Vision-impaired counting on N.Y. gov to open public's eyes
The Boston Herald, Sunday, March 16, 2008
By Laura Crimaldi and Eva Wolchover
For those who cannot see, David A. Paterson's acension to the governorship in New York tomorrow is a chance to open the public's eyes to what they themselves have known all along.
"It's really providing a whole opportunity to educate the public about the capabilities of blind people," said Kim Charlson, the Braille & Talking Book Library director at the Perkins School for the Blind. "He's in this position because he has huge abilities, not a disability."
Paterson, 53, will be the first legally blind politician in U.S. history to serve as governor for more than just a few days. He lost sight in his left eye and much of the sight in his right eye after an infection as an infant.
The only other legally blind politican to lead a state is Bob Cowley Riley, who lost his left eye in World War II and later lost vision in his right eye. He served 11 days as governor of Arkansas in 1975.
Paterson "is another example of an impressive role model for students at Perkins and around the country," said Perkins President Steven M. Rothstein. "And my goal would be in our lifetime that there will be so many people who are blind, visually impaired or with other disabilities in high government, business and academic positions that the appointment is no longer news."
Statewide, there are about 38,000 legally blind people registered with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, said Charlson, who began to lose her sight at age 11 as a result of glaucoma.
There have been two Perkins graduates elected to Beacon Hill, both to the House: George Greene, who served as a state representative from 1943 to 1956, and Gregory Khachadorian, who served from 1966 to 1976, according to a school spokeswoman.
The blind community, however, faces a staggering unemployment rate of about 70 percent, which advocates attribute mostly to an unwillingness by employers to hire people with vision impairments, Charlson and Rothstein said.
The cost of adaptive technology such as braille printers and PDAs for the visually impaired costs thousands more than their counterparts for people with sight.
"We need people in office that understand the plight of the disabled," said Brian Coppola, 43, of Methuen, a Perkins graduate who was born legally blind.
Coppola is involved with legislation that would require pharmaceutical companies to pay for audible devices that read prescription label information aloud to the blind.
"We need somebody to tap into the prices of assistive technology to start regulating its market," Coppola said.
Bob Branco, 50, of New Bedford, author of the self-published book "As I See It: From A Blind Man's Perspective" said he has an "awful lot of confidence" in Paterson.
“I am glad that he is the position that he’s in as a legally blind person. He’s got a chance to prove to society that he can handle his job without all of his vision,” Branco said.