[Tn-talk] Two blind lt. governor candidates

Sun Jul 9 15:28:20 CDT 2006

Hello Shara and listers,

    Glad to hear from you on the list. At least there are two of us here
though I'm a Texan. I'm the gentleman who built your Affiliate's Web Site. I
wish I could have met more of you during the convention to give you the
opportunity to ask me about the Web Site, and to share your ideas for future
content. I'll finish up the TBE area, and will add links and information to
the new National Center for Blind Youth and Science, (NCBYS)  Web Portal
that was launched during the convention in the next few days.

    Mike Seay and I had plans for us all to meet for this purpose, but
things didn't go according to plan. But at the end of the day the 2006 NFB
National Convention was the best one Mary and I have ever attended. In some
respects it was everything the 2001 Convention was to be though our triumphs
were tampered by my guide dog needing $500.00 worth of tests as he stopped
relieving during the convention. The vet put him on medication to treat the
condition. For a 12-year-old he handled the national convention as good as
can be expected. Naturally we had to find a way to absorb these extra costs
besides the pricy services at the Hilton Anatole.

    The national convention is over. Now to spend the next few weeks,
"Cleaning up after it." None the less we both enjoyed ourselves in Dallas
this year, and look forward to Atlanta next year. We hope to meet you during
the year.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shara Winton" <swinton100 at comcast.net>
To: "Tennessee Talk (NFB of Tennessee Discussion)" <tn-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2006 12:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Tn-talk] Two blind lt. governor candidates

This is really awesome! I hope that we can see more and more blind people
doing these kinds of things and the "sighted world" accepting us as equals.

Bravo!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
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Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 9:42 PM
Subject: [Tn-talk] Two blind lt. governor candidates

>
> >Many of you will remember that Christin Cox worked at the National Center
several years ago.
>
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> >Md., N.Y. have blind lt. gov. candidates
> >7/1/2006, 3:28 p.m. ET
> >By TOM STUCKEY
> >The Associated Press
> >ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Kristen Cox says it is an encouraging sign of how
much
> >public
> >perceptions have changed that she and David Paterson, both legally blind,
> >are running
> >for lieutenant governor in Maryland and New York this year.
> >"I don't think a few decades ago this would even have been entertained in
a
> >serious
> >way," Cox said Friday, one day after Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich
> >announced she
> >would be his running mate.
> >Paterson, the Democratic minority leader in the New York Senate, is the
> >choice of
> >Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer and has the support of
the
> >state's
> >top Democrats. In New York, unlike Maryland, candidates for governor and
> >lieutenant
> >governor run separately.
> >Advocates for people with disabilities are encouraged that two blind
people
> >are leading
> >candidates for lieutenant governor in the same year.
> >"This can only be positive," said Mark Richert, director of public policy
> >for the
> >American Foundation for the Blind.
> >"Clearly, just like anybody else who represents an ethnic minority, if we
> >succeed
> >people will say 'That's great. That's an example of blind people being
able
> >to do
> >anything,'" Richert said.
> >Cox recognizes light and dark but must read Braille or use a computer
that
> >converts
> >print into spoken words. She uses a cane to guide her around obstacles.
> >Paterson can see shapes and is able to read at close distances for short
> >periods.
> >He doesn't use a cane but has someone walk with him to help him navigate
and
> >to introduce
> >him to people.
> >Ehrlich's choice of Cox impressed Elaine Sveen, president of the Maryland
> >School
> >for the Blind, who is not blind but raised a blind child.
> >"This really highlights the goals we have as educators, goals of
> >independence and
> >to be successfully employed and successful in life," she said.
> >"It creates interest and thus opens the doors of opportunity for all
blind
> >individuals,"
> >Sveen said. "She's quite a role model for others."
> >Cox said she would be honored to be seen as a role model.
> >"I am who I am today because of people who were role models for me, who
> >mentored
> >me and believed in me," she said. "I think, quite frankly, I have a
> >responsibility
> >from that perspective to help others."
> >Cox, 36, is married and has two boys, ages 10 and 1. She has worked on
> >disability
> >issues as a federal and state official and with the National Federation
of
> >the Blind.
> >Representatives of the federation didn't return calls seeking information
on
> >any
> >other blind public officials or candidates.
> >After his election as governor, Ehrlich brought in Cox to head the
existing
> >disabilities
> >office and then appointed her as secretary in 2004 when the office became
a
> >cabinet-level
> >department.
> >Paterson, married with two children, is a prominent Democratic black
> >official in
> >New York and has been credited with helping Democrats gain seats in the
> >state Senate.
> >He lost most of his sight at age 3 months when an infection damaged his
> >optic nerve,
> >and he backs stem cell research as offering a promise of a cure for his
> >condition.
> >With a companion to guide him, he has run the New York City Marathon.
> >Paterson did not immediately respond to a request for an interview with
The
> >Associated
> >Press that was made through his campaign staff.
> >Maryland Republicans say it was Cox's talent and drive that earned her a
> >place on
> >the ticket - replacing Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is running for the
U.S.
> >Senate
> >- not the fact that she is blind.
> >"Her intellect is stunning, but it's nothing compared to her drive and
> >energy," Ehrlich
> >said. "When Kris zeros in on a target, she never misses."
> >Cox said she knows her blindness will be an issue in the minds of voters.
> >"They are curious about it. They have questions about it, and that's
fair,"
> >she said.
> >"I hope ultimately in the election that blindness becomes a non-issue."
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Tn-talk at nfbnet.org
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