Council hopeful Beyer pushes arts as 'an economic engine'

Charlottesville City Council candidate Paul Beyer called Tuesday for renewed emphasis on the arts as a driver of local economic growth, part of a final campaign push as voters prepare to head to the polls to select three Democratic council nominees.

“I think our city needs to re-imagine the arts as an economic engine in our region, one that diversifies the middle class, that supports local businesses and drives our local economy,” said Beyer, a 29-year-old developer and homebuilder.

Beyer, who studied film and writing at New York University prior to getting involved in his family’s business, R.L. Beyer, is one of seven Democrats competing for three council seats up for grabs this year. He was joined by roughly 30 people, many decked out in white campaign T-shirts, at a news conference on the lawn on the McGuffey Art Center.

Beyer recommended two specific actions the city should take. He suggested that the city create a “cultural affairs position” or increase funding for existing nonprofits to oversee an arts strategy that would improve coordination between tourism, businesses, nonprofits and City Hall. He also called on the city to reinstitute a “percent for art” policy in which 1 percent of funding for public building projects would be set aside for arts initiatives.

“Just to be clear, I’m not someone that normally advocates increasing funding or new positions, but this is an area where if we’re strategic about thinking about our arts community, we can invest money to make money,” Beyer said.

Beyer said the group that comes closest to filling the role of arts oversight is the Piedmont Council for the Arts, which the city gives $21,590 annually.

“Now, is that enough money to give to strategic, economic analysis for a vital sector of our economy?” Beyer said.

Beyer said the PCA has begun a study of the linkage between arts and the economy, a study which he said should’ve been done a long time ago.

“It says that every time you go to First Fridays, every time you go to a show, there are restaurants, there are merchants that benefit,” Beyer said. “And if you put a dollar figure to this, people start to open their eyes and recognize the arts are not just about quality of life. They’re not just intangible. They drive our local economy. And so I want a council that focuses on that.”

Beyer’s event comes as Democratic candidates ramp up their campaign pitches in the home stretch ahead of Saturday’s “firehouse primary.”

On Saturday, University of Virginia media-relations writer Brevy Cannon held an event highlighting a local biotech development.

In an interview, Cannon said Indoor Biotechnologies’ plan to transform the old Coca-Cola bottling plant on Preston Avenue into a biotech center is a “model project” that will create “middle class jobs for the 21st century.”

Cannon said the project will create up to 200 jobs, many of which would be support positions that might only require a high-school degree and a community-college certification, providing opportunities for residents who might not opt for the standard four-year degree.

“As long as we have enough jobs for these people to go into, we can give them a clear path to the middle class, and that’s really what my campaign is all about,” Cannon said.

Cannon said the city could aid similar projects by providing financial incentives and tax relief, or by direct investment.

“A project like that that has potential to really be an anchor, kind of an inflection point for our local biotechnology industry, I could easily support us doing some kind of a public-private partnership with that, where perhaps the city helps invest in the space being set aside for incubator space,” Cannon said.

Beyer and Cannon are competing in the Democratic primary with incumbent Satyendra Huja, Dede Smith, Colette Blount, Kathy Galvin and James Halfaday

The Democratic primary will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Burley Middle School, and organizers expect turnout to be high. The primary is open to registered city voters willing to sign a Democratic declaration form.

The Democratic nominees will eventually compete with at least five independent candidates in the Nov. 8 general election.

All 12 candidates will have a chance to make their case directly to city voters this evening at a forum hosted by Random Row Books. The event will run from 7 to 9 p.m. at the bookstore and event space at 315 W. Main St.