Mayor Sam Kooiker voted to break a tie on a divided council to approve a measure he recommended which will guarantee people with "substantial" disabilities will get interviews for city jobs as long as they meet the position's minimum requirements. Read Emilie Rusch's Journal story here.
I support the mayor on a lot of things...but not this. The policy is discriminatory. It affords a privilege to one group at the expense of all others. I don't have a problem with a policy that says everyone meeting the minimum requirements of a city job will be interviewed. But that's probably not practical. Search committees are designed to narrow the field.
The standard set here gives people with disabilities advantages not afforded others with equal or better qualifications. This is not as inspired as the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates that people with disabilities must have access to government and business. This act is like building a ramp to city employment, while locking doors to others with equal qualifications, who don't have disabilities.
The mayor's own personal experience notwithstanding, I believe his tie-breaking vote should have gone the other way.
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