Mark Warner keeps his word
It's most interesting when an Associated Press report includes a reference from Mark Warner's Republican challenger in this year's race for US Senate that Warner doesn't keep his word.
When Mark Warner ran for Governor in 2001, the Disabled Action Committee of VA obtained 3 commitments from candidate Warner. They were:
1) Support for making the then Department of Rights for Virginians with Disabilities (DRVD) a semi-autonomous state agency;
2) Issuance of a formal apology for the State of Virginia's legacy of involvement in Eugenics;
3) To meet with disability advocates.
Once elected Governor Mark Warner in fact kept all 3 campaign promises.
First he indicated during his initial 2002 State of the Commonwealth address the need for legislation making DRVD semi-autonomous and therefore beyond the politicization that plagued DRVD for a quarter century since 1977. After it was introduced in the subsequent session of the Virginia General assembly; Warner signed in to law HB 9 Protection and Advocacy, Office for; created "
As a footnote, Jim Gilmore as Governor had vetoed similar legislation ( HB 491) in 2000 despite initial passage by the Virginia General Assembly.
Second, Governor Mark Warner on May 2, 2002 issued a formal apology for the state's involvement in Eugenics. This was a first in the nation apology for Eugenics and followed the General Assembly's 2001 passage of HJ 607 resolution expressing "profound regret"
When Mark Warner ran for Governor in 2001, the Disabled Action Committee of VA obtained 3 commitments from candidate Warner. They were:
1) Support for making the then Department of Rights for Virginians with Disabilities (DRVD) a semi-autonomous state agency;
2) Issuance of a formal apology for the State of Virginia's legacy of involvement in Eugenics;
3) To meet with disability advocates.
Once elected Governor Mark Warner in fact kept all 3 campaign promises.
First he indicated during his initial 2002 State of the Commonwealth address the need for legislation making DRVD semi-autonomous and therefore beyond the politicization that plagued DRVD for a quarter century since 1977. After it was introduced in the subsequent session of the Virginia General assembly; Warner signed in to law HB 9 Protection and Advocacy, Office for; created "
As a footnote, Jim Gilmore as Governor had vetoed similar legislation ( HB 491) in 2000 despite initial passage by the Virginia General Assembly.
Second, Governor Mark Warner on May 2, 2002 issued a formal apology for the state's involvement in Eugenics. This was a first in the nation apology for Eugenics and followed the General Assembly's 2001 passage of HJ 607 resolution expressing "profound regret"
As a footnote, in 2007, disability advocates gave something back to the larger civil rights movement --- HJ 607 from 2001 became the precident for Virginia's apology for slavery.
Third, Governor Warner subsequently meet in the Governor's Office with disability advocates from across the state (this blogger was there at the time and was also very much a part of items 1 and 2 above ).
Third, Governor Warner subsequently meet in the Governor's Office with disability advocates from across the state (this blogger was there at the time and was also very much a part of items 1 and 2 above ).
Persistence pays!
This posting is not an endorsement of either candidate.
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"A picture is worth a 1000 words" so who else but Keith Kessler (DAC4VA) in 1998 meeting with then Governor Gilmore.
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Mark Warner notes the Eugenics apology on his US Senate campaign web site under "recognizing past mistakes"
