PHL Arts & Culture Voter Guide

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Download the PHL Arts & Culture Voter Guide

 

Descargar Guía electoral sobre las artes y la cultura de Filadelfia

 

About the PHL Arts and Culture Voter Guide

In this voter guide, you will find answers from candidates for the 100th Mayor of Philadelphia, taken from a wide range of sources, including: PHL Arts Mayoral Forum hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; the Build Philly Forum; Mayoral Forum on the Performing Arts and Cultural Economy, hosted by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc., in partnership with City & State Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates Forum on Hospitality & Tourism by ​​Pennsylvania Restaurant& ​Lodging Association. In addition, as more guides are created and more forums happen, we’ll continue to update this page regularly. 

Answers have been slightly edited for clarity and adjusted when audio from forums was inaudible.

Candidate Question Text

The questions found in this voter guide come from a wide range of sources, including the Build Philadelphia Forum; Mayoral Forum on the Performing Arts and Cultural Economy, hosted by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc., in partnership with City & State Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates Forum on Hospitality & Tourism by PRLA; and the PHL Arts Mayoral Forum hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

From the PHL Arts Mayoral Forum hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance: 

  • On Creating an Artist Bill of Rights: Would you consider putting in place an individual artist bill of rights?
  • On Creating Partnerships: What partnerships are you going to leverage, or create, to bring some financial stability or to bring banks in to create instruments for stabilizing the financial wellbeing of artists?
  • On Ensuring Support Beyond Center City: Imagine that you were elected major. What will be the first thing you will do or change to ensure support for the arts and culture beyond Center City?
  • On Funding Equity: What will you do to ensure more equity/any equity in the way the City funds arts organizations?
  • On Influencing Positive Outcomes: Can you please provide us with a specific example of how you feel the creative and performing arts can influence positive outcomes for some of the major issues in the city?

 

From the Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates Forum on Hospitality & Tourism Candidate Questionnaire Published by PRLA: 

  • On Ensuring Sustained Funding: Arts and Culture was also one of the hardest hit industries in the pandemic. Please describe how you would ensure sustained funding and elevation of the sector within the Mayor’s Office to bolster the important industry now and for the future.

 

​From the Build Philly Forum:

  • On Historic Preservation: In a city with so many older buildings, how would your administration incorporate historic preservation incentives and regulations into your broader community and economic development strategy?

 

From the Mayoral Forum on the Performing Arts and Cultural Economy, hosted by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc., in partnership with City & State Pennsylvania:​

  • On Making a Cabinet Level Post:  In 2016, the Office of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy was placed under the Managing Director. Do you pledge tonight to make a cabinet level post that is responsible for these issues? And if so, more specifically, what are three items on a CV/resume for that official? 
  • On Supporting 2026: There are going to be a lot of visitors to this city in 2026, we’re expecting the World Cup, the MLB All-Star game, America’s 250th Anniversary. What will you do in month one, January 2024 to begin planning and getting people excited to come here?

 

From The Kids Campaign Questionnaire: 

  • On Parks, Rec Centers, and Libraries: How will you, as Mayor, make sure every neighborhood has great rec centers, parks, libraries, safe places, and afterschool and summer programs?

 

Candidate Bios and Answers

To view a candidates full response to questions on arts and culture, click their name below. Biography information for each of the candidates was compiled from reporting by The Philadelphia Citizen.

The May 16 election is a primary, meaning that you will be voting for a candidate to advance to the general election for the 100th Mayor of Philadelphia, depending upon the party to which you belong. 

Democratic Candidates for Mayor:

 

Republican Candidate for Mayor:

 

If a candidate doesn’t have an answer on a specific topic/question, it is because they did not participate in the forum/questionnaire in which it was asked.

GPCA Mayoral Platform

The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance has announced its 2023 Mayoral Policy Platform in advance of the election of the 100th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia in November. Advocating that the arts matter in Philadelphia and serve as a driving force in voter turnout, the Cultural Alliance’s policy platform is rooted in the fundamental belief that arts and culture in Philadelphia is an undervalued and underleveraged asset that deserves greater public investment. The Cultural Alliance is proud to present its policy platform in partnership with arts organizations across Philadelphia, working with the Philadelphia Cultural Task Force, Philly Culture United, and other community partners and leaders to articulate the arts priorities presented in the platform.

To foster the growth and development of this critical industry, the Cultural Alliance calls on the next mayor of Philadelphia to:

  • Establish a permanent Department of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy for the City, which will be led at the Cabinet level by a highly qualified, forward-looking, and influential leader.
  • Pursue innovative strategies – beyond the imposition of a new tax – to ensure robust funding for the entire arts sector and consistent support for the Department of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and arts programs/organizations affiliated with the City of Philadelphia.
  • Develop an integrated arts plan, rooted in economic, workforce, entrepreneurial, and community development strategies, that will be implemented across City agencies/departments to stimulate economic recovery, enhance urban livability, and reshape the vitality of Philadelphia.
  • Prioritize policies and programs that recognize the artistic capital generated by artists, performers, creative entrepreneurs, and other creatives and allow them to thrive in Philadelphia.
  • Showcase Philadelphia’s arts and cultural assets in our 250th Anniversary celebrations by supporting a brand-building campaign, establishing Philadelphia as a global hub for arts and culture in 2026 and beyond.

View and download the platform PDF.

Mayoral Forum Videos

PHL Arts Mayoral Forum | March 30, 2023

Watch the recording of Philadelphia's mayoral candidates discussing the issues facing the city's arts and culture sector on March 30, 2023 at Taller Puertorriqueño. 

 

The Mayoral Candidates Forum on Hospitality & Tourism 

Presented by: The Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, Visit Philadelphia, The Pa. Convention Center, The Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association and the Philadelphia Visitor Center.

Moderated by 6abc's Sarah Bloomquist. All of the candidates who had declared at the time of the forum were invited. 
 

Digital Marketing Toolkit

Join the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance in helping spread the word about the PHL Arts & Culture Voter Guide. Your support could look like changing your organization’s social media banners or emailing an invite or save the date to your network! For more ideas on how to spread the word on social media, you can look below at our Social Media Toolkit. 

Download email graphics on Google Drive
Find email invite language in our marketing toolkit 
 

Social Media Toolkit

Join the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance in posting on social media about our PHL  Arts & Culture Voter Guide! Philadelphia needs an #ArtsMayor4Philly — Your support can look like a video, photo or something else! Read through it, share within your network and tag us @philaculture.

TAG US ON SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS: 
Twitter: @philaculture
Instagram:@philaculture
LinkedIn: Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance 
Facebook: Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance 
Hashtag: #ArtsMayor4Philly

Share about the PHL Arts & Culture Voter Guide on your social media platforms:

  • Check out @philaculture’s  PHL Arts & Culture Voter Guide with and help spread the word! You can find our voter checklist and all the important information here: https://philaculture.org/voterguide #ArtsMayor4Philly
  • Philadelphia needs an #ArtsMayor4Philly! Check out @philaculture’s PHL Arts & Culture Voter guide to learn more about where the mayoral candidates stand on the arts: https://philaculture.org/voterguide 

 

Download these graphics to show your support for the campaign:

 

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Voter Information

Download a Printable Voting Planning Checklist

 

 

Every Voice, Every Vote

We are proud to serve our arts and culture community as a participating organization in the Every Voice, Every Vote project through the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. It is through this generous funding that we are able to host the PHL Arts Mayoral Forum and develop the PHL Arts Voter Guide to ensure that the voices of the arts and culture community in Philadelphia are heard and elevated in this election. The Arts Voter Initiative will connect Philadelphia mayoral candidates with the diverse and eclectic arts community, encourage candidates to develop thoughtfully-conceived arts policies, and finally, to activate and inform arts-focused Philadelphians in the election process.

On the left, a woman in a hat, glasses and yellow cardigan stands outside of City Hall in Philadelphia. She is smiling and holding a green sign that says, "Arts & culture creates 37,590 jobs." Next to her is a man in a hat and glasses who is holding a sign that says, "Arts & Culture hosts 1,056 social impact programs'

 

 

Thank you to our Partners!

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The PHL Arts Mayoral Forum is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lead support is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute, Peter and Judy Leone, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Harriet and Larry Weiss, and the Wyncote Foundation, among others. To learn more about the project and view a full list of supporters, visit www.everyvoice-everyvote.org. Editorial content is created independently of the project’s donors.