Even our much-maligned Neanderthal ancestors, with the woolly mammoth at the door, figured out a way to provide continued public support for their community cave-painting activities.

This community should be able to do the same.

Unfortunately, the local arts community is once again under attack by elected officials. On the state level, the Republican governor has sustained an attack on public works of art and on the community benefit derived from the local public broadcasting stations.

In Auburn, a former arts building has been turned into a pile of rubble and the mayor has launched a petty, factually misleading and confrontational assault on the community’s central arts promotion organization.

L/A Arts continues to be an innovative, results-oriented and successful engine for the diverse and vibrant arts community currently blossoming in the Twin Cities. Its success continues to be driven by a strong commitment to collaboration, cooperation, facilitation and mutual support.

Those positive concepts stand in stark contrast to the mayor’s current meddlesome and unproductive tone.

While sometimes overlooked and under-appreciated, the arts remain an important part of the L/A business community. Do we really want our elected officials working to diminish public support for the artistic traditions that our families enjoy?

Auburn citizens must voice their ongoing support for the L/A Arts organization and for the shared community value of continued and expanded support for the arts in the Twin Cities.

Richard Byard, Auburn