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From the Cultural Advocacy Coalition

As you may have heard the Oregon Legislature is meeting this week in both an Emergency Board session and a special session. We need your voice.  

Our colleagues have been working hard on convincing our policymakers to allocate federal CARES dollars to keep our performing arts and culture venues open. We call this “life support for venues” (with thanks to Jim Brunberg!). Led by Representative Rob Nosse and the Independent Venue Coalition, this effort makes it clear that funding nonprofits and small businesses is critical to Oregon’s COVID-19 recovery. We must be at the table for economic support if we are to recover.  The time is now! The Emergency Board will vote on Tuesday to make this allocation.  

Please let members of the Emergency Board know how important this investment is to your communities and to Oregonians all across this state.  

We need letters, emails, and phone calls to these members who are listed below.  

Key points to make:

• We support life-support for Oregon’s venues where art and culture live.
• Venues are statewide. If you live outside of Portland, your voice is especially important.
• Venues are ALL independent in Oregon, we want to keep them that way. Money spent in Oregon venues stays in Oregon.
• These are places where families meet and gather. Where couples meet and families start. Culture and community.
• Jobs, jobs, jobs. Thousands of livelihoods.
• Economic impact: over a billion.
• People move here to be part of music and arts performance network. It's something Oregon is proud of.
• These stages give voice to the voiceless, to perspectives that would otherwise not be heard.

The Emergency Board Contact Emails:
rep.tinakotek@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.PeterCourtney@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.LewFrederick@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.BillHansell@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.BetsyJohnson@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.JamesManning@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.ArnieRoblan@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.ElizabethSteinerHayward@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.KathleenTaylor@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.ChuckThomsen@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.FredGirod@oregonlegislature.gov
rep.ChristineDrazan@oregonlegislature.gov
rep.DavidGomberg@oregonlegislature.gov
rep.PaulHolvey@oregonlegislature.gov
rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov
rep.RobNosse@oregonlegislature.gov
rep.GregSmith@oregonlegislature.gov
rep.DuaneStark@oregonlegislature.gov
sen.LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov

(Full names available on our website)

Thank you for joining us in this effort! 
Cultural Advocacy Coalition