Utah Cultural Advocacy Alliance Grade: A (93.75%)

• Candidate Name: Clint Smith
• Your Municipality: Herriman City
• Elected office for which you are running: City Council

Question 1: Should government be involved in funding the arts and humanities?
Yes

Question 2: Have you had a personal experience with arts, culture, or humanities that have had an impact on your life?
Yes

3b // Optional, explain your experience.

Question 3: Do you support public funding for city and county arts councils who then re-grant that money to local arts and humanities organizations?
Yes

3b // Optional, explain why or why not.
It is my belief that we need to do more to promote the arts in our communities and provide opportunities for more exposure to our residents.

Question 4: Do you support Percent for Art programs, which designate 1% of public building costs for public art that are included within that building? Currently, only 8 Utah municipalities have such a program.
Yes

4b // Optional, explain why or why not.
I once visited a community in Texas that had a similar program in place which helped to provide varying forms of art at the city buildings. These arts provided for several items that enhanced the building and grounds and gave opportunity for reflection for those that visited.

Question 5: Do you support having a Percent-for-Art program in your own municipality?
Yes

5b // Optional, explain why or why not.
As part of a new and rapidly growing community we need to look for opportunities to promote the arts in our public building and enhance their experience while in them.

Question 6: Do you consider the arts and cultural sector an economic driver in Utah?
Yes

6b // Optional, explain why or why not.
We live in a very beautiful and scenic state and I believe many visit here to experience it and find ways to incorporate it into their own form of art.

Question 7: 32 municipalities have a RAP (recreation, arts, and parks) type tax to help support cultural organizations in their communities. Would you support a RAP type tax such as this in your own municipality? If your municipality already has such a local option sales RAP-type sales tax and you support it, answer yes.
Yes

7b // Optional, explain your experience.

Question 8: Municipalities can facilitate partnerships between cultural organizations and the local tourism sector to boost the local economy. Do you support this? Optional, explain why or why not. 
Yes

8b // Optional, explain why or why not. 

Question 9: Municipal governments can create Cultural Districts - with or without tax incentives. Governments sometimes fund these via bed or tourism taxes within the Cultural District boundaries, but it can be done within municipal budgets fairly cheaply. Is this something you would support?
Depends (explain in the next question)

9b // Optional, explain why or why not. 
As a very young and growing community with a focus on growing our commercial tax base I do not want to impose a new tax that would negatively impact drawing much needed commercial to our community but look for ways to help them see the value in promoting the arts in our community to help them be successful as well.