The Roving Activist’s Blog

I received an e-mail from Marie Johns saying how good it was to meet me at the Candidate’s Forum last week. She also sent me a Disability Questionnaire that she filled out early this summer. I don’t know who put this out, but here it is, with her responses:

2006 Mayoral Disability Issues Voter Education Guide

1. What experiences do you have with issues related to people with disabilities, and how have those experiences prepared you to support DC residents with
disabilities as Mayor?

Most of my experience serving people with disabilities is from my tenure as CEO of
Verizon, DC, where I identified and implemented real solutions in the telecom world,
using technological advances to improve communications access for people with
disabilities. This experience prepared me to support DC residents with disabilities in
critical ways. First, as an experienced manager with strategic planning acumen, I have
and will continuously identify methods to ensure and improve the District’s inclusion of
people with disabilities by ensuring access, whether to information, to services, to
District agencies, or to the John Wilson Building. Second, I understand the benefit of
investing upfront in assistive technology in order to save money in the long run. For
example, the District of Columbia Public School system spends $300 million, which is
approximately 30% of its budget to provide special education services, much of which is
out-of-state private tuition. One alternative would be to invest in trained teachers and
assistive technology, thereby reducing the cost of providing these services and most
important including and instructing our children in our community schools. I will use my
management experience to work with the Superintendent to restructure the provision of
special education services and ensure fiscal management of the budget.

2. What do you see as the most pressing issues facing children, youth and adults
with disabilities in the District of Columbia, and how will you work to address
those issues?

Two pressing issues facing people with disabilities that my Administration will address
immediately are the District’s failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) and the struggling management structure of the Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities Administration (MRDDA). First, District employment
practices, services and supports, facilities, telecommunications, and many general
policies and practices are woefully out of compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act, the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the disability rights
provisions of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act of 1977 (collectively
“Disability Laws”). We must restore the office of ADA Compliance. Currently, every
agency has appointed a staff member to be the ADA compliance officer for that particular
agency. The current system, though, is lacking organization and management of the
compliance officers. I will restore that by creating an Office of ADA Compliance that
will be responsible for investigating actions or inactions of District agencies reported to
be in violation of the Disability Laws. Second, there can be no doubt that MRDDA must
be the first agency within the Human Services cluster that I focus my attention. My two
priorities will be 1) ensuring the completion of the Medicaid waiver amendment so that
the District may maximize the use of federal dollars and 2) developing an effective
management structure for the provision of services for both Evans parties and non-Evans
parties residents.

In addition, another issue that my Administration will address is emergency
preparedness. As CEO of Verizon, DC, I drafted and implemented an emergency
preparedness strategy ensuring that telephones and modes of communication were
operable during and after each hurricane and storm. As mayor, one of my top priorities
will be to work with the ANCs to identify the residences of persons with disabilities and
seniors, so that in the event of an evacuation or any type of emergency we have a plan to
ensure that all residents receive services

3. What will you do to create high quality services and supports for residents with
disabilities?

As stated above, I will restore the office of ADA Compliance to ensure evaluation of
every agency’s compliance with the Disability Laws, reporting of deficiencies,
recommendations to address those deficiencies, and enforcement and compliance with
those recommendations. Also, amongst the Human Services cluster agencies, my
priority will be the restructuring of MRDDA to ensure that all District residents have the
opportunity to receive services in the least restrictive setting. The day after I win the
November election, I commit to setting up a meeting with MRRDA, the Evans Court
monitor, the Quality Trust, and the community stakeholders to draft standards for
delivery of services and performance measures, and a strategic plan to achieve the
benchmarks of the Evans plan so that the District can exit the Evans action. I commit to
meeting with this task force monthly to regularly assess the District’s progress and
compliance with the strategic plan.

4. How will you work to ensure that people with disabilities have the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of community life?

I will work to ensure that people with disabilities have the opportunity to particpate fully
in all aspects of community life, by addressing four areas: education and transportation,
recreation, economic development, and employment. With regard to education and
transportation, DCPS needs a permanent Special Education Director who is committed to
providing children and youth with an inclusive education in their neighborhood.
Improving and ensuring that special education services are provided at the neighborhood
level will necessarily result in the improvement of transportation and the reduction of
these costs. As to recreation, I will work to ensure that all community recreation centers
are accessible to all residents and that all staff members and volunteers are trained on
respect and accommodating all individuals. In addition, I will ensure that all new plans
for development of Recreation Centers will utilize universal design strategies for
accessibility. Within the economic development cluster, one of my administration’s
priorities will be to strengthen the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
(DCRA). Critical to that will be to ensure that all DCRA staff members are trained on
the requirements of the ADA, and that they require compliance from every housing and
commercial developer. Finally, I will also work with the Chamber of Commerce on
developing a policy and plan of diversity and inclusion within the private sector.

I think that this platform is a very good start towards full inclusion of people with disabilities as citizens of the District. I am going to see if the other candidates have responded to this questionnaire, or have similar ideas for full inclusion of our community.

On Tuesday, I attended a Candidate’s Forum at the Chevy Chase Community Center. Each of the five mayoral candidates took questions about their agenda, and what they would do to fight crime, improve education, etc.

I arrived at the Community Center early in order to get a good seat. The first person that I saw was my neighbor, Samantha Nolan, an ANC Commissioner for Ward 4. Samantha is a really neat person who does a lot for the community. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so it was good to see her. On a side note, Samantha was the first neighbor to welcome me to the neighborhood when I first moved here back in 2004. She was doing a study on the traffic, as she was on the Safety Commission, and saw me struggling to get across the street, looking for the nonexistant curb cut. I don’t know what strings Samantha pulled, but within days, that intersection had new curb cuts!

Anyway, Samantha showed me to a good spot up front, and I settled in. The sun was shining directly in my face, so Samantha and Ed, the president of the Chevy Chase Neighborhood Association had the window curtains shut. Up comes this Sistah With Attitude — you know the type — the self-important, overbearing African American woman who just knows that she’s All That. Miss Thang looks me up and down and says, “I need that light for my pictures. Can you move somewhere else?” It was obvious that her pics were far more important than this “wheelchair” who shouldn’t be here, and who clearly didn’t belong among this rarified crowd. Fortunately, Samantha came to the rescue and explained that the front row seats were for folks with disabilities and those who were deaf or hard of hearing. Samantha explained that the sign language interpreter would be up front, and the light would interfere with the people’s ability to see the interpreter. The lady wasn’t hearing, or “getting” it, and was trying to contain her ire. “But you closed the curtain because the sun was in her eyes”, she insisted, glaring at me. Thankfully, she was ushered away. I doubt that she realized, or cared that she came off as an arrogant snob who begrudged a small courtesy to another human being, and an important one to other members of the audience.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and once again, settled down. Presently, a woman approached me, and asked if I’d received information about Vincent Orange, one of the candidates for mayor, and a Ward 5 city council member. I replied that I had been to his website, and asked what was his stance on people with disabilities, as I couldn’t find anything on his site. She told me that Mr. Orange was resopnsible for getting the city government to recognize American Sign Language as an actual language. She also told me that his wife worked in special education, and that Orange was trying to get a parcel of land to build one of those segregated schools for kids with disabilites so that the city could stop shipping students with disabilities out of the District for school. I was NOT impressed by that last fact, and stated that under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), sudents with disabilities had the right to attend their home school, and to be integrated into classes with nondisabled students. “And what about jobs”, I asked. “People with disabilities have the highest rate of unemployment in the District, higher than all other groups combined”. The lady began talking about unemployment in Wards 7 and 8, and I began to get irritated because though I care about such matters, the discussion was about folks with disabilities, and I resented her trying to trump our issues, and downplay our importance. She ended up giving me her card.

I noticed that 3×5 cards were being handed out for folks to write down questions that they wanted to be asked of the candidates. I took one, and wrote my question, which of course, asked what each candidate would do to help people with disabilities achieve full inclusion in the District.

Scott Bolden, a well-known attorney running for an At-Large seat on the City Council came by to say hello. I asked my stock questions, including if he supported a cabinet level office solely for people with disabilities. He felt that the mayor needed to take the lead on that. He wanted to talk with me some more, and gave me his card.

A gentleman in an expensive suit came and sat next to me. He was pretty close, and the tail of his suit was on the wheel of my chair. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, as if he didn’t know what to do, and didn’t want to appear insulting, and so was I, for that matter, because I didn’t want to be responsible for getting his suit dirty, so I moved a bit to give us some space. “Thank you”, he said, and introduced himself. He was Robert Gordon, a Ward 3 ANC Commissioner, and Chair, and a candidate for city council from Ward 3. I introduced myself, and explained that I lived only a few blocks away. “I’m glad you’re here”, he said.

At this time, it was decided to go on with the forum. Council Chair, Linda Cropp, and Ward 4 council member, Adrian Fenty had not arrived yet, but were on their way. Candidates Michael Brown, a lobbyist, Marie Johns, former president of Verizon, and Vincent Orange were present. One of the emcees explained that each candidate would be give 1 minute to present an introduction, then, three questions from various organizations would be presented, which the candidates would answer. Each candidate would be given 1 minute to answer the question, and would be entitled to four rebuttals of thirty seconds each. The candidates would then take questions directed to them, individually, and the same format would be in place.

I listened to the candidate’s introductions, and was impressed by the fact that Marie Johns had risen from being on public assistance and living in subsidized housing to become a corporate president, and mayoral candidate. I noted that Michael Brown lived in my neighborhood and shopped at the Safeway, and the CVS, two places that I frequent.

I must admit that the forum was a blur of questions, and information overload. I remember that they were asked what they would do in the first days of their administration if they were elected. They were also asked how they would handle crime, and education. About this time, council member Fenty arrived.

I will admit that about this time, it started getting a bit hot because the candidates, particularly Brown and Orange, began attacking the other candidates, who, of course used their rebuttals to defend themselves. About this time, Council Chair Cropp arrived, but there was no seat for her, so someone went to find one. At this point, Mr. Gordon graciously give his chair to Mrs Cropp, and found another. Now, it really got hot and heavy, with Brown and Orange on the attack, specifically against Fenty and Cropp. To their credit, though they defended themselves, they did so gracefully, and did not return the attack. They got hit with barbs about the baseball stadium, about the fact that they (Cropp and Fenty) voted against the crime emergency legislation, and other issues. They were asked if they would retain the police chief, and what would they do about the fire chief.

Unfortunately, the attacks and rebuttals took so long that only a few questions were asked. It seemed that the repsonses were to be expected, and each candidate’s issues were almost identical. I have to admit that I was disappointed. I could have done without the attacking and grandstanding of both Brown and Orange, and funnyman antics of Mr. Orange. I would have been satisfied had even one of the cadidates had a markedly different agenda. Perhaps I would have remembered more.

Once the forum was over, I decided to see if I could speak to any of the candidates. Mrs. Cropp did come up, and thank me for coming. I managed to find Marie Johns, and told her that I was answering her invitation to come up and say hello. She gave me a hug, we exchanged pleasantries, and she took my information. I then spoke again to Linda Cropp, who gave me her chief of staff’s number, and told me to call her, so that she could send me her entire platform regarding people with disabilities. She did tell me that she supports a cabinet level office for the disability community.

I was pleasantly surprised that Vincent Orange actually sat down with me, and asked for suggestions and ideas. I told him that he needed to reach out to our community, and keep in constant contact with us. Provide good and efficient health, and other services for us. I informed him that many areas of the District was still physically inaccessible to people with disabilities, including broken or nonexistant curb cuts, and public places that could be made accessible, but weren’t. I told him that when he sets up a summer job program for youth, be sure to include youth with disabilities. When thinking of education, don’t try to lump kids with disabilities into special education–integrate them with nondisabled kids. Prepare them for college, not group homes or nursing homes. Mr. Orange felt that I have given him quite a few ideas, and asked me to stay in touch. He did say that he supported a cabinet level office for people with disabilities.

On the way out, I was approached by Mr. Brown, and I repeated the same things that I had said to the others. I asked him (as well as the others who I hadn’t heard from) if he’d received my letter. He said that he would look for it. I never did catch up with Adrian Fenty. I don’t know if he ducked out quickly, or if I simply missed him in the crowd.

I still haven’t made my choice, yet, though it was an honor to meet the candidates. I am going to follow up on Mrs. Cropp, and Mr. Orange, and see if Michael Brown will get back to me. I’ll keep up with Marie Johns, and see if Mr. Fenty will answer my e-mail. I won’t be able to work on any candidate’s campaign because I will be a poll worker. I will, however, continue to study the candidates, and will keep you informed.

Wow, I’m impressed! Less than a full day after I posted my letter to her web site, I received an e-mailed response from Marie Johns, one of the candidates for mayor. It wasn’t one of those canned autoresponses either, but a real e-mail! As part of my activist activities, I have written and e-mailed many a lawmaker, political candidate, or Famous Person only to receive an autoresponse, a canned response from a staffer, or worse, no response at all, so you can imagine how happy I am. I must say that I am honored that Marie Johns took the time to respond to me, and I hope that she doesn’t mind my reprinting her response.

Dear Ms. Cameron,

Thank you for your e-mail.  Of course I  care about people living with disabilities and if I elected, I will provide resources (education, housing, job training, and health care) so that our residents living with disabilities can be productive members of our community. While I do not have a specific plan geared solely towards those living with disabilities, I think that the plans that I do have to better DC are inclusive of all residents, including those living with disabilities; however I will explore the issues at hand further. Your suggestion to me as well as the other candidates about reaching out to the disabled community  is a good one, and it’s something that I am sure we all strive for–to be as connected as possible to all voters. 

One of the women working on my campaign came across your blog, which mentions that you will be at the Candidates Forum on August 8th.  I hope that you will introduce yourself and give me the opportunity to earn your support.

Thanks again for taking the time to write.

Sincerely yours,

Marie Johns

I will indeed be at the Candidates Forum on the 8th, and will be honored to meet with you! Again, thank you for taking the time to write back to me.