2022 Candidate Questionnaire – City of Charlotte
Ahead of the City of Charlotte elections, city candidates were provided a five-question survey to complete and share their position on arts and culture. Below are the verbatim responses we received, grouped by question.
(From left) Braxton David Winston II, LaWana Slack Mayfield, Carrie Olinski, Kyle Luebke and Stephanie Hand, all candidates for Charlotte City Council.
Vi Lyles (Mayor): Arts, Science, and History lend themselves to Charlotte’s unique story. We have a rich history–a history I’m proud to have been part of as we’ve grown, and continue to be part of as we encounter new “firsts” ever day. History and art came together to help us learn about and give new life to the Brooklyn community, and every day gives a voice to the people of our city.
Braxton David Winston II (City Council At Large): My career in the arts & creative community in Charlotte for the spans three decades. From theater to music to film & TV, my membership in Charlotte’s arts & culture community has put food on my table and a roof over my head since I was in college.
LaWana Slack Mayfield (City Council At Large): I have a long history with Arts, most recently having the honor of connecting with the community to share my story in the I Am Queen Charlotte book & having my story performed on the Belk Theatre stage which opened the door for long-overdue conversations with community members.
Carrie Olinski (City Council At Large): Arts, science, and history is all around us in our community. Growing up outside Philadelphia, I was blessed to see and experience our nation’s very deep history and birth. In Charlotte, all of these have offered ways to connect with the city and its people. I have learned so much about the city by attending art shows, viewing street or historical landmarks, festivals, etc. All have all helped me connect and grow with the Charlotte community.
Kyle J. Luebke (City Council At Large): A few years ago, the Charlotte Museum of History had an exhibition on historical music venues in Charlotte. There were multiple venues mentioned like The Double Door and Tremont Music Hall. Most of the venues had closed, save one that stuck out at me – The Milestone Club on Tuckaseegee. Bryan and I lived on Tuckaseegee, right across the street from The Milestone, but it wasn’t until I went to that exhibit that I was fully able to appreciate the meaning that the venue had on the Enderly Park community and the city of Charlotte as a whole.
From then on, as I passed The Milestone either on the bus, biking, walking or in a car, I thought about its history and what it has meant to the community. That exhibit rooted me in the place of this community.
Stephanie Hand (City Council District 6): The Harvey Gantt Center shared the stories through the narrative and pictures.
ASC’s focus is to serve all residents of Mecklenburg County, the city of Charlotte and the six suburban towns, by investing in free, high quality cultural programming that is diverse, relevant, resident-informed, and available to all. We intentionally center community, start with partnership (create with, not for), and advocate for equitable distribution of government funds.
What are your arts and culture priorities, and how do you intend to promote or pursue those priorities if elected? (For example: advocate for increased investment, attend cultural events or Culture Blocks programs, volunteer to sit on a grant review panel, or connect with your appointees to ASC’s geographic Advisory Councils)
Vi Lyles (Mayor): My priorities regarding arts and culture in Charlotte include the review and implementation of the Cultural Plan. This plan gives us a stable financial directive for the arts in our community.
Braxton David Winston II (City Council At Large): Charlotte needs a robust cultural arts plan that invests in our cultural economy to make arts & cultural experiences accessible 24/7/365.
LaWana Slack Mayfield (City Council At Large): As a former Mayor appointed Board member of ASC I understand the power of supporting the arts which drives corporate relocation interest. I will continue to advocate for the expansion of arts support that connects our diverse community.
Carrie Olinski (City Council At Large): It is important that children have access to arts to encourage them to be expressive, creative, and to experience things different from their immediate surroundings. Based on the Community Priorities Survey performed by ASC, funding for non profits that provide high quality programs and community outreach was the most important. This is my priority. We need to focus on our children. I would promote through attending cultural events, connect with appointees, building communication with schools, county representatives, and other local officials. Yes, I would attend Culture Blocks, and continue to discuss and promote conversation within neighborhood associations.
Kyle J. Luebke (City Council At Large): As one of the current appointees to the ASC Advisory Council South/East, I have been fortunate to be able to attend and participate in ASC funded programming.
One that specifically comes to mind was a Culture Block grant for a descriptive mural tour, put on in conjunction with the Metrolina Association for the Blind. Attendees, both sighted and non-sighted, were able to appreciate murals in Plaza Midwood through the spoken word – and often things that I would not have noticed as a sighted person were made more clear as the mural was described.
I will continue to be an advocate for this type of Culture Block programming, because the closer you can get art to the community (and making art real to individuals no matter their abilities), the more effective we are in showing its overall value.
Stephanie Hand (City Council District 6): I believe arts and culture are the bedrock of a thriving community and essential for continued Charlotte growth and quality of life.
Community Ties: Understanding What Attaches People to the Place Where They Live, an in-depth study published by the Knight Foundation and Urban Institute in May 2020, reports that a community’s residents’ access to arts and culture not only boosts feelings of satisfaction and lifestyle fit, but also correlates with greater investment of time and resources in that community. This investment metric includes participation in local activities, attending public meetings, owning a home or local business, donating, and volunteering.
Easy access to arts and cultural activities is reported by people in low-income households less frequently (67%) than by those in high-income households (78%). Additionally, only 64% of African American residents and 66% of Hispanic residents report easy access to arts and culture, compared to 74% of white residents and other racial and ethnic groups. In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg metropolitan area, arts and cultural activities are perceived as the fourth most difficult quality feature to access in our community, after affordable housing, transit options, and job opportunities.
ASC recognizes that systemic, inequitable access to opportunity has led to generations of unjust outcomes for those who have been historically marginalized in mainstream arts and cultural funding, discourse, leadership and resource allocation. We strongly encourage all who serve or seek to serve our community to read ASC’s inaugural Cultural Equity Report, which reflects the steps – and missteps – we have taken on our journey to becoming a more equitable organization and holding ourselves accountable to the community.
How will you join ASC in actively addressing inequities in access to arts and culture? How do you view ASC’s equity work in alignment with your town’s goals around cultural equity?
Vi Lyles (Mayor): Every effort to better our city requires addressing inequities, including the priorities of housing, jobs, and transportation which make it possible for arts to flourish. We need to protect and provide for our art and culture creators, and to achieve these goals means creating space for all to thrive.
Braxton David Winston II (City Council At Large): Access to the arts has to be physically designed and built into our neighborhoods. Residents should not have to travel outside of their neighborhood for a cultural experience. As we continue to implement our Comprehensive 2040 Plan, having artists and creatives part of our planning processes is imperative. This next City Council will be starting our small area planning processes. We have to make sure creatives have a distinct roll in all of these plans.
LaWana Slack Mayfield (City Council At Large): I commit to open communication with artists and board members to encourage diversity in funding local artists.
Carrie Olinski (City Council At Large): It is important we provide access to art and culture regardless of economic status. All should have access. Promotion and advocacy are first steps. I would like to see more access in our schools. Having local voices would be helpful to understand how, when, and where change needed. I would like to see the geographic locations that are the most impacted in their report (see note below). I hope we could bring more cultural programs to these harder to access regions. For example, there could be a mobile arts and culture “tour” program. Bringing the arts/culture to the neighborhoods that most need it.
The link to the report went to an invalid web page so I could not read on the equity report.
*ASC note – the candidate survey contained an inactive link to the Cultural Equity Report; candidates were provided an updated link.
Kyle J. Luebke (City Council At Large): Addressing the inequities in arts funding must start with valuing those organizations and artists who do not have the ability to self-fund their art, or afford to pay bills while focused on their art. This is key because having an artistic outlet can cement a shared experience and foster healing among communities that have been marginalized.
Often, small organizations do not receive commensurate funding compared to larger, more established organizations. This disparity leads to the smaller organizations failing to launch culturally important projects.
Focusing on financial capacity is the most important way that the City can address both current and historical inequities that have plagued our cultural space.
Stephanie Hand (City Council District 6): I am an Organization Change Consultant, and part of the work is equity and Inclusion. Data reminds us that the more people have access, opportunity, education, and financial stability, the stronger the community can become. When we have a greater understanding of one another, we have the potential to strengthen our relationships in our diverse communities and close the gaps that divide us. I will continue to work towards assisting our communities in understanding our varied cultures and art that represent historical and present contexts in Charlotte.
ASC’s 2020 COVID-19 impact survey showed that more than 90 percent of local artists have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and experienced a loss of income. The financial impact of COVID-19 on the sector has deeply impacted the livelihood of Mecklenburg’s creative workforce and the economic future of local creatives and cultural sector employees.
As the City advances on goals of attracting and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce in Charlotte, this will include workers in the creative economy – artists, arts educators, arts administrators, and employees at all levels of arts and culture organizations. It is important to the workers of this sector that elected officials make efforts to understand and address their specific interests and needs.
As an elected official, how will you consider, utilize, and support the creative workers of the cultural sector?
Vi Lyles (Mayor): Again, I must emphasize that we need to protect and provide for our artists, not just with creative support, but with financial support. My top priorities in this campaign have always been housing, jobs, and transportation; access to which ensures financial stability for our creative workforce. This is why I believe so strongly in the review and implementation of the Cultural Plan.
Braxton David Winston II (City Council At Large): In order to keep our local artists, especially artists of color, we have to make sure they are invested in by having access to cash and affordable workspaces. We lose too many artists to other communities where they are able to sell their work and/or grow in their industries to make a living . Too often that is not the case in Charlotte. We need to work together to change this.
LaWana Slack Mayfield (City Council At Large): I will attend meetings, events, and promote the impact of arts in the community and with my colleagues on council.
Carrie Olinski (City Council At Large): As an elected official, the first thing is to listen to their needs. I would like to have a thorough discussion(s) on how this important sector can be supported. Then, steps can be made to implement change where it is possible.
Kyle J. Luebke (City Council At Large): Focusing on funding for individual artists and smaller arts organizations, while bringing them to the forefront of community events, is essential in supporting these creative workers.
As I noted above, I was able to participate in a Culture Block program funded by ASC. What was powerful about this particular program was that one of the leaders describing the murals was the artist of a few of them. Listening to the artist, and having her perspective on the art, made the works come alive. As such, I think that engaging individual artists in community events expands their reach and the impact that our funding can have on their livelihoods.
Stephanie Hand (City Council District 6): I believe utilizing the diverse talents of the citizens of Charlotte, which includes the creative expressions of our arts through a mosaic lens in social venues, is paramount for the continued growth and quality of life within a city.
Please consider how you will determine where public dollars should be directed as an elected official. Will economic development and return on investments exclusively guide your decision making, or will you consider quality of life investments (free community programming, professional development for artists, community building art projects, etc.) with qualitative benefits that may not turn a dollar profit?
How would you describe your decision-making philosophy with regards to investments of public funds, and do you have any specific thoughts you wish to share on public sector funding for arts and culture?
Vi Lyles (Mayor): A trademark of being mayor is the inevitability of receiving feedback–daily! But I always say: I want my people to hold me accountable, and to tell me what they need. My philosophy regarding public funds is that we are all in this together. When we asked the public to commit $50 million to affordable housing, we asked for a commitment to one another. Now, we are asking for a commitment to one another in the form of a penny sales tax for public transportation. The truth is that we can’t do it alone. We all need to acknowledge the needs of one another in order to make our community stronger, even if we don’t personally benefit from something. When our neighbors are stronger, we are stronger.
Braxton David Winston II (City Council At Large): Public sector funding of arts & culture needs to be more robust than it is now. The city of Charlotte has historically overlooked our sectors in terms of of job creation, economic mobility, and creating a desirable city to live, work, & play in. I continue to push our City to invest in ways that make Charlotte a destination for people who are looking to make their careers in creative fields.
LaWana Slack Mayfield (City Council At Large): I agree that government has a role in supporting and funding the arts in our community.
Carrie Olinski (City Council At Large): When using public funds it is important to be diligent about where and how funds are utilized. There is an art in understanding and providing funding for current needs while still keeping a watchful eye and preparing for future outcomes. We need to balance both quality of life investments with economic development investments. The art and culture needs of the present time would guide our quality of life investments but we need to be wise and think forward thinking when it comes to economic developments.
Kyle J. Luebke (City Council At Large): My philosophy as it relates to investments of public funds is one of impact. If we are to have public sector funding for arts and culture, we must be targeted and intentional about how we can use our limited funds to ensure that the broadest number of people receive a benefit.
Having been on the Board of a collective giving organization (The Plus Collective – Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s LGBTQ+ Community Fund), it was a constant discussion about whether to fund established organizations (many of them with large donor bases) or focus on smaller organizations that may not have the fundraising infrastructure.
I would take the same approach with public funding. Arts funding is essential – but it is important that we ensure we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Building financial capacity for smaller arts organizations, and providing an off-ramp for established arts organizations which have the ability to self-sustain their programming, is essential if we want to ensure effective and financially sound arts funding.
Stephanie Hand (City Council District 6): My decision-making philosophy regarding investments in public funds is that when we use public funds, we must craft healthy thought-out plans, estimate the cost of projects, and thoroughly research to determine how we spend these funds. We must also determine the goals and hold one another accountable during the plan’s implementation phase. We said we would do this to continuously have excellent free and paid events for the citizens of Charlotte.
The following City of Charlotte candidates up for election did not complete the survey:
Stephanie de Sarachaga-Bilbao, running for Mayor
Dimple Ajmera, running for City Council At Large
James (Smuggie) Mitchell, running for City Council At Large
David Merrill, running for City Council At Large
Charlie Mulligan, running for City Council At Large
Dante Anderson, running for City Council District 1
Malcolm Graham, running for City Council District 2
Mary Lineberger Barnett, running for City Council District 2
Victoria Watlington, running for City Council District 3
James H. Bowers, running for City Council District 3
Renee Perkins Johnson, running for City Council District 4
Marjorie Molina, running for City Council District 5
Tariq Scott Bokhari, running for City Council District 6
Ed Driggs, running for City Council District 7