Los Angeles, California, Oct. 26 – As voters head to the polls, candidates for California State Assembly and Senate in the Los Angeles area have outlined their views on ensuring equal educational and employment opportunities for the 987,522 people with disabilities in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area 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 California State Senate and Assembly in Los Angeles 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.
- Baron Bruno, Senate District 26
- Roxanne Beckford Hoge, Assembly District 46
- Matt Munson, Senate District 20
- Anthony Rendon, Assembly District 63
- Christy Smith, Assembly District 38
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.
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