Key actions and positions posted on the intersection of disability and education, jobs, immigration, climate crisis, criminal justice and more
Sacramento, CA, August 27 – Republican candidate, pastor, CEO, and consultant Sam Gallucci has responded to a detailed candidate questionnaire on disability issues. The questionnaire is from RespectAbility, a nonpartisan nonprofit disability organization that does not endorse candidates. The questionnaire is purely for educational purposes. RespectAbility has reached out to candidates in California’s critical gubernatorial recall election. The full text of RespectAbility’s questions and Gallucci’s responses follows:
EDUCATION & SKILLS: What is your plan to ensure that all students with disabilities, including English Language Learners, receive an appropriate education to acquire critical and marketable skills?
We must ensure education dollars are spent in the classrooms and not with unions. We must give teachers the tools to be successful and teach students a curriculum that will allow them to be successful in the real world. We need more CTE classes. Not everyone is meant to go to college and there are many jobs and trades that can be completed by students and adults with disabilities. Having a disability does not automatically mean you can’t function in society. Everyone has a role and we must help students with disabilities reach their God given potential.
EMPLOYMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP: If elected, what will you do to advance opportunities for people with disabilities who want to work and earn an income, just like anyone else? How will you support employers, large and small, to recruit and hire workers with disabilities?
I would look to foster partnerships with non-profits to allow students with disabilities to work, gain on the job training for careers and jobs with a good income. There are many programs that allow students to get paid while working at a local non-profit. We need to expand these programs.
ACCESS & INCLUSION: Whether or not you have a formal platform, what specific plans do you have to incorporate the voices of people with disabilities into your decision-making processes, if elected?
My door is always open. I will make it a priority to meet with regularly disability advocacy groups to ensure that I am updated regularly with issues facing this community. Currently, I ensure my campaign events are accessible to the disabled. I try extremely hard to have an interrupter their when we are able.
FIGHTING STIGMAS: If elected, what will be your plan to fight stigmas, highlight the disability community, and promote higher expectations for success?
Education. Often times stigmas come from a lack of education. We must educate other students and adults about disabilities. Also, we must show the world that people with disabilities are just like you and I. They have feelings, emotions, thoughts and they can often work along side those without disabilities. I believe they both tie back to education. Education on disabilities but also education as to what disabilities aren’t. They aren’t a life sentence. They don’t mean incapacitated. They don’t mean not useful or a bother. We must show people they have a place in society just like the next person and have a lot to contribute. We must display prominent disable individuals to show they are capable of important and demanding roles just like everyone else.
OTHER KEY ISSUES: What additional policies and priorities, other than those already discussed above, do you plan to focus on to improve the lives of people with disabilities?
I will make it a top priority for people with disabilities to get a good education and find jobs in California.
Gallucci is one of many candidates who are competing in California’s special gubernatorial recall election. For a full list of candidates running in the September 14 recall election and to learn more about voting, please visit the California Secretary of State’s 2021 CA Gubernatorial Recall Election website at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections.
RespectAbility is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of their communities. RespectAbility does not rate or endorse candidates. View more coverage of California candidates on our website.
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