All Over Albany

Hey, that's Chris Gibson and... Alec Baldwin

Among Alec Baldwin's stops this week in DC while lobbying for National Endowment for the Arts funding: Chris Gibson.

The Congressman's office says Baldwin wanted to thank Gibson for his support of arts funding. Baldwin has been working with a group called Americans for the Arts to rally support for the NEA. At the National Press Club yesterday he called Gibson a "hero" of the arts on Capitol Hill. [NPC] [TU CapCon]

Last year Gibson was one of only a handful of House Republicans to vote against a cut to NEA funding. The measure still passed by eight votes. From a political perspective, Gibson's support makes sense. It'd be he hard to represent the Hudson Valley and somehow be seen as anti-arts. And his new district -- NY-19, if he's re-elected -- covers even more of the Hudson Valley and Catskills. [Americans for the Arts]

Gibson's office says the Congressman invited Baldwin to the district to co-host an arts event. Alec Baldwin in Kinderhook would have a certain State and Main quality...

(Press release post-jump.)

photo: Chris Gibson's office

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Alec Baldwin Thanks Congressman Gibson for his Support of the Arts

Washington, DC - Congressman Chris Gibson (NY-20) met today with actor Alec Baldwin to discuss funding for the National Endowment for the Arts in his Washington office. Mr. Baldwin and the group Americans for the Arts requested the meeting to thank the Congressman for his votes in the 112th Congress, which have supported arts funding in the United States, and to discuss future initiatives.

"I am proud to promote and support funding for the arts in America, as originally outlined in the Constitution. My family and I are enthusiasts of the arts in New York, be it local theater, dance, Council of the Arts events, or visiting the Hudson River School at Olana, where famed American artists have studied," said Congressman Gibson. "Tourism is a significant economic driver in Upstate New York, and the cultural centers arrayed across the 20th District bring thousands of visitors each year. I look forward to building on our reputation as a center for the arts, and would welcome the support of Americans for the Arts in that effort."

Congressman Gibson also invited Alec Baldwin to visit the 20th Congressional District and jointly host an arts event. The district is home to 1,947 arts-related businesses, which employ 4,855 people.