504 Democratic Club: Questionnaires (Candidate for Attorney General Kathleen Rice's response)

Candidate Name: Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice

Contact Person: Eric Phillips, Communications Director

Campaign Address: 483 Tenth Avenue, Suite 500, New York, N.Y. 10018

Phone: 212-564-8336

Email: info@KathleenRice.com

Endorsements: U.S. Reps. Brian Higgins and Carolyn McCarthy; Former U.S. Attorney Denise O'Donnell; Democratic county chairs from Nassau, Suffolk, Kings, Chemung, Greene, Oswego, Washington, Albany Counties; Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings, Albany County Executive Michael Breslin, Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams, Hempstead Mayor Wayne Hall, New York City Councilmember James Vacca; JFK Democratic Club of Queens, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, Hempstead PBA, EMILY's List; RWDSU, UFCW Local 1500 and Local 1, Long Island Federation of Labor, Nassau/Suffolk Building Trades

How have you incorporated people with disabilities into your campaign?

Yes. We have insisted on a wheelchair accessible office and we are aggressive in our recruitment of volunteers and staff members with disabilities.
If there is a Campaign office(s) is it wheelchair accessible?

Yes.
What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities in your personal life and in the workplace?

I have managed and worked alongside several employees with disabilities during my tenure as Nassau County's district attorney. These employees include a senior member of my staff, Assistant District Attorney and Deputy Bureau Chief Ken Kunken.
(http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53)
What type of jobs would you be willing to hire and to provide reasonable accommodation (e.g. flex or part time) for staff members with disabilities?

Any and all jobs under my direction - from senior- to entry-level employment - will be open to applicants with disabilities. I will be equally aggressive and innovative in providing flex- and part-time job opportunities for people with disabilities in the Office of the Attorney General.
While in public office and/or prior to this campaign, what have you accomplished in regard to advancing disability rights? This can include work towards accessible housing, transportation, employment, health care, education, and including people with disabilities in the political process.

In addition to employing people with disabilities in my district attorney's office, I have been a vocal advocate for expanding professional opportunities, and improving access to housing, transportation, employment, health care and education for people with disabilities. I have also worked hard to improve access to the political process - and my campaign - for people with disabilities.
Will you commit to only attend and/or sponsor events that are accessible to people with disabilities including providing written materials in alternate formats, providing assistive listening systems, and sign language interpreters, as well as ensuring that locations are accessible to people who use mobility aids, like wheelchairs and walkers?

I will commit to only sponsoring events that are accessible to people with disabilities, and I will strongly encourage my opponents and others seeking or holding office to do the same.
Do you pledge to use your office to affirm or strengthen, rather than weaken, civil rights protections to persons with disabilities?

Yes.
How do you propose your active involvement/availability to the disability community? Will there be a specific person in your office responsible to this community? Will have regular office agenda meetings on these issues? What would you do to have direct contact with our community?

The Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau -- and, specifically, the Disability Rights Project within the Bureau - is charged with protecting the rights of disabled New Yorkers. As Attorney General, I will be in continual contact with the bureau chief, and require regular reports on possible rights violations of people with disabilities throughout the state. A member of the Civil Rights Bureau staff will also be tasked as the coordinator of the Disability Rights Project, and responsible for not only legal efforts, but also regular outreach to the disability community. Finally, I will seek funding to increase the size of the Civil Rights Bureau to better protect the rights of all New Yorkers, including people with disabilities.
How will you work closely with the disability community to assure passage of vitally needed legislation? What will be your strategy?

As Attorney General, my Disability Rights Project Coordinator will be charged with following the legislative priorities of the disability community and tracking changes to state, federal, and local law that could affect New Yorkers. The coordinator with also work in conjunction with a designated member of the OAG's Legislative Bureau and my Chief of Staff to determine legislative priorities, and to coordinate successful efforts to secure, amend, or add to civil rights protections.
If you are not an incumbent,
1. Is your present office/work place accessible to people with disabilities? If not, what have you done to rectify the inaccessibility?
  
  Yes.
Do you support a waiver of the state's sovereign immunity claims under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973?

Yes. New York State should be held accountable for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
While localities have acquired voting machines that attempt to meet the accessibility standards of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), many poling places in New York State remain inaccessible to persons with disabilities. Do you favor the elimination of provisions in Section 4-104 (1-a) of the NYS Election Law allowing waiver of polling place accessibility standards?

Yes. Without this change to the law, New Yorkers with disabilities have unequal access to citizens' most sovereign right, the right to vote.
How do you propose dealing with school districts that deny civil rights to disabled students even after the State Division of Civil Rights affirms the student's rights such as to use a service animal?

Once the state has determined that a school district has violated a student's rights, it is the responsibility of the Attorney General - with the aggressive deployment of the Civil Rights Bureau - to enforce that decision and use every legal tool at their disposal to ensure that the law or directive is followed.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires housing developers to set aside a certain percentage of accessible units for persons with disabilities when federal funds are used for construction. Do you favor incorporating these provisions into State law so that the Dept. of Housing and Community Renewal can be empowered to enforce these provisions?

Yes.
Persons with disabilities have historically been under-represented within the Democratic Party leadership. According to the 2000 census, persons with disabilities comprised 20.6% of New York State residents and 23.1% of those 18 years and older. Previously, we were told that only those groups included in the Voting Rights Act were included in the goals and timetables for delegate selection. Yet the lesbian and gay communities were included for the first time at the 2000 convention and again at the 2004 and 2008 conventions. Would you support a campaign to set a goal that 10% of the total New York State Delegation to the 2012 Democratic National Convention be comprised of persons with disabilities?

Yes.

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