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Elliot Spitzer and David
Patterson Celebrate the ADA with the Disability Community
Press
Release: New York, N.Y. (July 26, 2006)
Eliot
Spitzer, candidate for governor, and running mate David A. Paterson, candidate
for lieutenant governor, met today with hundreds of disability advocates to
commemorate the 16th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Advocates for New Yorkers with disabilities gathered at the headquarters of the
Disabilities Network of New York City and were conferenced in from thirteen
satellite locations across New York State..
Eliot and
David commemorated the anniversary of the ADA by engaging in a discussion about
their disabilities agenda for New York, which they have laid out in part in
prior speeches. They also used the opportunity to listen to the many concerns
of the disability community, as a way of building on their agenda and ensuring
that it fairly represents the needs of the community.
 Eliot and David's
disabilities agenda includes:
- Appointing a disabilities advocate in the
Governor's Office.
- Committing to greater community based housing
options.
- Reforming Medicaid to ensure NY's support system
follows a person wherever they go.
- Exploring innovative supports for life and
financial planning as well as greater caregiver support. "As we celebrate this
anniversary, we must rededicate ourselves to the ideas and ideals set forth in
Americans with Disabilities Act," Eliot Spitzer said. "It is our obligation as
a state to offer those with disabilities the same opportunity, independence,
and empowerment that we aspire to for all citizens."
www.spitzerpatterson.com
"Sixteen
years later, we have all seen how the ADA shattered the chains that have held
back millions of Americans, whose only disability was the insensitivity of our
society," David Paterson said. "All of us, who have enjoyed its protections and
whose lives have been enhanced by its equalizing of opportunities, are the
guardians of its future. The law may be on the books, but its enforcement and
implementation requires our constant vigilance," he continued. |
