California Arts Advocates mailed candidate questionnaires to 240 candidates for Governor, State Senate and State Assembly. Sixteen candidates responded and their answers to the questionnaire are listed below. For a complete list of candidates running for elected office in California click here.
Please exercise your right to vote on Tuesday, November 7. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm.
Question #1
How do the arts rate among your economic development policies?
(1) We’ve got a good thing going. I wholeheartedly support continued public investment in the arts.
(2) The arts industry contributes to economic development and deserves public support.
(3) The arts are just one element among many economic development issues. I neither favor nor oppose continued public support for the arts.
(4) The arts are not significant in my economic policies.
Question #2
Do you support increasing the present appropriation for the CAC in 2007?
(1) Yes, I am in favor of increasing CAC funding for the arts beyond the $1.144 million (or three cents per person) currently budgeted to $1 per capita.
(2) Yes, I am in favor of increasing CAC funding for the arts beyond the $1.144 million (or three cents per person) currently budgeted to 50 cents per capita (2002-03FY level).
(3) I support maintaining the current budget allocation of $1.144 million, and would not support an increase.
(4) Although I support public funding of the arts, if budget cuts were necessary, I would vote to cut the arts. By how much? _________
(5) In general, I am not in favor of public support for the arts.
Question #3
How important do you feel it is for California to maintain its current budget for arts education?
(1) Essential (2) Very Important (3) Important (4) Somewhat Important (5) Not Important
Question #4
What arts education, background in the arts or arts experience do you have?
Candidates for Governor:
Janice Jordan (Peace & Freedom)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "Please log on to my website, www.janicejordan.org and log onto Arts & Culture."
Candidates for State Senate:
District 22, Mike Ten (Republican)
#1 - 2; #2 - 2; #3 - 1; #4 "Basic general education middle, high school and college electives. My aunt was an award winning lithographic artists."
District 28, Peter "Pedro" De Baets (Libertarian)
#1 - #3 "I fund that none of the provided responses represent my views and no space is provided to explain my position." #4 "Former lead guitarist, rock and roll band."
District 40, Jesse Thomas (Libertarian)
#1 - "Arts is a necessary and important aspect of society, but it is not the business of government to be mettling in it." #2 - 5, "I support the arts privately and not through government and taxation."
#3 -"Arts is important, but it should be private and free-enterprise based and not through taxation."
Candidates for State Assembly:
District 2, Phil Dynan (Peace and Freedom)
#1 - 1; #2 - 2; #3 - 1; #4 "I have been a professional working artist for 35 years."
District 4, Jerry Fritz (Green)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "I studied drama in college and participated in community theater."
District 8, Lois Wolk (Democrat)
#1 - 1 & 2; #2 - 1 & 2; #3 - 1 & 2; #4 "Board member of Pence Gallery."
District 10, Jim Cook (Democrat)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "Arts classes in elementary, junior and high schools and arts classes in college in Illinois. Member of Crocker Art Museum."
District 16, Edward Ytuarte (Peace & Freedom)
#1 - 2; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "Served on the board of directors for Oakland Cultural Center and served there as unpaid, part-time staff there for about a year. Member of the Oakland City Finance Committee of the Arts Commission."
District 21, Virginia Chang Kiraly (Republican)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "I have been a concert pianist since the age of six. I am currently a board member of Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley and a past board member of the San Jose Symphony Executive Transition Committee."
District 34, David Minton Silva (Green)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "I attended Cinema School at LA City College and minored in International film studies at UCLA, getting a BA in Communications and Psycholinguistics."
District 51, Curren Price (Democrat)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "In my three terms on the Inglewood City Council, I have hosted, sponsored and supported art festivals, cultural events and celebrations that have spotlighted the visual and performing arts. As a founding member of the Inglewood-Port Antonio (Jamaica) sister city committee, he as supported the committee's sponsorship of various exhibitions featuring artists from Jamaica and the Caribbean and was responsible for bringing a Korean Folk Art exhibit to Inglewood. In addition, I established a temporary Art Gallery on Market Street, reflecting the desire to create an art zone in downtown Inglewood and initiated a percentage for the Arts ordinance which requires a percentage of construction budgets of new projects to be allocated to the arts."
District 53, Mary Jo Ford (Republican)
#1 - 2; #2 - 3 "I may support an increase but would need to know more about the CAC and its fiscal accountability." #3 - 1; #4 "I attended a liberal arts university, Columbia University and support art in education. I have three children, all of whom play piano and participate in other arts education."
District 59, Elliott Barkan (Democrat)
#1 - 1; #2 - 2; #3 - 1; #4 "I took such courses in school and I was in drama classes in high school and built stage sets. I sang in the college chorus."
District 62, Wilmer Amina Carter (Democrat)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "With the National Council of Negro Women, I put on a show called "Artists in View" for five years. We showcased audio as well as visual artists. It was a showcase to exhibit African-American artists of note from all over the United States. For 10 years I directed, as District Director, the Congressional District Arts Competition for High School Students. I have served on the Inland Empire Symphony board of directors."
District 72, John MacMurray (Democrat)
#1 - 1; #2 - 1; #3 - 1; #4 "For myself, I am a frustrated musician (love music of different kinds, just no talent to sing or play); I have had occasional writings sold and published and sometimes get guest columns in the local paper. One of my sons works with oils and pastels. I teach junior high school and incorporate Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences into my schoolroom work. I am also involved with our district's "All the Arts for All the Kids program."
