Inclusion Daily Express -- Faced With Opposition From Disability Groups, Appointee Steps Down

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Faced With Opposition From Disability Groups, Appointee Steps Down
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
March 15, 2007

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA--A man who was chosen by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sit on California's Building Standards Commission stepped down Wednesday amidst opposition from disability rights groups and doubts that the state Senate would approve his appointment.

The governor appointed Kim Blackseth, who has been quadriplegic since 1979, on March 10, 2006 to a four-year term on the commission. Such appointments have to be confirmed by the Senate within a year.

But over the past several weeks, disability rights advocates have been gathering in large numbers at hearings to show their opposition to Blackseth's confirmation. They claim that Blackseth, who works as a consultant for businesses on accessibility compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, has sided too often for his clients, and that he has actually tried to help businesses get around the law rather than follow it.

"I think the larger (disability advocacy) community would tend to believe there shouldn't be too many compromises for enforcement and compliance," Marty Omoto, head of the California Disability Community Action Network, told the Sacramento Bee.

Blackseth denied the claims, and said he believed the advocates were being unfair to him.

Related:
"Disabled nominee pulls out" (Sacramento Bee)
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/138194.html

Copyright © 2007 Inonit Publishing
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