Bridgeport secures a panel on the arts

Persistence can many times bring a payoff. It did recently for independent Bridgeport City Councilman Keith Rodgerson.
After waging a two-year campaign, Rodgerson finally gained council approval for legislation to create an advisory panel to oversee Bridgeport's presently fractured arts scene.
Bridgeport's next mayor, to be elected in November, will have the opportunity to appoint a seven-member arts commission that would serve as the primary advisory group on the arts to the City Council, the city's legislative and budgetary body.
At its very least, the legislation promises a start in dealing with the arts in Bridgeport after several failed attempts during the past decade to have an organizing and coordinating body that can bring together the city's diverse cultural and artistic offerings.
The drawback to the legislation is that the new commission is only advisory. However, the ordinance does provide for the commission to eventually recommend expansion of its authority as well as the creation of a city office of arts and culture or appointment of professional management firms to administer a city arts program.
As Bridgeport tries to capitalize on a substantial upswing in economic development, plenty of lip service has been given to the arts as a key player in the development, especially in the downtown area. However, creation of a central clearinghouse for arts events and channeling funding has eluded the city and there's only been tepid and meager support to the arts community.
Rodgerson's arts proposal has jelled at the same time he's mounting an uphill, independent bid for mayor in this year's municipal elections as the candidate of the fledgling Bridgeport First Party. Several participants in the city's arts community are candidates on the party's slate.
If nothing else, Rodgerson's candidacy, the new party and the new ordinance should heighten awareness and discourse during the remaining weeks of the municipal campaign on the role of the arts in the Bridgeport community and future economic development.