 Tonight is the first time that candidates for governor in Massachusetts have come together around arts and culture in the context of a campaign So I'd like to thank each of the candidates for joining us tonight For acknowledging that role and I look forward to with you to talking with them about the role that our next governor will play For our industry this forum marks the beginning of a four-month long campaign That starts for some of us tonight and ends on election day to inject arts and culture into the narrative I'd say into the fabric of this campaign and the way that it is integral to the fabric of all of our lives We have Members of this audience tonight who have come here from every corner of the state from the Berkshires to Fall River on the south side To Gloucester on the North Shore to to Boston and the other suburbs of Worcester on the east side It's not just a big crowd. I think that you're an engaged crowd, right? Is anybody here plan to vote in November? one or two, okay I would like to thank each of you for joining us tonight the size of the crowd tonight makes a statement that the arts do matter and should matter Now to guide us tonight To give voice to our collective thoughts and questions It's my pleasure to introduce Joyce Colheywick our evening's moderator Choices an Emmy award-winning arts and entertainment reporter president of the Boston Theater Critics Association and choices choices.com Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Wow Good evening, everybody. Hey, not only are you a big crowd? I know you are a discerning crowd This is an a group of artists Sears truth tellers You're gonna know who says what to whom this evening you can bet on it Thank you so much Troy for Inviting me to come back to share this stage It is really like a homecoming for me to stand on this stage This beautiful gem of a refurbished theater theater the Hanover theater in Worcester I remember Interviewing Steve Martin on this stage talking to the Jersey boys on this stage I know the whole cast and crew back there It's a fantastic venue and I remember being here on opening night Back in 2008 when the Hanover theater first opened and I reported on it and I remember what a glittering and Significant event that is and was for not only Worcester, but central Massachusetts and for the entire Commonwealth a real example Of what can happen when everybody at every level? local state Pulls together and makes something as beautiful and important as this happen Congratulations to this community for making the Hanover theater live again. Congratulations to you I know that I'm sort of preaching to the converted here. We're all kind of on the same page We all love the arts the arts have been part of my life ever since I had a consciousness Ever since I was a little girl growing up in a tough working-class town of Bridgeport, Connecticut and my Tough town and I'm so proud of that my mom had the idea to give me a ballet tap and piano lessons and It was like a light bulb went on for me I had no idea that I would make my whole professional life devoted to the arts I wasn't talented enough to do any one of those things But I got to do something maybe almost even better be a conduit for the artists to be a speaker For the arts point of view to allow that message to be in play and out in the world stimulating ideas and discussion it all began for me back in 1981 and a little campaign called you gotta have arts And I don't know if you remember that but I sure do Decades later the phrase has changed, but the sentiment remains the same arts Matter they always did they always will for over 30 years Most of that time for me as a reporter every single night on a nightly newscast. I got to do something unusual It was my job in the middle of all of the bad news all of the murders the crime the natural Catastrophes I got to deliver the good news The news about the best part of ourselves the news about artists and their work so important to our lives Artists who not only entertain us but lift us up Inspire us put us in touch with ourselves with each other shed a little insight on the human condition in short I got to tell the good news about the best part of who we are Shakespeare has said and I know you're familiar with the phrase that art holds a mirror up to life And it is in that way that the arts let us really see clearly Who we are they show us a world larger than ourselves a world of infinite possibilities And for some people the arts are the only way to express their deepest hopes dreams fears Aspirations for some people the arts are the only productive outlet, and I'll tell you one brief story that sums it all up Toward the end of my tenure as a reporter on television I interviewed a group of hip-hop artists from Roxbury They were on the verge of winning a national dance competition, and I remember asking one of them on camera What dancing meant to him? And he said to me that if he didn't have a place to go after school To learn those routines to practice he didn't know where he would have gone He thought he might have joined a gang then he looked me in the eye, and he said you know This isn't some kind of show we're putting on this is our life That said it all a few years later an artist from Medicine Wheel in Boston expressed it this way Young people destroy things because they are not invited to create This kind of impact is very difficult to quantify And that is why I think the arts are so easily underfunded and dismissed as a frill If you can't count it, maybe you don't want to do anything about it. Maybe you can't see it But arts Boston thanks to a report called the arts factor recently has gone a long way toward Quantifying in real numbers which prove that the arts are in fact a very vital and tangible fuel for the Commonwealth's economic engine I have always known this intuitively and everybody in this audience knows that intuitively But we now have some numbers to prove that we know that arts matter tonight on this very Historic occasion at the first ever statewide forum on arts culture and creativity We are going to hear from the candidates for governor of this extraordinary commonwealth and find out to what extent and to whom arts matter Right now. It is my pleasure to welcome to the stage the candidates who have graciously agreed to share their arts Platforms with us and they are in alphabetical order Don Burwick Martha Coakley Evan Falchuk Mark Fisher Steve Grossman and Jeff McCormick Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our candidates for governor Thank you so much for being here before we hear from the candidates Please welcome an instructor at raw arts work who will perform a spoken word piece. She authored called Is this who we are? Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Tanisha Garner is this who we are or Are we made up of more than this little a World where we do only what's expected but never exceed the mark. Why do we accept C's when we can get a's Why do we collect from the state when we're well enough to use our feet? Why do we argue when we can resolve? Why? We are all capable of being more than this little because we are what they tell us we're not Stuck in a knot that seems impossible to untangle youth learning from the start That they can't until it's been pushed so far back into the memory that it must be true Watching their parents work longer. I was in there on a week being played like pups in a play just to meet ends meet Children are hurtled from class to class like sheep in a farm training them to believe they will never be more than this box Where to them everything outside of it doesn't exist years of that's not the way it works or just do this much or school Is the only way but they'll be the first to say set the bar lower Words that have the power to crush souls like a sledgehammer on cement, which is just what we've become Over time we've hardened like the blocks below our feet as gray and dull as every other condition to believe that Being unique and proud is a recipe for disaster They've remembered that Getting you to forget your inner self gives them the power to keep it for themselves Disabling your mind from the beautiful nature of being an individual to grow as far as green grass field and to let the stems of Beautiful red roses peek through the soil to blossom into one colorful spirit called you Exploring the mind within your brain to gather knowledge that's outside their box allows your eyes to finally see the beauty of being you Being free of the handcuffs on your mind and abling yourself to listen to your heart to love yourself. It's your success When you realize you can be different no matter how much they try to drill into your head gives you ultimate power But it's up to you. Will you listen to your desires or allow society to control it? Thank You tanisha garner. That's who we are as we begin the program just a few words about the format tonight They're going to be 11 questions in all five of those questions will be directed to all of the candidates one of them by way of Twitter we will be gathering those Twitter questions from you tonight in the audience, so We are going to choose one We're going to ask that question toward the end of the evening and if you would like to tweet a potential question Something occurs to you into the course of the conversation. Just use the hashtag arts matter arts matter Six questions are going to be asked by arts and cultural leaders, and that's going to be done from a microphone Which is right down here And in the interest of time those questions are going to be divided up amongst all of the candidates All of your answers are going to be timed and we ask that the candidates keep to time There is a timekeeper. Where are you timekeeper? Stand up and hold up a card. So there you go time And so that will help you keep pace and help me keep pace don't make me come in there because I will please be very Specific when you answer I talked about the big ideas what we need from you are Exactly your specific answers to the question in the time allotted. We want to get to the nitty gritty We want to know what you're going to do This forum is going to be recorded this evening and posted online tomorrow at the mass creative website And for the audience please tweet if you hear anything tweetable at all Tumble it out stumble it out vine it out Facebook it out whatever but tweet tweet tweet Look at page four in your program for all appropriate hashtags and handles for tonight That said we're going to begin with question one and this is a question for all of the candidates And we are going to begin at this end with Don Burwick and move that way Several of you have outlined plans in your create the vote questionnaire and in lots of discussions with arts and cultural leaders Plans to invigorate the Commonwealth's arts policy And in other words, how do we build a more vibrant and connected state? So we want to know what two to three Specific actions would you take in your first one hundred days as governor to provide support and resources to the creative community Don Burwick will begin with you and you have one and a half minutes to answer Thanks Joyce. Thank you all for being here, and I can say is wow look at this outpouring of support It's so important I'm just proud to be part of this and I look forward to be able to lead on the agenda that you all want to see Accomplished here I was asked to Write the forward to a book on the role of art in healthcare turns out when you incorporate art into health settings Patients get better and I started to write that forward with that argument in mind We want to make people better so therefore we should have art and When I finally ended up finishing that piece. I realized my thinking had been reversed It's that we want to make people better so that we can have art art isn't the add-on is the point And I guess if I had to name three of the agendas it would be On my mind first would be as a leader to make that case to speak up for the arts It's really at a time when we economic models dominate and we think of the value of people is what they add to an economy It's so important to have leaders just remind us that The whole idea here is to add purpose to life and art adds purpose to life So you'll have a leader in me that makes that argument every single day There are investments to make the mass cultural council deserves not only what it has now But what has had in the past and I would commit to increasing funding in the mass cultural council back up to levels that Existed before that includes the cultural facilities fund. It pays off its smart business I will invest in the use of the arts economy to grow the Massachusetts economy as well and I want specifically to focus on the role of art and its Relationship to my primary agenda and running for the governor and that is to relieve the burden of poverty Disability and disadvantage in this commonwealth and I work very hard with you will have to talk more about that about the Role of art in helping people who are in trouble be and get out of trouble. Thank you Don Burwick So thank you Joyce and thank you all for being here today and for your contributions to the art I have said that art is not a Luxury it is a necessity I believe so three things I think I would look at as we come in halfway through a year is make sure that the cultural council has a Sufficient budget to do the kinds of things that I know are happening now, but we could do better with resources I would also look to make sure as I look at how I would restructure a cabinet That we would have an undersecretary within the cabinet who would work directly Across the state with our agencies But also with all the not-for-profits in the local arts councils to make sure we are providing the kinds of Information and support that you need that we all need in Massachusetts and the third thing that I think is really important Is to start off the bat with making sure that we bring arts back into our educational Curriculum that we don't just have STEM or we have steam And and and I am totally convinced from my own experience I know from talking to parents and kids that having art and music and maybe a little recess once in a while Is where we need to go, but I know for many kids having that exposure to something else that lets them Get engaged that also I think is so important to make sure that we continue Allowing people to learn about what they care about those are our patrons of the future for those of us Who aren't going to be artists ourselves, but can appreciate it So I am fully committed to doing everything we can on the state level to make this a big economic driver And make Massachusetts once again the leader in arts. Thank you. Thank you Martha Evan Felchak First I'm honored for the opportunity to be here to speak with you about this important topic I think one of the things that's been missing for too long on so many important areas that we hear very nice words about is Action that matches those words We've seen too much funding cut too many struggles to get funding where the way It is described afterwards as well, you know, it could have been worse and not enough vision about what we're capable of doing I believe that the arts and creativity are created by people that are passionate and talented And there's a lot of them here in Massachusetts, but they often can't stay because the cost of living is too high Funding for the arts is insufficient The the 12 million and the 16 million that was made And the 15 million I mean that was made available is not enough Massachusetts is now 10th in the country in funding for the arts If we could be in the top five that would just cost another Five to ten million dollars of additional funding I think it's important that we do that and we're able to say it But it can't just be about the dollars and cents It has to be about describing the fact that the arts and creativity are inherently good things That maybe you can't measure them, but they are what make for vibrant thriving communities They are the kinds of things that underpin what it means to live in a place not just At some place that we're all looking to see how much something is worth and that we can Articulate that value and turn it into a reality and our policies Thank you Mark Fisher. Thank you Joyce and it is my pleasure being here I don't I do find it a little bit ironic that the candidates are asked to limit their creative responses to well one and a half minutes Especially at a creative form it's sort of like trying to color in between the line So was that your decision Joyce? I think it takes a highly creative person to highly Distill their answer into the absolute essence What it is they want to say? Well, I'll take that challenge especially as someone who is arts challenged myself. I don't play an instrument. I don't dance. I do sing but I won't will not subject you to that Despite my arts deficiency. I don't Let that have an impact on my children. I'll tell you a quick story One of the times when I was out of work I took my kids up to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge and it was against Many people who said no, no, no, no take them to amusement park take them somewhere else But they absolutely loved it and if you haven't been there when I took my kids They're both under ten years old and they sat in front of Norman Rockwell's art and they listened to the Recording that was designed just for children Not for the adult community and they absolutely loved it. Absolutely loved it And so so my focus here is to even despite my arts deficiency Make sure that children are exposed to the arts in the public education field and then also a second thing Is make sure that the public is aware of those well-off institutions like MIT that received taxpayer dollars for things that they could well afford themselves and are not given to other well-deserving Organizations and then lastly I would announce my challenge the creative community to come up with ways to attract businesses like I am Massachusetts, thank you. Thank you Steve Grossman Thank You Joyce. This is one of the very few audiences in which I am very proud to be known as Mr. Barbara Grossman And let me just So let me just take this moment to introduce my wife Barbara vice chair of the mass cultural council director and Theater historian Barbara. Can you just stand? Someone knows a home court advantage Three specific things that I would do as governor starting in January first I've said throughout this campaign that I would like to see funding for the mass cultural council double over the next four years Working with the legislature remember back to 1988 twenty seven million dollars on a fourteen billion dollar budget Budget this year is thirty six point five billion dollars And we've been able to squeeze out just a little bit of an increase in funding for the arts to twelve million dollars We've cut the arts funding as a percentage of the budget by something on the order of seventy five percent So I doubled the funding to focus on two key three key programs first youth reach for at-risk youth and incarcerated youth Second the stars program to bring working artists into the classroom and third to increase funding for local arts council second I would double a historic tax credit Double a historic tax credit which enable us to renovate older mill buildings So create more space for artists to live affordably and to work affordably and third and Third I want to work with the state representative Kcon my state representative and Sarah peak to finally work the acronym Steam into all the things we do stem is not sufficient Thank You Steve Jeff McCormick Joyce, thank you, and again. Thank all of you for coming Arts have played a very important role in my life. I actually grew up in a poor area in upstate, New York But for some reason our community said we are not cutting music arts in sports They are too important. They give kids a connection to the world For me I went on to Syracuse University And I was the only pre-med student that got permission from the VPA visual and performing arts dean to study art While I was a pre-med student I am in probably the most creative area of finance there is and I'm telling you We build these small companies these innovative companies these companies that look into the future in Very creative ways and there's no way my calculus class taught me more than my art classes in doing that Although I'm not an artist. I absolutely believe kids need access to art I think that's good not only for the children, but it's good for the whole art arts community. That's number one We have to get really smart about the way we develop buildings I don't know how many people are familiar with brick bottom in Somerville. It's a problem It's a problem though when you extend the green line and then the artists are put in a position That they're not going to be able to afford to live there. That's going to be a struggle We need to put the artists in charge So I'm a big fan of co-ops and those kinds of arrangements and then the last area it is about funding We have to get serious about it. We have to value it for what it is It not only makes us a civilized nation, but it is our innovative future Thank you so much Jeff McCormick Our next question is to all of the candidates You're going to have one minute to answer and this question will be asked by somebody from the audience Kelly Bates executive director of the elma lewis center for civic engagement learning and research at emerson college in boston kelly take it away Good evening My name is kelly bates and i'm the executive director of the elma lewis center for civic engagement learning and research at emerson college Which as you may know is a private college specializing in arts and communications And we are located in the downtown theater district that we helped to rebuild with our community partners The question that we have for each of you You know that as a state we're recognized for our great arts and cultural institutions like Via victoria center for the arts and south end and mass mocha and north adams and its community based organizations Like the umbrella center for the arts and conquered and Thousands of working artists that work out of studios like the western avenue Excuse me the western avenue studios and lull and rope works a new bedford Ultimately what this audience knows is that arts is really about personal experience And sometimes people are not even aware of what their rich arts and cultural background is Whether it may be that someone talks to them and they remember their experiences for example in the glee club Doing a jazz band or a rock band out of their basement or being a part of just you know walking a trail in boston and learning about our heritage What we want to know from you is to share a personal story About how the arts have touched you. How has it personally affected you and transformed your life? And i think we'll begin at the other end with jeff McCormick jeff for 27 years i've built companies And the companies that we've built typically have one or two founders We've created thousands of jobs billions of dollars in value And let me tell you the people in those companies are extremely driven, but they're also extremely creative And not just the wacky things like boston duct tours, which is which certainly is fun And it took a creative mind to put all that together But the software companies i don't know how many people here have ever seen the initial shots of apples programmers They were they there were musicians. They were poets. They were painters They were artists, but they were great programmers And that's why i think the intersection Of all this linear thinking that we're trying to push Which is kind of you know one directional versus this End-dimensional thinking of an artist I think it's absolutely critical and that's really what i believe is going to set massachusetts apart From the rest of our states and in fact internationally Steve When you're married to someone for 45 years in this december who has spent her life in the arts You see so much of your life through that prism You see how arts can enrich and enlarge and enliven The value of communities you see how strong vibrant communities can be Created you see how Programs like raw in lin or some of the programs we'll talk about later Here in this forum can change lives I'm a huge believer that lives can be reclaimed at any level And when you see the artist shakespeare company dealing with incarcerated youth and when you see the way it can transform lives Again through the prism of what barba does in her work at the mass cultural council It truly changes your life because you realize that everything is possible when the arts are fully integrated into the quality of life that we enjoy For young people for youth at risk for incarcerated youth for older adults for seniors for those with disabilities Everybody can be affected by it. That's what i've learned over these last 45 years. Thank you steve mark But to continue on that story about my kids out at the norman rockwell museum, please do Uh after they finished viewing the art they had on the lower level a hands-on Creative endeavor for the children and then once after after that we were leaving the museum And we were invited with a sign down to if you've ever been there down to a little uh brook where there was some other other art there and we went down and um It was amazing because the experience that I witnessed with my kids They gave me a totally different experience there and they said dad Dad what's this and what's that it was more modern art that they couldn't appreciate or that perhaps I didn't appreciate But I didn't want to impose my my views on them The story that I took away from this is this we need to Provide incubators for the creative community like the maker spaces And I've been up to lull makes a number of times in lull But then the work has to stand on its own The stake can provide the funds to provide again incubator spaces But then the work has to stand on its own and that's the story that I would use Thank you Evan I think of art and and creativity and the impact it's had on my life by thinking about my family my My vision of this is that art is about figuring out what is real and genuine and true And feeling almost compelled to either express it or to live it or to turn it into some kind of a reality My my father's father my grandfather emigrated from russia Most of his family was was murdered because they were jewish back in 1919 He wanted to come to this country couldn't get in went to cuba lived on his own on a beach Eventually moved to venezuela But he always knew that what he wanted to make sure was that his family would be able to live in a place that was Was free and where people could fulfill these sorts of of dreams. That's when he sent my father to live in this country I think there were so many people in our country that have those kinds of experiences and understandings and the stories Are the things that draw us together and tie us together as a people that mentality around creativity as a kind of risk taking Focused on the truth is what I think is the core of what the arts are all about Thank you martin So i'm going to use my minute to give a couple of Impressions about growing up in north adams where my dad with five kids played piano by ear We all took lessons like you did joys in ballet and tap of course and and realized also that I was never going to be a performing artist But enjoyed that opportunity As a high school student got to usher at the williams town summer theater So I got to see christa bereave and productions of coal porter and uncle vanya Going to williams college my first year my first two roommates One played the cello and one played the harp and they played in the berkshire symphony In developing an ear knowing that I couldn't play myself For music was one of the great joys at that stage of the game In understanding as my brother who was also a great pianist, but suffered from mental illness One of the few things he did enjoy and was very good at was playing the piano like my dad and finally In high school playing hokey to go with my friend nancy from new york to see Broadway shows and being able to appreciate that the wonderful museums we have in boston around the state and and i'll end with what we've been able to do at the mass mocha Which is take that old sprig electric factory and turn it into a wonderful wonderful place to exhibit postmodern art And it's been a real economic driver for north adams also. So thank you dawn What's come to mind is a story I have never told before in that trail. It's rather personal actually so Please don't let it leave the room Uh, I have four kids My second child, uh, it's wonderful guy was in the shadow of his brother who was a superior student Uh, we had a very vibrant drama program at the high school that they were at and my second child Dan kind of found his found himself in drama He got better and better at it. He studied hard And he became the lead in hamlet. I don't mean part of hamlet. He was hamlet Uh, I was scheduled to give two lectures in israel one in israel one in palestine and I flew to jerusalem Uh, realizing that the only performance he'd be in would be the night between the two lectures Like a crazy person. I got on a plane flew home from jerusalem went to his performance got back on a plane And flew back to speak in the palestine I couldn't afford it. It was crazy, but I wouldn't trade that night for any minute in my entire life And it transformed them and me Thank you. Thank you I think there's a play in that The play's the thing Our third question to candidates coakley grossman and mccormack and you will have one and a half minutes to answer this question Uh, this question will be asked by stacey lord who is a middle school arts teacher here in wuster stacey The paparazzi is about to move. Thank you Good evening. My name is stacey lord and i'm a middle school art teacher at westeros middle school here in wuster for the past 11 years I'd like to first off stop by saying thank you for giving us this opportunity to share with you Something that is very near and dear to all our hearts There are kind of studies out there that show the benefits that our education has on students performances grades attitudes Behavior and being a middle school teacher. I see it every single day in my classroom With those facts in mind There are many advocates myself included who would love to see our education as a baseline requirement For high school graduation and admission into a state university and college or college So my question for you Is what policies would you implement that would ensure That our education is an integral part of every student's education here in massachusetts Martha we'll begin with you. Sure. Thank you. Well, I think as I mentioned in my opening I feel that we have gone down a path here in massachusetts where we focus so much on teaching To a test, uh, we have eliminated uh time wise and ability wise the uh opportunity for teachers To engage kids in anything creative never mind a art history or studio art or performance art Whether it's music or plays and and I know my own opportunity both through catholic school and then through college to Be exposed to that to be able to enjoy it Is crucial. We know it's how creative thinking is engendered. We know it's how Children learn to get self-confidence and self-esteem although I didn't have a a dismal failure playing a role Is not a school that has been built in massachusetts in the last four years Since the msba since I took over as treasurer of the commonwealth and I warrant in the last 10 years Well, we haven't fully integrated in much more robust initiatives around space for music For storage of instruments for band for chorus for theater for black boxes, etc So I think we recognize this the question is how do we integrate that into the school day? I mentioned earlier the stars program This is something that the mass cultural council finances and funds and one of the reasons why I'd like to see the funding double Is that what does it mean to a child to have a working artist in his or her classroom in elementary school? In middle school in high school I went to a school in central massachusetts here in wuster county And I saw children who had been making stained glass for a whole semester And their final project was to make a big piece of stained glass in a wooden frame that they could take home It had transformed them they talked in such exciting imaginative terms about what had it meant to them That's the kind of energy and excitement we have to build into teaching into the classroom That's why an extended learning time is something I believe we're going to have to wrestle with and fund appropriately Arts obviously need far more integration into the work into the school A curriculum and I believe as governor of the commonwealth is something that is head of the office of Department of elementary and second education. I'm going to make sure it's a priority. Thank you steve. Jeff Stacey, thank you for that question I don't know if you had that chance to see the tedx talk that I gave a couple months ago About early childhood education, but I was talking about making stem Expanding it to steve that I thought that that was extremely important When my 10 11 and 12 year olds come home and I asked them what they did at school They never talked to me about their math class or their history class It is about the arts class. It is about the shop class It's about something that just got their mind going in directions that it just Normally wouldn't go and I think as I said before I think that is a critical Heart of what makes massachusetts such a special place And I think we need a governor that absolutely supports that I will tell you though if I can answer very directly the second part of your question I think there are going to be unintended consequences if you make that it's one thing to say you need it as a requirement to graduate from high school But to say you also need it as a requirement to get into our state colleges and universities That could be problematic and we have talked to a lot of artists. We've talked to teachers about that So that's something that could it be part of an application process? Could it be emphasized very differently? I think you're absolutely right. It can be but I think we need to be very careful on that last part Thank you, jeff Thank you very much Our next question is going to be directed to candidates berwick Thouchuk and fisher you'll have one and a half minutes to answer this question It's going to be asked by connie chin who is the general manager of a fabulous place out in the berkshires jacob's pillow dance connie Thank you connie actually has actually connie is not here So christin gregory development coordinator at jacob's pillow We are a 10 week international world renowned dance festival in the berkshires And we are currently in the very middle of our 82nd festival season And massachusetts is known as a world-class destination for medicine Sports and education, but the commonwealth's creative community Despite a diversity of artists and its depth and breadth of cultural offerings has yet to be fully recognized As part of the state's core identity and brand Tourism is the third largest economic sector in the commonwealth And arts is one of its major drivers What would you do to leverage the strength of the sector and market massachusetts as a global cultural destination? And i think we'll start with done Thanks Thanks christin for the question I think you're laying out a vision that i completely buy into why should we not be one of the premier destinations in the world With respect to the strength of the arts community We have to me the key is to be strategic about it and and Comprehensive in the way we're looking at it I love what mayor walsh is doing with the artist first initiative in boston It looks highly strategic and and and he's setting out a vision of boston itself being a world-class destination for Arts to do that we have to work on supports to artists so that they can actually Live livable lives have the housing they need and be able to be able to to thrive economically in In very tough times artists are not at the top of the economic Ladder as we well know they need protection for their health care costs for their housing for their ability to do their work And we need a strategic view of the way we market the uh the idea itself I as governor i would make this a goal for massachusetts to be a premier Destination for culture arts and creativity worldwide. I think we can do a lot city by city And i'm what when i see the strength of the individual cities in the commonwealth not not just boston Look what you're doing out here the obviously berkshire county the beauty that can develop around the cape and islands And the new bedford and fall river the historic culture there city by city We can make each of those a destination that Everyone out in the world knows about it would be one of my goals Thank you evan One of the challenges we face in massachusetts is that our our cost of living is far too high And it's driven by by health care costs and it's driven by housing costs And this affects people that are In the middle of the income spectrum more so than it does at the higher end And it certainly affects people in the arts community It means that if you're going to try to find space where you could be doing your art performance space studio space An affordable place to live there aren't enough of those at all and are in the commonwealth That's a huge drag on the ability to think about the state comprehensively is this place where we're doing as much great art is As is happening here So we have to start by tackling that problem to me It's the number one issue we face it stops by stopping the monopolistic consolidation of hospitals and the giant systems Aligning the interests of the state with cities and towns by funding education properly This issue we were just talking about about making sure arts could be in the in the public schools There's a formula that the state created called chapter 70 back in 1993 to fund education It's supposed to be updated every two years. It's been updated twice since then the last time was 10 years ago It means that there is not enough money and the first things that get cut Our arts programs first things I've got three kids in the public schools and in newt where I live and the parents organize around these things Even though we have all the resources and the that you would hope to have in a city like ours So we have to be able to think comprehensively about what we're doing get our get our house in order around these issues We can market massachusetts much better than we do because there are so many wonderful things here And and it's a role that a governor who understands these issues must play Thank you mark I mentioned earlier that uh, I consider myself arts challenged and Even citizens within the state of massachusetts don't recognize the cultural Diversity and attractions that we have here. It's not just attracting tourists from outside of massachusetts. So what would I do? There's two things. There's a there's a wonderful website called mass vacation dot com and while it may be primarily for Citizens outside of the state to come here What I would do is make it more widely known for more public service announcements and then take a look at the site itself to try to find Cultural attractions. It's buried deep down within the site I would revamp it and make it a separate tap unto itself and make it more easily navigatable and promote the The arts and creative community Thank you The next question is for all of the candidates and you're going to have a minute and a half to answer and i'm going to ask this one National state and local funding for the creative community is essential We all know that it is not only important to leverage private money But also public funds to make sure arts and cultural is accessible to all There are two major state programs that support the creative community in massachusetts The massachusetts cultural council the mcc which provides operational support for institutions and individuals In 1988 the mcc budget was funded at 26 million a year when the state budget was 14 billion In 2014 that level has been cut in half to just 12 million with a statewide budget that has grown to 36 billion I think we can see where those numbers are headed The other state program which supports the creative community is the massachusetts cultural facilities fund the mcff That helps maintain and rebuild our cultural buildings This cultural facility fund for years was funded at a level of 5 million Until this year when the governor tripled that amount to 15 million for this year and for next year So my question is as governor at what level would you fund these two programs? And we'll begin with you mark fisher Thank you Joyce earlier martha talked about her experience at north adams and I want to follow up on that last week the mayor of north adams Told officials in boston. They are one cycle away from becoming detroit Translation is they're broke In the state of massachusetts despite our budget balance budget amendment has close to 120 billion dollars in debt And unless we correct that problem, we won't have any money to fund any of these programs And so I have a four-point jobs program to do just that bring jobs in here Where people get off government assistance go want to pay rolls and tax revenues increase In addition to that what what I would do is take a look at Organizations that are funded through these programs that joice just talked about and for example I'm going to take a look at just one $500,000 half a million dollars Was given to the mit museum Now I did a little research on the mit museum just to make sure it was not a private organization with just the name But no the mit museum is owned by mit I think they're very well off they don't need taxpayer dollars that that money can be better spent With some young starving artists Why do we need to have people don't like corporate welfare? But why do we need to be supporting organizations like mit? Let's make better use of the funds that we have Stephen Grossman Well, as I said earlier, I'm on record and have been for well over a year Suggesting that doubling the funding over the next four years working closely with the legislature Is the level of funding that I think is the absolute bare minimum Look, let's recognize something Health care costs in this state have crowded out almost everything else we want to invest in health care costs are now 42 percent of our state budget Think about environmental protection agencies have been cut dramatically parks and recreation cut dramatically Arts funding 75 to 80 lower than it was as a percentage of the state budget 25 years ago We have to recognize at some point that the arts matter and that every time we have a budgetary challenge The arts cannot take it first and be cut dramatically because that's the first place the legislators have looked that can't happen anymore That's gotta end In terms of the mass cultural facilities fund, I think the governor did something dramatic And I give Deval Patrick enormous credit when Deval Patrick stood up with Anita Walker and a group of other arts leaders In pittsfield just recently and announced the 14 million dollars of funding for dozens and dozens of arts organizations That was a dramatic moment And if you look at I was just out at the northeast the north hampton community arts trust They just bought a building 1.6 million dollars They're renovating that building to provide working artists affordable artist space and a black box theater in north hampton for an arts community That's thriving. They got 140 thousand dollar grant. That's not enough So let's double that funding from 15 over the next four years to 30 million dollars Of course is a matching program then it stimulates matching funds from the business community It's the classic example of a public private partnership. It should grow and double. Thank you, Steve Jeff McCormick I like to look at this not just as a matter of aggregate funding But I also like to look at it as a matter of investing And my friends who are artists They like to produce art And I like to talk to them about what do you need? I mentioned housing earlier And rethinking what we can do for artists, especially as we do things like expand mass transportation But also making investments in areas that frankly take away from their art, you know, giving them support accounting support business development Doing things at the state level to market their art which we can do and you can piggyback very very easily you know with an office of Tourism on programs like that So those are again rifles shot if you listen to the artists, what do you need? Those are also the rifle shot kind of investments that I think we need to make because to me their investments They're gonna they're gonna have a real return to our society But to these individuals and our communities So I would like to look at all kinds of programs like that and again you do that by listening Thank you, jeff I think the I take the support in two categories one is support for the arts and the other support for artists I agree with my colleagues. We need to increase dramatically the support to the mass cultural council and the cultural facilities fund Both of which look like just in business terms like fantastic investments when you look at the return on investment I see since 2007 the grants given by the cultural facilities fund have Resulted in 17 million visitors to the state 31 of whom come from outside the state 9,000 jobs created 551 million dollars in wages. These are just matters of investment. So yes, I would increase them dramatically Supports to artists matter. I've mentioned before supporting artists co-ops Making sure that living wages are accessible to artists That their rights of publicity are the right to publicity legislation needs to be enforced We need intellectual property protection for artists. They're getting ripped off And we need to decrease the exploitation of unpaid internships in Steve has spoken to the healthcare costs one of the big things we can do for artists is to have single payer healthcare in this state Medicare for all That will put affordable healthcare much more in the in reach of people who don't may not have employers and an employer Responsive to healthcare system and it also will reduce costs dramatically And that will return to the benefit of artists and and art. These are matters of investment I want to emphasize that it's not just in building the kind of commonwealth and society we want to have It is that makes economic sense for the commonwealth and I will see that those investments occur Thank you Martha So we should be looking at getting back to the real dollars that we invested back in 1988 I know that we don't spend that now and of course with inflation. It was worth a lot more and for the mass I also as steve said applaud the governor for Allocating 15 million 14 50 million dollars for the facilities funding But I think we also have to look beyond that and see what are the other ways that the state can leverage both public private partnerships Provide tax credits like the film tax credit for instance And as don said, I think ways to support artists either through tax credits or steve mentioned earlier the kind of Homesteading with a historic preservation tax that we might do and I think we have to look at these investments In in the as we invest in our schools for instance, we're going to be putting a lot more money I believe into funding for the creative economy and that includes Saturday afternoon, I was at Arlington alive They got a thousand dollar grant from the state and they were able to in their second year Bring together live bands and artisans and crafts and we see a lot of that across the state that needs that kind of funding My sister jane is the executive director of the marth has been your chamber music society so she does that work down there and Her husband is interested and it gave me this idea In how we can for all of our terrific not-for-profits who fight for some of the same dollars How we can make it easier and better to make sure that we get contributions. We leverage that for tax Credits and we make sure that at the state level our funding is appropriate. We have private partnerships that underwrite so many of our great Plays or museum exhibits And we make sure that we really make that investment in massachusetts It pays off in so many ways. We know that we've all talked about it tonight Thank you evan The case for doubling the funding of both of those line items is is compelling So I think of course it should be but we have a bigger problem here Which is that this has been known for a long time? And we've got an establishment in massachusetts that for all the nice talk about these issues I don't think takes them quite as seriously. Certainly don't treat them as seriously when you see the budget cuts that have happened So the question to all of us in the commonwealth is what do we do about it? If the people in the legislature don't understand this then they must be replaced And the problem we have is that there aren't a lot of choices 60 of people in our legislature are running unopposed That's why I founded a new party so that we could have a new framework for lasting Independent voice in our politics that's willing to engage on these issues Look one of the candidates for governor. I forgot his name. He's not here you know how How seriously is this issue being taken if if that is not being treated that way So I think that it will change only when we change the leadership Only when we fill the legislature with people who are not looking for ways to Balance a 36 billion dollar budget on the backs of a few million dollars in funding for the arts Not with leadership that refuses to update the funding formulas for education to take into account the realities of educating kids in the second Decade of the 21st century because in the words of one legislator, it's hard My advice to them is go find some work. That's easier and And legally hard work for someone I think there's a slogan in there somewhere. Thank you very much Question number six is going to be directed to candidates fowlchuck berwick and mccormick You'll have one and a half minutes to answer this question And this question will be asked by kevin howard. Who's the president and ceo of the arts foundation of cape cod kevin Thank you joys and thank you so much for participating in this important discussion my question is about Being number 10 in funding and state investment in the arts Everybody has identified the fact that we want to have more investment in the mass cultural council And the cultural facilities fund We want arts and culture to be a calling card for the commonwealth much the same as health care education And innovation so the question and where the rubber meets the road is what potential Models could you propose and support that would ensure a consistent funding source for the mass cultural council and the cultural facilities fund And we'll start with evan felchak It's really important. So I proposed an idea Which was because our state government seems to enjoy giving out really big tax breaks to big companies Loves it. I think they love it. They act like they love it So one percent of all those tax breaks ought to be dedicated to The arts directly every time that happens So if they want to keep doing that, that's a that's a dedicated funding stream Um, I also look at models that are happening other places. You're right. Massachusetts is 10th Other states minnesota spends 34 million. I believe is the figure comparable with with our 12 for the Mass cultural council 12 Quebec which is a province about the same population as massachusetts spends 90 million dollars On these issues and they've got a really comprehensive plan. It's written in french, but that's okay You know But it's but but they have a very comprehensive plan how to support artistic and literary and performance art And and all the different ways to and to promote kebac as an arts destination You know what I bet you most you when I say the word kebac you think something artistic maybe And but you know something that's money well spent so we don't have to be kebac, but we can at least be massachusetts Thank you Don um There are two things I think I want to talk about here. Well, first of all, I want to commend what's happening tonight if I understand the dynamics Advocates for the arts that have traditionally worked somewhat separately are coming together tonight To foster a real sense of coalition and unity and solidarity and pursuit of this that makes a tremendous difference in the policy debate You are owed the same response at the government level So one of my answers to the question sustainability is I guarantee a relationship There is not one step that can be taken tonight or in any night or any day that will guarantee the future of arts It matters what matters is access and constant conversation with the arts community mobilized as you are And a governor and a cabinet and leadership and I would say Legislative leadership committed to a constant review of what progress we're making What goals do we have now and we need a structure for that conversation to be Real and ongoing not just at a commission level not just at a council level But in the corner office in the executive suite with me you will have that relationship matters. It's everything The second is back to our schools. I am really worried about what's happened in the schools I think the move toward high stakes testing is standardization mcast and now park and common core Is leaving something out. I love that line and tanisha's Beautiful poem. She said children are hurtled from class to class. What an image coming from a student We've got to stop that and so i'm going to make sure that the leadership of education in this commonwealth Right from the top of the commonwealth educational structure is committed not just to the arts But the development of talent and joy and thriving among children and break the bonds break the handcuffs Of the move towards standardization. We've gone far too far. We need to give power to teachers so they can restore real education in real school Thank you Jeff When I initially moved here and I lived with a musician and a painter And then a stained glass artist an art therapist And a writer and you could tell how much money I had when I initially moved here over successive years The one thing that that I was very concerned about was they didn't Know what was around the corner and I think your point about It's not just what is the funding next year It's making a commitment to long term funding that I think is critical Because that will drive a lot of decisions that people in the audience make and that is an Absolutely critical part of the equation But the way budget cycles work as you well know there tends to be an awful lot of horse trading that goes on so Having someone Very close to the governor in a senior position that can make sure from year to year to year That the funding is there. I will tell you as a business guy The one thing that drives us crazy more than anything else Is uncertainty It's not interest rates. It's not the tax rate It's just uncertainty And artists are no different. It you know, you don't want to live with it either So of all the things that you have to have someone who has that access. It's for that reason alone Thank you, jeff The next question is going to be directed to candidates grossman coakley and fisher You'll have one and a half minutes to answer And this question will be asked by maciel and carnaugh sion the director of project launch at raw artworks in lin Maciel So my name is maciel and i'm the director of project launch raw's college access and career exploration program And i'm also a raw alum. I started there when i was 15 and i never left and so raw has a mission to ignite and Create the desire and Sorry has Whose mission is to ignite the desire to create and the confidence to succeed and underserve youth Raw offers free art programming that inspires youth to create extraordinary arts of works of art build A strong community and develop life-affirming futures So the state of massachusetts trains and produces thousands of talented working artists Yet many leave the state or the profession as they struggle to make ends meet Find affordable housing and find places to show and perform their work and talents I would like to know how your administration plans to create a climate to encourage working artists to stay and provide them with the support needed to thrive in massachusetts Thank you, and we will begin with steve grossman Well, I think it's about providing grants to organizations and to artists to in turn enable them With the resources that we give them in grants to be able to work with underserved youth I mean, i'm looking at thinking about what the youth reach program of the mass cultural council does roughly $400,000 a year and i'm thinking about what would happen if we were able to double that I mean look at what's going on now with the artist shakespeare actor shakespeare company with incarcerated youth with the anchor dance troupe in lowell the barrington stage with Theater offensive just to mention four and there are many many organizations So the real question is to the extent that artists have the capacity to work with underserved youth To enrich to enlarge to lift them up and to give them some expectation And some hope that the lives that they're going to lead are full of opportunity at every level Particularly those who are at risk particularly those who are incarcerated who we can bring out of incarceration Because so many of them are incarcerated because of low level drug offenses I mean let's start with reforming our criminal justice system and making our criminal justice system responsive to the fact That behavioral health and substance abuse is a health care issue and not a criminal justice issue. We should treat it that way But getting back It's just getting back to make the final point to the extent that we are able to beef up and significantly enhance Artist grants through non-profit organizations to create and to enrich and to lift up and to create far more Opportunities in our 26 gateway communities all over the community where so many underserved youth work and live That to me is the starting point for giving the working artists the tools they need and the resources they need to be able to change those lives Thank you, steve martha Thank you for the question and it and i'm going to uh think about it this way because The question you've asked is one that we've all heard a lot on the trail But for artists we could substitute the developmentally disabled People aren't making big wall street salaries people have been foreclosed upon People who are just trying to get by families who really want to be Living someplace that's clean and asthma free and We are all I think at this table Interested in how we move forward to build as we go I think economies on our own terms not so that Hot neighborhoods get overdeveloped and everybody who can't pay those rents have to move out someplace else And we see that's happened in mess twosits it could happen again If we don't pay attention to now how we develop in all of our communities the infrastructure the transportation And the affordable housing for artists for people who are below the poverty line for families who've lost their homes And that is how we think we build the future on our terms We build those economies on our terms and by its very nature, of course To say we're just going to create artist colonies is one way to do it But part of what I think we've all been talking about is saying how do we integrate into our communities of tomorrow Those people who are artists who patronize art who make it part of our everyday life It is affordable housing. It's got to be integral to everything we do moving forward in this economy that we build on our terms Thank you Mark fisher The solution here is to get our fiscal house in order. We don't have the funds. That's why programs have been cut recently We're suffering from a political experiment that's been in the works for the last 50 years. It's called one party rule Democrats own the state In my mind that means they own all the problems They're not enough republicans to blame so If you have an issue with some of these programs that are being cut it's we've reached another tipping point You know, we we've increased debt in this in the state to 120 Billion dollars the number of people on food stamps is not going up by five or ten percent in the last eight years It has doubled It has doubled and the cost of these programs has tripled These are important programs are there for the needy, but not for the greedy And we're headed for detroit And the solution has come and we've seen it play out in other blue states Uh on take wisconsin governor scott walker at republican In three years took tens of billion dollars in debt and created a one billion dollar surplus And that's what happens. We will we will have a surplus to fund the programs that are needed And conservative solutions Are the solutions to the liberal problems that are created here in massachusetts? We're suffering from this political experiment And we're at another tipping point. We can go down the same road and become detroit We can turn it around and create a surplus and fund the programs that you're talking about Thank you. Thank you mark fischer Uh our next question is going to be directed to all of the candidates And you're going to have one minute to answer and this is a twitter question that was generated from our audience tonight And it's a very practical question Steven bogart freelance playwright and painter and i'm i'm hoping that i can read this As you meant it and wrote it And we're going to begin with martha to answer this question How will you convince other legislators and those in power That in tough times arts should not be the first to go How will you do that? I I think it starts with what we've all been talking up here, which is investing in our schools our education The the development of the arts community Uh and and I I think about it this way, you know, certainly Look how much money we invest in our schools in sports Look how much the tickets cost to go to fenway park record to go to the patriot stadium We all don't really think about that. We just do it and I will leave in sports I think boys and girls should have the opportunity to do that But we also have to create the culture that values invest in and will support the arts And that's true whether it's making sure our kids get to go to the museum of fine arts Or that our kids Can can be in the boston children's chorus that by the way not only teaches children how to sing but how to work together from Neighborhoods all over boston and look at gender equity issues in using the arts not in a programmatic way But in a way that provides a fertile culture for the individual artists And as I just came from girls ink girls who are learning how to code And so that is creative economy Also, it is not subject to a single definition, but we have to foster it and I would do that I've always been able to uh in my own life see how important that is. I think the next governor has to do that Thank you evan It's the same problem of an establishment that doesn't take this issue seriously So a candidate for governor can sit here and it's easy to say I will work with the legislature And I will I will get this done because somehow through the force of my Charm and personality and will I'll be able to get them to suddenly realize how important the arts are You can look at the track record of what's happened over the last decade. It's gone in the wrong direction And so the people of Massachusetts understand how important the arts are They do I mean, I know it from my own community The extent to which people go to visit these different arts attractions our government does not So the only choice that we have in this experiment and self-government is to take the action we need So your organization and the ability to pull together People like you to advocate on behalf of the stuff is hugely important and it's really disruptive and it makes a difference So we need to have both the and I mean disruptive in this really good way because I love I love disruption We need to have leadership that wants to do exactly the same thing and replace those that don't get it Thank you mark I would I would work with the legislature and make them understand that success does not only come From a college education and all the debt that goes along with it When I graduated from high school, I did not go to college initially I went to work at a union factory rolled up my sleeves and learned the value of a buck And I met a lot of good people there People who taught me that hard work and determination can more than make up for the lack of a college education And these people were making them. They were raising their families And they were paying their bills they could afford a rent or a mortgage and they were saving for the future And what I don't like to see in our education system is removing Metal shop and wood shop and even recess and the arts I want to bring these things back into education and give children the diversity To take a look at all the different gifts they have And to expand on them and practice them and I think this is part of the great joy in life Is to find out what we like to do and what we do best and see what we do and step forward and test the waters We always get it right Give us the diversity and the openness to try these different things Thank you Steve So I've had the privilege of speaking at the artist under the dome event On a regular basis during the last few years to stay treasurer And it's one of the high points of the year because I have an opportunity to talk to and listen to more important listen to artists What would it mean if we were able to take the energy the grassroots political energy that's in this hall tonight And it hauls all over the state and turn this into the most powerful force of citizen grassroots activism Around investing in the arts and make it clear to our legislators Each and every one of them That the equality of life in each of our communities is inextricably linked to the funding sources we get If we're going to put money into the local arts councils that help senior centers If it's going to put money into the schools to bring working artists into the schools If we're going to point to downtown pitsfield with the colonial theater and the And other cultural facilities the berkshire museum which have come back in dramatic ways If you want to point to the merrimack valley with 500 working artists and the merrimack valley is being enriched by this This is about bringing the power in this room turning that into citizen activism and lobbying and coming and work with me as governor To change the way we look at the arts funding by the legislature in the years to come. That's what the community can do in this room jeff steven that's an excellent question one thing i will tell you as an independent I will have a mandate others won't have and i will not have ties to the status quo That helps a lot When you talk to other governors that have been independents they said When you have that it is easier to govern it is easier to work with a legislature because you have a mandate from voices Like yours that's helpful. The other thing is i can speak the language of business people I could relate to them and tell them you would never start funding a company and then stop for two or three years And then start up again You would never take a hockey player and say don't skate for three years And then we're going to put you on back a back on the ice and expect you to just be be able to take it Up that would never ever happen And when you can put it in those kinds of terms and get people like that saying you know what They're right We need to stay with us and this gets back to my you've got to be the continuity Of funding is extremely important Thank you dawn um My career has been about Making large-scale change in the u.s. And all in abroad in health care and community development Worldwide against a lot of resistance. I understand what it's like to mobilize people for patient safety or for lower health care costs Through improvement of care Here are the elements. There are three that I think we need the first is public mobilization You matter the voice of the people matter. We need people mobilizing watch what's going to happen in the casino debate I'm the only candidate for governor opposing casinos in favoring the repeal I have no idea why you might the other good Candidates are not there But this is going to be the voice of the people winning over very big money We can mobilize that further if the same will go for single-payer health care The same will be free for protection of the arts The second is when you want change mobilize a constituency of change agents with you and there are those in the legislature Supporting my candidacy or senator sanya chang Diaz and jamey eldrin and pat jelen and Candanaly and dan wolf and uh denise provo These are change agents and they will make a cadre for me in the legislature of people They're really going to insist on the kind of changes we want including protection of the arts We make a strong economic case and i'll guess i'll close with you're going to choose as voters between boldness Intimidity and i think boldness matters now among leaders willing to stand up against casinos against big money for single-payer health care for massive For overcoming the massive health care monopolies we see and for the end of poverty and hunger and i will add Protection of the arts to that list. Thank you. Thank you john Our next question is directed to candidates coakley fowl chuck and fischer You'll have one and a half minutes to answer this question will be asked by erin williams cultural development officer of the city of wooster erin On behalf of the commonwealth and wister's cultural coalition and creative community. We welcome you to the woo Those in the room know the importance of creativity and collaboration And tonight we know that you are thinking about building and supporting creative communities in a fundamental way To make the commonwealth successful So how will your administration integrate the arts Culture and the creative economy sectors throughout your administration's policies and initiatives And facilitate cross-departmental engagement with the public and private sector Thank you. We'll begin with martha. Sure. Well, thank you for that erin and thanks for hosting us here tonight And and i think all of us have seen as we've been around the state the wonderful Community arts arts and artists by their nature are a little bit subversive So I get nervous when we talk about too much government sponsored art We want people to be independent artists But we also have to provide that culture and the opportunity for that to grow And that includes whether we're making sure our kids listen to moats art or they're listening to strovinsky Or they're listening to hip hop or they're listening to something that is going to inspire them to think outside of themselves That's what art is about and I believe that one of the first things I would do in my inaugural would be to have arts festivals around the state Instead of a big ball I would really foster What we can do to get people engaged in both creating performing and appreciating art I don't think you do it overnight and I don't think you do it by being too programmatic about it But you do do it by creating that fertile culture and the funding for the appropriate things across the state That will allow for everything we've talked about here tonight Including and I think it's just crucial to get back in our schools and make sure our kids are getting the chance to perform The chance to appreciate people who perform and the chance to understand how if life were simple We wouldn't need art, but it is what makes us different. It is what makes us such a Wonderful not only country, but state and that is true whether it's music or performing arts Other kind of formats or study or our history understanding As I talked to a young man tonight about the the role of Shakespeare making sure people appreciate that You know in the third grade I had a we had a teacher come in who read Dylan Thomas They played recordings of Dylan Thomas reading Dylan Thomas. I mean you can't substitute that with some government program So, uh, I think we're on a good path and we need to do more and I will be a good partner as a governor to do that Thank you, Evan We're at this very challenging time in our country because our government has become disconnected from the priorities of Ordinary people and issues like the creative arts are Wonderful examples of what is wrong because there are plenty of nice vague sounding platitudes that you hear And I said at all these forums and participate in them But not a lot of really specific plans on how to do it and a and a significant track record of not following through on the things that have been promised so When you see that happen your choices are either to sit back and say well, maybe next time it will be different Or to take the brave step of trying to create something that will lead to a different outcome So when I say that it is important to convene a task force on the arts And to work together with people in the legislature to make sure that we're funding these priorities in a real and meaningful way By integrating these things I'm serious about it. You can go read go if you go if you read my questionnaire answer here But certainly if you read a program that we Proposed on my website called the thriving communities action plan Which talks about how we can lower the cost of living in massachusetts and really serious ways and very practical ways That lead to an alignment of the state's interest in seeing that we have thriving communities that are interesting You know so much of the development that happens in massachusetts today happens to end up in sprawl Where we get downtowns that start to get filled with I like these places But so many downtowns are filled with starbucks and panera and a bank And another chain of some kind or another and not those thriving edgy things that are unexpected and different and new And that will happen if we can lower the cost of living and make it central to everything we do as a state government Thank you mark I propose two things first. I would challenge the creative community And help me in inviting businesses here and um, I don't want to impose my particular view on the creative community I one one thought is Any businesses that expands or comes to massachusetts? They have artwork either on their front lawns or in their places of business if they come to a Industrial park or something like that the creative community can get together and offer them some sort of incentives To provide the type of artwork that they would need that would draw businesses here the second thing I would say I've sat in that audience and I've watched charles dickens Christmas story here And I've heard scrooge asked the question When he's asked for a donation to help the poor and he answers I pay my taxes Are there no work houses? Are there no jails? Are there no prisons? Aren't they in good working order? The problem with scrooge is this he's looking to the government to solve the problem As opposed to him as a being a good citizen And I think we have to stop being scrooge and we have to appeal to citizens And private industries and our neighbors and let's be a good society without having to look to government all the time Thank you Our next question is directed to candidates berwick grossman and mccormick and this question is going to be asked by xavier harvey Peer counselor at the actor shakespeare project And this summer is the assistant director for their production of as you like it xavier Uh, thank you. My name is xavier harvey Uh, I work with the actor shakespeare project and up into a year ago I was an incarcerated youth that mr. Grossman mentioned earlier and I met the actor shakespeare project and they completely changed my life So as you can see there are dozens of creative youth development programs like actor shakespeare project in massachusetts That engage with youth from many different communities and neighborhoods throughout the arts youth development maturity and respect As they become adults as um as the governor How will you make young people's? Voices more involved in the decisions that are being made for us and uh for our community Thank you xavier Don Wonderful xavier and congratulations to you. Thank you. Um Yeah, I've chosen as one theme for my campaign the phrase all means all when we pledge allegiance We say liberty and justice for all and if there's anything that's motivating me to want to be governor It is to make that phrase have real meaning Everyone gets in I think about the story tells you about my son and his ability to get involved in a drama program in a wealthy community that Really turned him around All means all everybody should have that xavier and all of the people he's thinking about as well We can do that and it is focusing on youth to do that It's use arts as a lever to challenge ourselves to be the equal society We want to be I challenge this community not just to protect the arts But to protect equality and justice and I think we can use arts to do that I when I came in the door, uh, one of your sponsors introduced me to a young man. I think his name was riley I apologize. I've got your name wrong uh riley in the audience working in jamaica plane to make jamaica plane a better place And I can see the relationship between his investment in arts His caring about visual arts and performance arts and what he might do for the community lives in If you study project row houses in houston read by led by I think rick low An amazing project in which artists coming together to help improve housing stock in a very troubled area the city Setting a template in place by the way they've been copied all over the world including here in massachusetts I can't forget a mural. I saw in fall river. We had a candidate's forum there We were all staring at this mural painted by children kids Teens in fall river a city that's got a lot a long way to go to get back completely on its feet And it is absolutely beautiful as these people described the place they want to be The infrastructures that benefit communities will benefit the arts and vice versa And I ask you to join me in pursuit of equality as the standard for massachusetts. Thank you don't Steve grossman I want to get way more specific I think Joyce at the outset. I think you said please give us answers that are as specific as possible So we know who you are what you stand for and the kind of leadership you'll provide when you're governor It seems to me that we have a room full of leaders and activists and we have a young man Who represents a group of at-risk youth whose lives have been transformed by art? And it seems to me that anybody who wants to be governor When he's elected on the fourth of november in the evening on the morning of the fifth Needs to put together a transition team and begin to think through What are the bold innovative dynamic and successful practical common-sense ideas that you want to integrate into your administration? I want you and others From your generation who have gone through the experiences that you have gone through Who have been seared by those experiences, but who have risen above them because of the arts I want to begin to build as governor not farming it out to somebody who is going to be my arts leader I'll be at that table. I'll be there with you. I'll be there with artists as I have throughout my entire adult life To listen to artists and listen to those at-risk youth Who can give us the best ideas in terms of how we can more broadly and fully integrate the arts into the lives of those Who are at risk or incarcerated? We have that responsibility to the next generation of our young people That is the foundation on which we will build a common wealth and a civil society and I thank you for your leadership Thank you, Steve Jeff Xavier again. Congratulations. I'm the I'm the vice chair of the city center for performing arts Some of you might know it as the Wang theater in Boston beautiful theater like this and when you go to board meetings the number one thing we talk about our youth and education And as stacey mentioned earlier Finding that connection to life that is going to make a difference Xavier I'll tell you where we get the best ideas from Are people like you? You've been there. You've done that. Your friends are in it. You know what makes a difference Programs like this just so you know They decrease absenteeism They decrease behavioral issues and they increase curriculum abc otherwise known as grades so Steering youth in this way and giving them this vital connection is extremely important and that is the mission Of that big institution. It's not wicked or phantom of the opera elton john playing on the stage It's what you can do With arts as a medium for life Thank you. Thank you. Jeff And uh break a leg Xavier on as you like it. Good luck on that production Our final question of the evening is for all of the candidates. You'll have up to one minute to answer But it might be shorter than that and i'm going to ask this question beginning with steve grossman The public is looking for a governor of massachusetts who believes that arts matter and who is a true champion for the arts Please finish the sentence. I ask for your vote as a champion of the arts because I ask for your vote as a champion of the arts because I have spent My entire life being a champion of the arts Working in partnership with barbra, but also working as a business owner I was fortunate to be a successful business owner And we continue to invest in arts organizations small and large We invested in pioneering projects We invested in shakespeare on boston common when it was on the concrete the first performance 15 16 years ago Made one of the first grants for that because we thought that that was going to transform the community And one of the things that we thought was important about it was that they were not just going to perform shakespeare for people in Boston on boston common But that they were going to take shakespeare into the neighborhoods of boston and show young people in boston who had never seen Live theater before what theater performed was all about That's innovation. That's imagination. So I ask for your support because I've spent my life doing it I have a track record of doing it. I've made promises. I've kept those promises. I think you can take my commitments to the bank Thank you Mark fischer Again as someone who is uh arts challenged. I've seen how An exposure to the arts can benefit my own children Despite my lack of being able to play an instrument and so forth and so on my children One plays a clarinet one plays a saxophone. They're both involved in plays and in theater And so seeing that firsthand I would love to make sure that all the children in massachusetts who go through their public education system from from k to 12 Are given the opportunity to experience it and if that's where their talents lie They'll have the opportunity to pursue them And that's why I'd ask for your vote for governor Thank you Evan felchuk The answer is because it matters to you I i'm doing something very creative here, which is that I founded this brand new United independent party 60 of the people in our legislature the same people who will not fund the arts properly Are running this year unopposed We've got a democratic process that is not representative of the interests that you have articulated We have the opportunity after this party becomes an official party in the selection To run all kinds of great independent candidates in 2016 under the banner of the united independent party And they will all be champions for the arts and if we can win even a quarter of those races though I think we could do better than that Will be not some third party But a second party A real source of accountability around these issues not just of the arts but around education And the priority priorities we have as a commonwealth and as a people So I ask for your support because it matters to you because we can make these things happen Thank you So I've talked a lot about how I believe massachusetts can be both prosperous and fair That is we turn this economy around and we keep everybody in mind and give everybody opportunity equality A shot a fair shot getting a good education getting the job you want The shot the kids have to find a dream and follow it I would say that in addition to that the it's not just that arts matter It's the only other thing that matters because if we can be prosperous and fair We are going to allow both our voices our multicultural voices from our history and our future The wonderful blend we have of art and music and food and all the things that make life worth living Once we give people that chance to have a fair shot in massachusetts can be that place I believe that if I didn't I wouldn't be running for governor and I'd love to have your help And I know we can make arts not only matter but be the only other thing that matters. Thank you Thank you Don I think you should pick for governor an experience executive who has a demonstrated track record as a change agent At the largest possible scale All improvement is change if we're going to create the future for arts that you envision We're going to need to make some pretty bold and important changes in the commonwealth pick someone that's done that before When I proposed to my organization in health care that we save 100,000 lives in america They said it couldn't be done We enrolled 3,100 hospitals and saved tens of thousands of lives When they said we couldn't improve chronic disease care and community health centers all over the country We enrolled 800 community health centers and changed diabetes care For the entire future. I took a small organization to world Scale I ran the largest agency in federal government when they said that the procurement contracts couldn't be done in Less than one year. We did in three months When they said that we we couldn't change medical schools in the country We set up a virtual school worldwide now that is 160,000 students enrolled in 500 chapters in 70 countries I've led change. You need change. Please let me lead you. Thank you Thank you Don Jeff I believe I have a lot of evidence to say I don't just talk to talk. I have walked the walk I grew up taking art I supported art. I've lived with musicians. My wife and I are heavy supporters of the art We have bought tickets that would fill this entire theater for people exposing them to the art We think it is an extremely Important part of our society. This is not something that I take casually at all And I think that that counts for a lot. I'm by the way involved in three I've been involved in three major arts organizations including Society of Arts and Crafts as an executive committee member and also the Isabella Stewart Garden Museum So I think you really need to look at where has where has someone been as a release to this community? Thank you very much Thank you. Jeff and thank you to all of the candidates for letting us hear from you directly tonight Don't get up We're not done yet This is just the beginning First of all, we've been able to hear from these candidates in a very historic way Face to face with us united as a coalition for the first time that ever I can remember All of these candidates are now on record Delivering their arts platform to us I'm going to ask that all of these candidates put their arts platform up on their websites and integrate arts and culture Into their narrative into their philosophy into their stories and into their thinking That's your job going forth. We've got a long way to go to the election And audience we are asking you to stay active and engaged as one of the candidates said here tonight and we know this is true You Matter your voice makes a difference. The turnout tonight has been tremendous We want you to be active on social media. We want you to ask questions of the candidates Turn out for the candidates. We want you to sign the create the vote pledge and get your friends to sign too Just go to page four in the program We want you to stay with it and give us your best thoughts and all of your efforts and keep this momentum going Thanks to all of you for being here tonight. Thank you so much And good luck to all of you candidates for governor of this great commonwealth. Thank you