Listening in as local arts nonprofits arm Congressman Jimmy Panetta with info.
On Monday, July 3, representatives from local arts nonprofits and organizations had a meeting with U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel, in a conference room at CSU Monterey Bay. It was a meeting that could have a big impact.
The Arts Council for Monterey County arranged it so that the arts groups could state their best case for why Panetta's office should support what they do.
"There are so many things he touches throughout the year that can be helpful," said Arts Council Executive Director Paulette Lynch. "We can give him more ammunition."
Each organization had one minute to do so. So information came quickly and densely, from the likes of Leonard Han of the Monterey Bay Lion Dance Team – "We want to go to [East] Salinas and offer projects to cultivate inclusive values, encourage social providence, and ethnic diversity and harmony" – to Juan Sanchez, founder of Palenke Arts.
"We have a saying in Spanish," Sanchez said. "‘Whoever does not have a godparent, a padrino, does not get baptized.' We need godparents."
"We can help you with that," Susan Breen said. She had become president of the Arts Council board 48 hours prior, taking over from Arlene Krebs, who sat next to her.
Linda Hevern, project director at the Monterey County Probation Department Youth Center, gave Panetta a poster of a mural painted by 33 incarcerated kids. "It's very healing, art as an active meditation," she said. "To enter into a self-reflective state where they can access what they know is true instead of peer pressure."
Panetta heard from the Monterey Jazz Festival, Urban Arts Collaborative, Ariel Theatrical, First Night Monterey, CSUMB, Hijos del Sol – about 20 groups in all. Most speakers went over their one-minute allotment, which didn't seem to bother Panetta, whose two daughters roamed the building before sitting next to him. It was like a fact-finding mission. But if Panetta didn't already know the particulars, he felt the spirit.
"I wish more people could see the teamwork that goes into this," he told the group. "From my point of view, being in Washington, it's about making sure you receive the funds necessary. It's so important, considering the budget proposed by this administration and what it does to the [National Endowment for the Arts].
"As a former prosecutor, I need evidence," he continued. "I can't just stand up in court and say someone is guilty. You've given me that evidence. I promise to fight for you, for this place that we all call home."