Actors’ Equity Association held a day of action in San Francisco, with 40 Equity members joining the #YesonE campaign to volunteer and contact San Francisco voters about voting #YesonE, the local arts funding ballot measure.
“Equity has fought to protect federal arts funding, like the National Endowment for the Arts, for years. Now we are amping up our efforts on behalf of state and local arts funding, especially in the 28 regional markets that we call ‘Liaison Areas’,” said Kate Shindle, President of Actors’ Equity Association. “I am thrilled to join members in supporting Prop E, which is not even a new tax. It will simply restore a historic tie between the hotel tax and public funding for the arts, which will both stabilize and immediately increase arts funding in San Francisco.”
Prop E is not a tax increase. It simply restores the previous, voter-approved priorities for hotel tax funding, which the City has diverted for other purposes over the years. It re-allocates existing tax dollars to their original purpose, with no increase in taxes. Prop E restores the critical relationship between hotel tax and funding for arts and culture organizations. This will not increase taxes for San Francisco residents or tourists. Other municipal agencies would not see a decrease to their existing allocations.
Actors’ Equity has long defended the National Endowment for the Arts, which supports arts programs in every Congressional District. And earlier this year, Equity fought for stronger arts funding in the District of Columbia. Hundreds of Equity members got involved in Washington, D.C. and wrote their local City Council member about to support a local arts funding proposal. That measure, which passed, led to $30 million in dedicated arts funding in the District of Columbia.
