An open letter to the Candidates
I have been following the mayoral race as best I can. Though I am leaning toward Linda Cropp, my decision is not yet final. I have been to the websites of each of the five front-runners — Michael Brown, Linda Cropp, Adrian Fenty, Marie Johns, and Vincent Orange. All of them address many of my concerns, but none of the candidates has said nary a peep about people with disabilities–it’s as if we don’t exist! Therefore, I have written an open letter to all of the candidates. I have already sent the letter to Marie Johns, as her website offers the convenience of a form to contact her. The other candidates must be contacted by e-mail. Indeed, on his website, Vincent Orange gives the impression the he would prefer that you contact everyone but him, as he has no direct e-mail. Oh well. Here’s the letter.
An Open Letter to the Candidates
Dear Candidates,
My name is Anita Cameron, and I am fairly new to the District. I am a disability rights activist and advocate with over 20 years of experience, who has worked across the nation. I serve on the Elderly and Disabled Transit Advisory Committee for WMATA, however, I am writing as a private citizen of the District.
I like living in the District, but I have found living here to be a real challenge for people with disabilities. There are still many places that are inaccessible to people with mobility impairments. Services for our community are inadequate, at best. Unemployment is rampant, and so is discrimination. Our children are routinely “left behind” in education, and there is no cabinet-level department that specifically serves people with disabilities. We are often forgotten, or at best, an afterthought. Indeed, we aren’t even thought of until a tragedy occurs, and when it blows over, we are once again forgotten.
What are your plans to include people with disabilities as full, valued, contributing citizens of the District of Columbia? How will you address the issues of poor services, poor education, and joblessness that affect us?
I have a suggestion to you, and to your fellow candidates. Include us! Reach out to our community as you would other communities. Factor us into your studies and plans. Please do not view us as insignificant and unworthy of consideration. We, too, love our great city, and want to participate in making it even better.
I look forward to your response.
Respectfully,
Anita Cameron
I will have an opportunity to pose my questions to the candidates in person. On August 8th, at 7:30 pm, The Chevy Chase Community Center will host a Candidates Forum. Since the Center is just up the street from me, I definitely plan to be there, and I will let you know what happened.