King County Council introduced an ordinance — Ordinance #2018-0086 — to give the Council more control over 4Culture, the county's cultural funding agency. The ordinance would allow the Council to fire the executive director of the organization, and to name a majority of 4Culture's board of directors. (You can read more about it on 4Culture's own site.)

This all seems rather silly to me. It's not as though 4Culture has done anything wrong — the organization oversees a ton of grants and artist residencies and artist visibility programs, with virtually no controversy and/or scandal along the way.

Look, I'm for big government: health care, regulations, taxes, you name it. But I don't understand why King County Council needs tighter reins over 4Culture. The one part of city life that I don't want the city to have more control over is arts and culture. Why not let the experts handle it? Why give elected officials more control over which artists get what funds and why?

If you agree with me, maybe reach out to the King County Council and ask why, in a county with one of the worst homelessness crises in the nation, this has become a priority. Tell them why you like 4Culture the way it is, and let them know that we don't want more direct Council oversight of our cultural resources.