Bob Massie – Candidate for Governor Talks Arts and Creativity

Members of the MASSCreative Leadership Council kicked off Create the Vote 2018 on January 26 with a meeting with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Massie and his campaign manager.

Create the Vote 2018 is a nonpartisan initiative of MASSCreative to raise awareness of the ways that arts and creative expression improve schools, strengthen local business districts, and build vibrant neighborhoods in which people want to live, work, and play. Members of the campaign are meeting with candidates for Governor of Massachusetts to talk about their views on the arts and cultural community and the role that culture, creativity, and the arts should play in a gubernatorial administration. Create the Vote met with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Gonzalez April 19.

“We don’t have much time here—we should be doing the things we love and not thinking incrementally!” said Massie of the approach a governor should have to the arts. He expressed his understanding of the arts as a vital part of the fabric of our everyday lives, as well as a way to connect with one another and to talk with others about our beliefs.

As a long-time Somerville resident, Massie talked about the transformation he has seen in the community and the role the arts have played with events such as Somerville Open Studios, ArtBeat, Porchfest, and the Mystic Mural Project. Being a progressive leader is a central component of his campaign and his identity. He expressed the same sentiment toward arts and culture, saying that he aims to be the strongest pro-arts Governor Massachusetts has ever had and wants to make Massachusetts one of the strongest states in the country for state support of the arts.

Massie holds a degree in Divinity from Yale and a doctorate from Harvard Business School. He is an activist and author who addresses issues of corporate accountability, social justice, and climate change. Massie is one of three candidates campaigning to be the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, who will face incumbent Republican Governor Charlie Baker in the general election. The other Democratic candidates are Setti Warren, former Mayor of Newton and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2012, and Jay Gonzales, former State Secretary of Administration and Finance.

(From left to right: Emily Ruddock, MASSCreative; Nicky Enriquez, MassArt; Matt Wilson, MASSCreative; Jason McCool, Aeronaut Brewery; Bob Massie, Gubernatorial Candidate; Kate Huffman, Encore Tours; Gary Dunning, Celebrity Series of Boston; Amy Neill, Cultural Center of Cape Cod; and Karen Ristuben, Rocky Neck Art Colony)

During Create the Vote 2017, MASSCreative and arts leaders around the state raised awareness of the arts and creative expression in 118 races, including 13 mayoral and city council elections and three special elections. They helped organized two forums for candidates and voters and published five op-eds in media outlets in Springfield, Cambridge, Fitchburg, Framingham, and Barnstable.

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