New York City Candidates Highlight Disability Issues

New York City, Oct. 26 – As voters head to the polls, candidates for New York State Senate and Assembly have outlined their views on ensuring equal educational and employment opportunities for the 948,000 people with disabilities living in New York City by responding to a questionnaire by the disabilities advocacy group RespectAbility.

“Our nation was founded on the principle that anyone who works hard should be able to get ahead in life,” said RespectAbility’s President, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi. “People with disabilities deserve equal opportunity to earn an income and achieve independence just like anyone else.”

According to a recent survey, 74 percent of likely voters have a disability themselves or have a family member or a close friend with disabilities. The upcoming elections and their results will have an impact on people with disabilities, so it is important to become familiar with the candidates’ thoughts on certain issues.

“Candidates for office ignore the disability community at their peril,” said former U.S. Representative and Dallas Mayor Steve Bartlett. Bartlett, who was a primary author of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, is the chairman of RespectAbility.

RespectAbility is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. The questionnaire is purely for educational purposes.

Below are links to detailed answers to the questionnaire. Every major party candidate for New York State Senate and Assembly in New York City was given an equal opportunity to address these issues and if they are not listed, it is because they declined to answer. Additional responses received will be posted to The RespectAbility Report.

• Harvey Epstein, Assembly District 74
• Richard Gottfried, Assembly District 75
• Robert Jackson, Senate District 31
• Jessica Ramos, Senate District 13
• Andrew Gounardes, Senate District 22

RespectAbility is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities for people with disabilities. RespectAbility does not rate or endorse candidates. View all candidate responses at http://therespectabilityreport.org/category/pwdsvote-2018-questionnaire/. To learn more about the organization, visit our website at www.respectability.org.