Billy Kenoi

[Rob Tucker]

Disability Rights Hawaii Sept. 2008 Newsletter

This is from their Current Newsletter:

.. NewsNotes ...

-- Billy Kenoi's uninformed statements about disability advocacy.
During the Mayoral debates two weeks ago, Billy Kenoi (front-running mayoral
candidate) made the following statement: The problem with County Parks is
that too much money has been spent on disability access, and the Parks would
be better if that money had been spent on other things.
In response to this shocking statement, the DRH Board of Directors
wrote to Mr. Kenoi. We explained that the funds spent on accessibility for
County Parks were legally required by Court mandate because the County of
Hawaii, for many years, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by
making their parks inaccessible to people with disabilities. Any reduction
of investment in accessibility would produce yet another violation of the
ADA. We urged Mr. Kenoi to commit himself to compliance with the ADA. We
asked him to stop scape-goating people with disabilities for problems
produced by other people. We have gotten no reply from Mr. Kenoi.