A Conversation on Portland’s Cultural Sector

We teamed up with fellow Portland creative industry advocates MusicPortland and Regional Arts & Culture Council to present this conversation with City Commissioner Special Election Candidates running for Position 2, to replace the late Commissioner Nick Fish.

We invited both candidates, Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith, to a conversation about their visions for Arts, Music, and Film in Portland. Loretta Smith’s campaign did not respond to our requests to join this forum. Below is our conversation with candidate Dan Ryan.

Your support makes candidate outreach like this possible. Contribute now to strengthening our industry.

We ask questions about issues that affect all of us, like affordable housing and representation in City Hall, as well as issues specific to each of our creative sectors: our popular music ecology, the visual arts, dance, theater, and non-profit music, and the creative film industry.

Ballots arrive this week—be sure to mail yours in by August 6 or drop it off at an approved location by August 11. Don’t forget! You can have an impact on the future of city relations with our industry by voting in this Special Election.