Young Vermont Representative Advances Arts Policy with the Entrepreneurial Spirit of His Generation

As a legislator, Representative Matt Dunne (Flemming Fellow ’95) of Vermont is combining two lifelong passions: politics and the arts. Elected to the Vermont House seven years ago at the age of 22, Dunne has focused his legislative tenure on arts policy. Now the Assistant Minority Leader, Dunne can claim success for three new important arts policies in Vermont.

One new law creates a distinction between professional and nonprofit arts organizations, so the nonprofit organizations are exempt from taxes on tickets they sell. Another changed the definition of libraries-to be “community centers”-so they would be eligible for arts-related funding.

A third established the state-funded Vermont Film Commission, which has attracted new film productions to Vermont. These are a win-win, says Dunne, because they support economic development in a way that doesn’t destroy the state’s natural resources.

As a young legislator, Dunne ran for office partly because he was concerned about the perception of his generation’s political apathy. It’s not that the generation is apathetic, explains Dunne. “Generation X is an entrepreneurial generation. We often look outside of government, and often to nonprofits, for places to get involved and make societal changes,” he says.

He cites his successful legislation around brownfields and downtown redevelopment as examples of his generation’s out-of-the-box approach to change that looks for common ground among unlikely allies. In one of Dunne’s proudest moments, the labor council and the chamber of commerce co-sponsored a statewide forum to consider downtown redevelopment.