Creative Sonoma Outsources for a Local Creative Website meant to support "Go Local"

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Click Here: Creative Sonoma Petition

EXCERPT of Petition Overview:
Creative Sonoma, a division of the County of Sonoma Economic Development Board, has awarded the project of Development and Implementation of CreativeSonoma.org to Silicon Valley Creates, Artsopolis, an organization for which the interim director of Creative Sonoma, Nancy Glaze, was once executive director. This is an egregious conflict of interest as Nancy Glaze has also acted as consultant for the last four months with Creative Sonoma during the RFP process. We also feel that Creative Sonoma withheld critical information in the RFP—a budget with a clear scope of project.

Creative Sonoma, an entity that plans to “represent the creative sector of the community, effectively advocating for its growth and development,” misrepresents itself by bringing an outside vendor in to develop CreativeSonoma.org, the “hub” for its growth. It is absolutely necessary that a Sonoma County creative team or teams develop the website for Creative Sonoma as this truly represents Sonoma County’s creativity. This decision to use an outside vendor takes money out of Sonoma County and takes jobs away from the local creative sector Creative Sonoma claims to represent. ...

It's a humbling notion to realize that we've lived in Sonoma County 15 years, done many theatrical productions here, earned a living as theatre professionals, produced a radio show for four years, and never heard of an entity called "Creative Sonoma." Am I blindingly ignorant of the resources around us, or is this agency a bit myopic when it comes to connecting with the community it's established to serve? I hope the former.

Granted that it's a relatively new entity, as I discover from a quick googling. But to my mind, the issue of its awarding a website contract to an outside outfit is less important than the question of how it's been engendered and how it interacts with the "industry" it desires to promote. There are many, many souls in Sonoma County who consider themselves "creative" and have track records to prove it. How many of these have been part of the conception & evolution of "Creative Sonoma"? How many have even heard of it?

As I say, perhaps I'm displaying my own ignorance or demonstrating how out-of-touch I am. But over the decades of my work life, I've seen too many examples of councils & agencies set up to "serve the community" without remotely being in touch with or responsive to that community. I've looked at some of the notes and press releases of the EDB, but my fear is that this is another of those top-down plans that generate a lot of publicity, a few sub-grant funds, and a classy website, with little actual impact on the "creatives" who actually inhabit this place.

I'm hopeful that someone involved will disabuse me of this impression. And that the new director will initiate a great many conversations within the broad creative communities of Sonoma County. It's these conversations that should shape the work to be done.

-Conrad Bishop, The Independent Eye, Ltd.