Tapping Technology - Hear Our Voice - Disabilities Forum, By Louise Calderan

December, 2002

Tapping Technology

Hear Our Voice - Disabilities Forum

The Maryland Disabilities Forum
Hear Our Voice!
2002 Gubernatorial Candidates Event
October 10, 2002
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baltimore, MD

Review by Louise Calderan

Today marked the third Gubernatorial Candidate's Forum since inception of the Maryland Disabilities Forum (MDF) in 1994. And this one commanded standing room only. Not only was the disability community very interested in what the candidates had to say, but so too were the advocates of the disability community.

Dave Ward, curator of the Maryland Future Home, gave opening remarks. The Forum was dedicated to the memory of Justin Dart (1930-2002). "Get involved in politics as if your life depended on it... and it does." Justin Dart

The Forum began with Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend presenting her ideas and platform for Marylanders.

Background:

Kathleen has a long record of service to Maryland. She worked for the Appropriations Committee of the Maryland legislature (1984-85) and served as assistant attorney general of Maryland (1985-86). In 1986, she won the Democratic nomination for Congress from the 2nd District in 1986, but lost the general election.
Townsend is known around the country for her work in Maryland to inspire young people to public service. In 1987, she formed the Maryland Student Service Alliance at the Maryland Department of Education, and became its first executive director.
In 1993, after six years at the Student Service Alliance, Townsend was appointed by the president to serve as deputy assistant attorney general of the United States. While at the Justice Department, she helped lead the successful effort to hire 100,000 new police officers, and she worked to develop other community-based crime fighting programs.

In 1994, Parris Glendening asked Townsend to serve as his running mate and run for Maryland lieutenant governor. She helped energize the Democratic ticket to achieve victory in the general election and on January 18, 1995, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was sworn in as the first woman lieutenant governor in Maryland's history.
The Lt. Governor began by highlighting the "Hallmarks" of her campaign. They are:

better educational and skills training while our young people are in school so they leave better prepared;
enhanced transition services as young adults move from the educational arena to that of the world of work;
increased efforts with employers to hire qualified individuals with disabilities-especially including the State as an employer;
expanded training and re-training opportunities through our implementation of the Ticket to Work program;
strengthening our transportation system across the State to assure we can get people to where the jobs are.

These are but a few of the issues we must address as we work to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

We believe we can and we must do more to expand work opportunities for citizens with disabilities and to ensure that the jobs are meaningful, have comparable potential for advancement, and offer fair pay. We are committed to:

Fund and implement the Medicaid Buy-In program for Marylanders with disabilities. We must work to address all of the barriers to employment for people with disabilities, and the issue of assuring continued medical coverage is one of the most critical areas for those who want to and are able to work.
Promote departmental and agency efforts to recruit and hire qualified workers with disabilities.
Support and encourage collaborations between business incubator-type programs and disability advocates to assist individuals with disabilities to establish their own businesses.
Become personally involved with our business leaders in the establishment of Business Leadership Networks in each region.
Work with key stakeholders in the development of career ladders for those who work in fields supporting people with disabilities in their life choices.
Insist that we move toward an outcome-based system that rewards those who assist people with disabilities in finding and retaining jobs in the community.
You can read more about the Lt. Governor at www.friendsofkathleen.com

Kendel Ehrlich, Representative Bob Ehrlich's wife, stood in for him at the forum while he was in Washington, DC voting on the President's Iraq resolution. She did a fabulous job fielding questions from the concerned crowd on issues important to them.

Background: Bob Ehrlich has sat on the United State House of Representatives, 1995-Present as a Member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee; Subcommittee on Health; Subcommittee on Telecommunications & The Internet; Subcommittee on Environment & Hazardous Materials; and Co-Chairman, House Biotechnology Caucus. He was also a member of the Maryland General Assembly from 1987-1995 on the House Judiciary Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethics.

Here is Ehrlich's platform on the issues. His Freedom Initiative plan, as well as his plan for Maryland's budget and state reform can all be found on his website www.bobehrlich.com. The following is an outline of his initiatives for Maryland that can be found on his website:

Goals of the New Freedom Initiative for Maryland:

Ending the stigma against people with disabilities;
Educating the public about disabilities and assistive services;
Consolidating widespread services currently offered through many state agencies under the Department of Disability Services;
Proposing and implementing consensus solutions to move people out of institutions and into the community with supportive wraparound services for health care, housing, education, employment, and transportation needs.

Ehrlich Action Plans:

Increase Community-Based Services
Increase Access to Affordable Health Care
Increase Employment Opportunities
Expand Housing Options
Promote a Statewide Education Plan for Children and Adults with Disabilities
Coordinate Public and Private Transportation Initiatives

Both candidates worked hard to share their goals and hopes for Maryland residents with disabilities as they outlined plans and changes for the state. Both candidates will work hard to represent those with disabilities and it is up to the disability community to encourage whoever becomes Maryland's next Governor to make sure that the rights of people with disabilities is his or her first priority.