[nfbwatlk] Fw: Proposal for a Seattle Commission onDisabilitiesIssues

Wed Nov 5 06:04:31 UTC 2008

Bob:

You're right: in my experience, other disability groups haven't got a 
clue that pan-disability efforts almost always fail to adequately 
represent the interests of the blind. And as Ben says, many 
pan-disability advocates practically froth at the mouth when you argue 
the merit of their efforts.

Mike

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Sellers" <robertsellers500 at comcast.net>
To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2008 5:11 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Fw: Proposal for a Seattle Commission 
onDisabilitiesIssues

Mike, good point. These  'isolated' disabilities commissions always have 
the
flavour of the 'separate but equal' stinch.   Are you aware if other
disability groups understand the detriment of disability coalitions?  My 
gut
feel is they probably don't.

Bob Sellers

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On
Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 7:39 PM
To: NFB of Washington Talk
Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fw: Proposal for a Seattle Commission on
DisabilitiesIssues

Fellow Federationists:

This guy seems to have a fixation that people with disabilities have it
terrible in Seattle. I've received numerous posts and I believe someone
put one of them on this list a while back.

Frankly, I think the idea of a city disabilities commission to be
absolutely wacko! If, as the guy says, disabilities are diverse, than no
single commission dealing with multiple disabilities could address the
needs of each disability properly. In fact, I think a commission like
that would be downright harmful in that it would allow all and sundry to
think they'd solved the problem and thus not have to pay attention to
the real problems of the blind, the deaf, the developmentally-disabled
and on and on ad nauseum.

Were I a citizen of Seattle, I'd right opposing this nonsense.

Read below.

Mike Freeman

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Leman" <cleman at oo.net>
To: "Neighbor" <cleman at oo.net>
Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 11:01 PM
Subject: Proposal for a Seattle Commission on Disabilities Issues

One outcome of the Oct. 28 Seattle Neighborhood Summit was a proposal
for a City commission on disablities issues.  The present system is not
working well, in which there is typically one disabled invidual on the
Human Rights Commission and one on the Pedestrian Advisory Board.  The
disabled community is extremely diverse, and would benefit from having
the voice of a City commission. As reflected in the letters below, some
individuals are advancing such a proposal to members of the City
Council.  Whatever your views, please consider writing to the
Councilmembers about this issue.   The issue is urgent right now because
of the ongoing budget process.

Seattle City Council: P.O. Box 34025, Seattle, WA 98124-4025
sally.clark at seattle.gov 684-8802
tim.burgess at seattle.gov 684-8806
tom.rasmussen at seattle.gov 684-8808
jean.godden at seattle.gov 684-8807
richard.conlin at seattle.gov 684-8805
jan.drago at seattle.gov 684-8801
bruce.harrell at seattle.gov 684-8804
nick.licata at seattle.gov 684-8803
richard.mciver at seattle.gov 684-8800

The above alert was prepared by Chris Leman, (206) 322-5463,
cleman at oo.net, as an individual.   Please share this message with others
who may wish to make a difference.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mary Beth Lum <mblum08 at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 2, 2008 at 1:44 PM
Subject: Request for Disability Rights Commission

Dear Councilmember Licata,

My name is Mary Beth Lum.  I am a long time resident of Seattle and an
active member in the Disability Community.  I am directing this letter
to you in your role as the Chair of the Culture, Civil Rights, Health &
Personnel Committee, as well as to the entire Council, to request that a
Commission on Disability Rights be established under the Office of Civil
Rights.

The current commissions (Human Right Commission, Women's Commission and
the Sexual Minorities Commission) were created as arms of the Office of
Civil Rights to help them better serve minority populations and the
unique issues they face.

Because the Disability Community encompasses such a broad range of
people, and the issues of this community are complex, it is not
reasonable or sufficient to place the onus of addressing this spectrum
on the shoulders of one person (i.e., a single representative on a city
board, task force or commission).  This misses a large percentage of the
population.  A commission would serve as a forum for hearing all voices
of the Disability Community.

Although legislation exists to address discrimination and the particular
barriers, both physical and attitudinal, faced by people with
disabilities, they continue to be marginalized and lack access to
housing, transportation, employment and recreation, among other things.
The establishment of a Disability Rights Commission would help support
the OCR and the City Council to properly address these types of issues
and to proactively respond to them.

Not addressing the concerns of the Disability Community is actually a
disservice to the city of Seattle and its citizens.  Incorporating
People with Disabilities in the planning and creation of city projects
and programs will enrich and enhance neighborhood diversity, and
contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.  [HB 2794]

I respectfully ask for your action to create this commission.

Sincerely,
Mary Beth Lum  2743 NE 140th St. Seattle, WA 98125  (206) 235-2706

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Julianfwheeler at aol.com
Subject: Request for Establishment of Seattle Commission on Disabilities
Issues

Councilman Licata, Chair of the Civil Rights Committee,

To follow up on the communication below, I hereby request that you and
the Seattle City Council consider establishing a Seattle City Commission
on Disabilities Issues for the reasons given below.

Furthermore, I hereby request that you and the city council consider
repositioning the budget and staff arrangement of the Seattle Office of
Civil Rights (OCR) for the purpose of accommodating the new Commission
as requested.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Julian Wheeler,
Seattle Human Rights Commission
(title provided for personal identification purposes only.)

Copied Text From Previous Communication Follows:

Dear Councilmember Licata, et al.,

Please accept this letter as a request that the Seattle City Council
consider establishing a commission on the subject of issues that concern
the disabled in Seattle, e.g., a Seattle Commission on Disabilities
Issues.

I respectfully ask for your consideration for the following reasons:

1. The disability community is at once unique and widely defined. Such a
commission as requested would be a visible venue that would serve to
direct petitions for redress of grievances by the disability community
and its supporters to the City. Also, it would provide a tool for
ascertaining the extent of concerns that impact the disability
community, and will give the City, and the office that will staff it,
the ability to gain an advance sense of issues that arise at any given
moment, including through the activities of its commissioners.

2. This would provide the disability community the opportunity to
express its concerns in a forum where it will be heard as one community,
wherein its concerns will be heard by a body of commissioners whose
definition and majority will be composed by those whose affinities
should favor pursuit of disabilities issues, discussions and solutions.
Currently, addressing disabilities issues through different bodies with
at least one representative of the disability community puts its input
at risk of marginalization, given the possibility that disability
community representatives can be out-voted on these bodies, i.e.,
advisory boards, task forces, city commissions, etc.

A commission as requested will give the disability community a chance to
thereby speak with one coherent and united voice. It will further
provide the disability community with an opportunity to resolve issues
that are internal to the community, so as to build on what unites it and
thereby strengthen its ability to ascertain emerging issues.

3. There are issues currently impacting the disability community
disproportionately, where the shares of people with disabilities who are
so impacted are greater than its share of the population in general,
resulting in needs that are not being adequately met. These issues
include, but are not limited to: employment, transit, homelessness, and
police conduct.

These issues are going either unmet, or are characterized by the broader
community as being of lesser importance.  This can lead to, for
instance, community projects not incorporating sufficient accessibility
as to make them usable by many people with disabilities.  Ultimately,
this may make it more difficult for people with disabilities to pursue
employment, entertainment, housing, or other opportunities.

Additionally, I further request that the city staff this requested
commission with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights, which can further
pursue its mission to promote social justice for everyone.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Julian Wheeler, Member,
Seattle Human Rights Commission (for personal identification purposes
only).

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