Jem Keller
Candidate for Millcreek City District 3
www.jemkeller.com
801-803-3378
Millcreek
Salt Lake County
Non-partisan
UCA Candidate Survey
Should government be involved in funding the arts and humanities?
Yes
Please explain your answer (one or two sentences is sufficient):
Education comes in many forms, and I believe that arts and humanities are important to the development of critical thinking and spatial relationships. As a recent graduate from the College of Humanities at the University of Utah, I was grateful to have had the opportunity to see my cohort receive funding from the State of Utah so they could pursue their higher education.
If your elected office could impact the amount of money spent on public K-12 arts & humanities education, what would you choose to do?
Increase Spending
If your elected office could impact the amount of money spent on after school K-12 arts & humanities education program, what would you choose to do?
Increase Spending
Do you believe that during-the-day arts and humanities education should be a part of K-12 curriculum?
Yes
If your elected office could impact the amount of money spent on cultural programs, what would you choose to do?
Keep Spending the Same
Do you consider the arts and cultural sector an economic driver in Utah?
Unsure
Do you support Utah's Percent-for-Art Act, which designates 1% of public building costs for public art?
Unsure
Do you support the designation of Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty as the State Work of Art?
Unsure
If your office could impact legislation, would you support a bill that exempts cultural non-profits from property tax?
Unsure
Please explain your answer to (one or two sentences is sufficient):
I've answered unsure to the aforementioned question because I do not have the facts or figures at hand to study the impacts of tax exemptions as and how they impact revenues. Prior to issuing a position on exemptions, it would behoove me to study the facts at hand.
Would you support a minor increase to bed or tourism taxes to fund more cultural districts in your community?
Unsure
Please explain your answer (one or two sentences is sufficient):
Prior to providing a position statement on taxation as it relates to cultural districts in our community, I would have to study the tax implications and how it could contribute to arts and culture. From what I understand as of this writing, Millcreek has few or no "hotel tax" dollars in our city.
Last year the state legislature passed a bill (HB223 Local Historic District Amendments) restricting the creation of historical districts. What are your thoughts about historic preservation? (One or two sentences is sufficient).
I support Local Historic Districts. Our sense of community, history and the attending architecture that comes with Local Historic Districts provide for richness within our neighborhoods. Certain standards for historic preservation must be met, however, and all the stakeholders involved with these processes must be part of the discussion.
Have you had a personal experience with arts, culture, or humanities that has had an impact on your life? Please explain (one or two sentences is sufficient).
As I mentioned earlier, I am a recent graduate with an M.A. in Linguistics from the College of Humanities at the University of Utah. In addition, I taught elementary art at Cosgriff Memorial School and Eastwood Elementary for 5 years. Teaching young children is exceptionally rewarding, because the integration of color, spatial relationships and student's interpretation of the different modalities of art gave them the opportunity to experience art and culture that was outside of the current mainstream curriculum. Fine arts provide an outlet for children that allows them the freedom of expression that adds richness and depth to their lives.
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