piece of legislation on this issue: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/188/Senate/S2022
- Is there anything else you would like to share in regards to your policy and/or platforms that directly impact artists of all disciplines and by extension the arts and creative economy communities?