Western New York Independent Living hosted its Meet the Candidates event this week – an annual opportunity for disabled people to ask political candidates their most pressing questions. BTPM Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins was there and has an overview.
AUDIO STORY TRANSCRIPT:
This is a rush transcript and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins: Traditionally, the Meet the Candidates event has had several races discussed and not every candidate has shown up. Thursday, however, was an exception.
The five candidates on the ballot for Buffalo Mayor spent two hours - not debating, but one by one presenting their platform and being questioned on it directly by voters. Some of the hottest topics were accessible affordable housing, policing, mental health, communication and infrastructure.
But, how do these candidates feel they’ve shown up for and will show up for the disability community if elected?
Rasheed Wyatt: Well, I'm not going to sit here and make you feel like I've done something I haven't. I haven't done good enough.
Emyle Watkins: That’s Buffalo Common Councilmember Rasheed Wyatt.
Rasheed Wyatt: And I think that with this new elevation, I'll be able to do much better, because I think that you have individuals who have advocated on your behalf, who have come before us, and we've done some things, but again, it's a little bit. It ain't really enough.
Emyle Watkins: Wyatt emphasized — as he did throughout his time speaking — his plan to host quarterly public meetings to better engage with the community as a whole.
Both Wyatt and Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon have sat on the city council for over a decade. In that time, the city saw – and after a lot of outcry, corrected – issues with municipal Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, sign language interpretation during emergencies and other access issues for disabled people. Scanlon said he was a part of correcting those issues and sponsoring a tax exemption for disabled people. He emphasized in his response a focus on infrastructure, in particular.
Chris Scanlon: It's a little chaotic right now. We have a plan to do an inventory of all of our buildings to make sure that everything is compliant. I know that we are not, and we want to get there, but also taking steps to invest in our infrastructure and things like that to make sure that we are compliant with the ADA.
Emyle Watkins: The race’s youngest candidate – Anthony Tyson-Thompson — has a unique perspective as someone who worked directly with disabled people at People Inc.
Tyson-Thompson: It brought [me] the idea that everyone needs help, and how important it is to make sure we're supporting our most vulnerable populations and making sure they have access to the resources that everyone needs to have a thriving life. So, it means for me, my campaign, I'm talking about my personal narrative. I'm also speaking about the vulnerability of being overseen and not heard all the time.
Emyle Watkins: Tyson-Thompson however, did not give a specific approach he’d take in City Hall, but rather emphasized his more broad focus of serving marginalized populations.
Sean Ryan: It seems that every governor comes in with a way to sort of secretly cut services by saying they want to do things more efficiently. And I've stood up [to] the governors on that.
Emyle Watkins: State Senator Sean Ryan was the only candidate we didn’t get to talk to in person, but have followed up via email. However, his virtual introduction covered how he sees himself in relation to the disability community. He emphasized previous work with Neighborhood Legal Services, the Learning Disabilities Association, and in the state senate, pushing for increased funding for disability services.
Sean Ryan: We're going to have part of our administration's focus be bringing into government those living with disabilities, those advocating for people with disabilities. We need to build it right into the administration to make sure the city works well with everybody, and it's part of having a city that's accessible to everybody. I think over the years, City Hall has ignored or patronized your community.
Emyle Watkins: Ryan also emphasized his housing plans, which he claims will take a universal design approach to make all housing accessible. Garnell Whitfield Jr. also stressed his own career background leading the city’s fire department and providing first-response to disasters.
Garnell Whitfield Jr.: I always believe that the fire department is well placed to make a difference in the lives of the residents of this community.
Emyle Watkins: He described advocating for interpretation and translation during emergencies, creating emergency plans and doing home checks for welfare issues and dangers. But Whitfield shared that he feels first responders can be empowered to be problem solvers.
Garnell Whitfield Jr.: I think that they have now regressed. The truth of the matter is, is that without leadership, they're not going to do any of those things. And I think that we... so those are people who can maybe we can train them to do inspections for lead and all these other kinds of things. Since we have them responding to the needs of this community, we can do more with them. And I think I would do that rather than try and reinvent the wheel. How will we better use the resources that we have?
Emyle Watkins: Early voting for the mayoral election begins Saturday, June 14. Election day is June 24. We have more coverage of this election and the candidates’ platforms on our website at BTPM dot org. For Buffalo Toronto Public Media, I’m Emyle Watkins
