1. YOUR PERSONAL CONNECTION
How have you personally benefited from the arts or creative expression during the COVID-19 pandemic? What local cultural experience are you excited to participate in soon?
Creativity has been essential to everyone during these challenging times.
Personally, I think art is everywhere. So running for office, for me, is a form of creative expression. From making literature to delivering a message, it is important you do it with an artistic eye. I think everyone in the pandemic did a little soul searching, and for me it was having the realization to run for office and shift my focus. Locally, I am going to the Whitney Players' The Addams Family performance next week! I also was a diver in college. I think diving is an artistic sport, which focuses on form and control.
2. ECONOMIC RECOVERY
How will you leverage the creative sector to help the local economy recover and grow?
Greater New Haven’s nonprofit arts organizations support 5,667 FTE jobs and $135M in economic impact, creating a strong economic ripple effect throughout our region.
People underestimate how much art can amplify a space. You see time and time again, good design leads to more foot traffic and a welcoming environment. If we beautify our spaces with murals and greenspaces with more flowers and diligent maintenance, people will want to live and interact in those spaces. So I see art as an essential part of design. Without it, our spaces become dull. It takes a little bit of thoughtfulness and investment to create a beautiful town, but if done correctly the investments will pay for themselves by drawing people to congregate more frequently and make for a more neighborly environment. On top of all this if we build beautiful spaces they will be treated with more respect. We see trash and litter everywhere, but if people believe in the space and like it, they will make the effort to keep it cleaner.
3. CREATIVITY + YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
How will ensure that creative outlets are accessible and affordable to all children and families in your community?
The arts increase academic achievement, cultivates identity, and develops the whole child.
As we are seeing an uptick in gun violence, this question is particularly important. Talking to voters, I have heard time and time again that there is nothing for our children to do in town, so they get in trouble. We need more youth programming that gives kids an avenue for creative expression. Ultimately, more programs will give more children structure, which I think can be important for youth that might have an unstable home life. I see funding arts and youth arts programs as part of our town-wide approach to create a more welcoming environment for all of our children. It is important that we make these programs minimal cost or free of charge to actually attract the kids who need the programs the most.
4. CREATIVE JUSTICE
How will you support BIPOC, LGBTQ, and low-income residents through arts and culture?
The pandemic has deepened existing race and class inequities locally and nationally. Arts and cultural experiences can bridge these divides to acknowledge the strength in our differences.
Hamden is an incredibly segregated town. Minority families live in the southern sector and white families live in the northern part. This needs to be a constant variable and factor when determining where we invest our money to beautify our town. I think that we can make more places pedestrian-friendly by incorporating art into our local design. We can use barriers in the roads to slow down traffic and incorporate volunteer stenciling to make the spaces welcoming, while also serving the purpose of getting more cars off the road. In Southern Hamden, a top concern is speeding cars and slowing down traffic. I see beautifying our design as a critical part of slowing down traffic. I also think we need to make public spaces more available to any artists that want to perform.
5. INVEST IN THE ARTS
How will you invest in arts and culture in your community? Will you allocate at least 1% of our American Rescue Plan grant to help your local creative sector recover?
Local funding is key for a vibrant creative ecosystem, which is why the American Rescue Plan grants that all municipalities received prioritizes support for artists and cultural organizations.
Yes, I am absolutely committed to allocating 1% of rescue dollars to help the local creative sector. We need spaces for community theatre like using town center park as a stage and expanding our youth programs. I see art as an outlet that can help reduce violence in our town by keeping our children’s mindspace occupied and allowing them to have an outlet to express themselves productively. There is so much talent in Hamden that we are not exploring and we need to give every child in town a chance to tap into their own artistic potential. 1% of COVID funds is a small ask when you look at the return it can bring us. If we invest in youth programming, community theatres, and art in our natural greenspaces, Hamden overall will be a much more appealing town, and it will help to drive economic growth.
6. Your Priorities
In your first 100 days in office, what actions will you take to affirm the importance of arts and culture for your community?
The start of the term will set your administration’s tone and priorities.
In the first 100 days, I pledge to eliminate fees for theater time. We will have scheduled blocks that different groups will have the opportunity to use the town spaces. Community theatre and engagement should not be focused on their bottom line, it is a net positive for our community and $600 stage rental fees wind up being a deterrent for groups looking to be on stage. Secondly, I want to empower the arts commission to start giving out mural grants. These can be experienced artists in places, but also can be volunteer led in others. If we use art to take back places like our streets and roads, we make more walkable, friendly environments.
