[nfbmi-talk] questions we asked Pat Cannon at convention

Fri Nov 12 16:42:06 UTC 2010

These are the questions we gave to Pat Cannon at State Convention on October 30. He answered some of them at Convention, and said 
that he would answer the rest via email.

Larry Posont

Question 0 We think this would be a good beginning statement before true questions even begin.

You are on this stage as a guest of the national Federation of the Blind of Michigan.  You must recognize that in our view you have 
maliciously attacked this organization and our members by firing them, besmirching their reputations and reducing their future 
earnings as retirees in the Business Enterprise program in an attempt to thwart and reduce our ability to advocate on behalf of 
blind people.  You have used your political influence and inside knowledge to load the Commission Board with your picks.  You have 
failed to inform us of reductions in Newsline funding thus putting the NFBMI in a supplicant role to vainly attempt to neuter us and 
prevent us from our rightful role as advocate and watchdog. Do you promise to fully and honestly answer our questions for the 
record?

Question 1

During the March Commission board meeting, it was said that the Michigan Commission for the Blind would hire a nonbiased moderator 
to help facilitate the ongoing discussion regarding the college policy. However, it seems clear that the person who was hired to 
facilitate the June college policy meeting was bias towards the agency, against consumers, and did not possess a positive belief 
about blindness in general. Can you explain why your agency decided to hire a facilitator who had personal connections with a member 
of the Commission Board rather than hire someone who was completely neutral to these issues?

Question 2

This week there were 13 facilities on the BEP bid line.  To our knowledge at least 2 blind people, one with a bachelor's degree in 
foodservice requested work.  They were refused.  Meanwhile, the MCB is presumably hiring sighted people who regularly do not pay 
their fees to work.  Another operator with significantly below the minimum income for a highway vending operation has repeatedly 
been denied merging of her facility with other surplus facilities.

Can you explain how you can justify denying jobs to blind people in a program designed to employ them?

Can you provide any reasonable justification for withholding income from other blind persons when there are not enough blind people 
trained to fill positions available.

How can you explain the lack of planning that has led to this crisis.

Can you plausibly deny that you may have had an inkling that there would be an early retirement incentive program?

question 3 and 3.5

It has been reported widely that you told Andy Levin that you did not fire Christine Boone because of the marksmanship class. So if

you did not fire her for the marksmanship class than what did you fire her for?

Question 3.5

Well Pat, if you can't discuss Christine or her case at this time, how is it that you have been able to talk about her, the 
marksmanship class and related issues, with people like Andy Levin and Sherri Heibeck??

Question 4

What is your classification under civil service? If it is an LTA, which is limited term appointment, when was it completed and who

approved it?

Question 5

Blind students across the state encounter a wide variety of problems getting a quality education.  Some districts do a good job 
while others fail their blind pupils.  We are aware of testing issues in 2 districts, currently.  Through our encounters with blind 
students from across the state we are aware that few of them are reasonably fluent in Braille and are not reading at grade level.

Public Act 260 states in part:

393.356 Employment and duties of educational consultants; informing commission of

schools with visually handicapped students; liaison and program coordination.

Sec. 6.(1) The commission may employ qualified educational consultants to assist

public or private school teachers responsible for teaching visually handicapped students.

Educational consultants shall assist public and private school teachers by providing

methods and materials for teaching visually handicapped students. The superintendent

of public instruction shall inform the commission of the schools in which visually

handicapped students are enrolled.

(2) The director or a person designated by the director shall be the liaison between

the commission, the schools for the blind, and the superintendent of public instruction,

and shall coordinate all programs affecting blind students.

I draw your attention to part 2 of this section.  It says that you or your designee SHALL coordinate all programs for blind students 
in Michigan.  To our knowledge you play no such role, why not.  Are you violating the law by not complying?  Do you plan to begin to 
follow the law?  What is your plan to do so?  Are you receiving a list of all schools where blind students attend?  Does someone 
from MCB meet these students and parents to help prepare them for the future?  If the list is not provided, how do you intend to 
gain access to it?  What steps have you taken to get such a list?

Question 6

The state accounting system, once known as MAIN (Michigan Administrative Information Network) has never been fully accessible to 
blind state employees, some of whom need to use it in their job duties.  There have been successful ADA lawsuits in other states on 
this very topic, thus putting Michigan at risk for a similar suit.  You have been the state ADA Coordinator for most of the Granholm 
Administration.  Many blind employees in MCB and throughout state government are prevented by this lack of accessibility from 
competing on a level playing field with their sighted colleagues.  What have you done to correct this violation of sections 504 and 
508 of the Rehabilitation Act which you are directly responsible for, and the ADA, not to mention Michigan Public Act 220?   Why 
haven't you done more to resolve this issue?  Is there any plan in motion to fix MAIN?  What have you, personally done to fix this 
problem?  Is this a failure of your leadership as ADA coordinator?  Why haven't you made this a top priority as ADA coordinator?

Question 7

The Randolph-Sheppard Act requires "active participation" of blind operators in the "major administrative decisions" of the agency. 
The Michigan legislature has passed a law that requires that Blind operators in the Business Enterprise Program be considered state 
employees for retirement purposes.  You allowed blind operators retirement to be reduced by 10%.  There were no hearings; there was 
no request to the Elected Operator's Committee to consider this major change.  The Commission Board did not consider this change. 
Under what authority did you take future income from blind retired operators?  Why did you not properly enforce the 
Randolph-Sheppard Act by requiring a full discussion of this change which reduces the incomes of blind people for years, by the 
Elected Operators Committee and the Commission Board?

Question 8

You personally travelled to the General Office Building at the state Secondary Complex and removed a blind person from her job with 
no due process.  Your illegal actions were rightfully overturned by the Commission Board.  Why did you, personally, violate the 
Randolph-Sheppard Act?  When this was pointed out to you, why didn't you reverse your mistake?  Was it because the operator was the 
President of the Merchant's Division of the NFB?  Were you retaliating against her for her advocacy on behalf of blind vendors to 
enforce the catering policies and exclusive rights to sell food and related products on state property?  Is the fact that the 
violator was in the bureau of retirement and you were actively seeking to illegally reduce blind vendor's retirements?

Question 9

You used your influence in the Democratic Party and in the Governor's office to remove Mark eagle from the Commission Board through 
the inexcusable use of an ethics investigation.  Why did you choose a means of removing a Commissioner, a very young person who is 
actively working to pursue public office, which besmirches his reputation and which will follow him for the rest of his life?  Was 
it because he was advocating on behalf of students who wished to fully participate in the development of a quality college policy? 
Was it retaliation against his father who was advocating for blind vendors, some of whom were members of the NFB?  Why did you 
testify to the Ethics Board that the major duty of the Commission Board is to review BEP complaints?  Is this your view of the role 
of the Commission Board?

Question 10

In October of 2009 the Governor ordered that Newsline funding be cut.  The legislature acted on her order in January, yet you never 
notified the NFB or newsline officials of this critical matter.  It was not until Newsline submitted a bill for services that the 
Commission notified Newsline of the funding cut.  You sit on the Governor's council.  You are the primary state executive for 
administrating the payment of Newsline costs.  Did you do this to try to control the NFB by now offering a portion of the funding 
and trying to make us beholden to you?  Is this why you have told consumers that this is your personal decision and that Commission 
Board members all toe the line and defer the decision to you?  Are you playing politics with your authority and position to thwart 
the advocacy of this organization?  Do you really think we can be bought off with money for newsline?

Question 11

You have directly or indirectly caused all NFB members of your staff and leaders of the Business Enterprise Program to lose their 
jobs.  Why are you conducting an attack on this organization?  Do you think our advocacy will be reduced by your bullying and 
intimidation of our members?  How can you justify your abuse of power by taking jobs and incomes away from good people who are 
actively involved in working to improve conditions for blind people?  What about your claims that MCB ought to be a consumer driven 
agency when you are terrorizing blind people who speak up, whether on the Commission Board, The Business Enterprise Program or on 
your staff?

Question 12

As you know, the Rehabilitation Services Administration has conducted a review of the MCB.  To date, the results of this review are 
not available to the public.  You have refused to release the preliminary results of this review to the public, under the FOIA or 
ADA.  Why are you hiding this information?  Will you release the preliminary report?  When?  Is there embarrassing or damaging 
information in the report which you don't want out before the election?

Question 13

Why does the MCB not fully comply with the Rehabilitation Act by holding hearings on the required Plan updates?

Question 14

Why did you send Commission reappointments in to the Governor so far in advance?  Were you trying to get ahead of consumers who may 
be interested in applying?

Question 15

In sworn testimony a Commission counselor testified that she has had a total of 4 weeks of specific blindness training.  The NFBM 
approached the Commission Board to work to review and improve staff training.  The Commission asked 2 consumers, 1 Commissioner and 
1 MCB staff member to form a task force to work on this.  You defiantly set up your own committee heavily loaded with MCB staff in 
an attempt to dampen and thwart consumer input.  Why did you set up a parallel committee when you were aware the Commission Board 
was already working on this issue?  Was this another attempt to interfere with the Commissioner's rightful role in policy 
development?  Do you think that 4 weeks of blindness training is adequate for a Commission counselor?  Are you willing to cooperate 
and participate in the Commission Board's plan to work on staff training?

Question 16

Many times when controversies erupt, you or someone in leadership raises the specter that if we can't get along the Commission may 
be merged with MRS.  Is this a way to impede advocacy.  Are you actively working on a plan to merge the 2 agencies?  Is the Governor 
of the DELEG director working on such a merger?  Would you see this as a punishment to the NFB for our questioning of management 
practices at MCB?

Question 17

Why is staff continually telling clients that there is insufficient money to provide all the services they request while at the same 
time you maintain huge surpluses of money?  Why haven't you spent available money to help blind people get training equipment and 
jobs as the legislature and congress have provided?  Why have MCB staff called the NFBMI for donations of equipment for seniors when 
there is more than a million dollar surplus in the account to fund senior blind programs?  Is this a way to intimidate and control 
blind clients?

Question 18

When do you plan to retire from MCB?

Question 19

I commend the agency for finally seeking the input of consumers when working on updating the college policy. However, it seems as 
though there was never an open honest dialog about the use of the new DELEG Financial Needs form. Can you explain why you and your 
agency were not willing to have an open honest conversation with consumers about the use of this new form?

Question 20

During the college review process, I heard you as well as members of your staff say that there are several state agencies that use a 
form similar to the new DELEG Financial Needs form. Can you name any specific state vocational rehabilitation agencies that use a 
form similar to the new DELEG Financial Needs form?

Question 21

Will you work with us to get an intern that  would help at the library with Newsline, calling folks, teaching the system etc. This 
would give a blind person experience with a job and being supervised.

Question 22

Will you put Nfb Newsline on the Web site and activity List?

Question 23

Will you work with us to get a toll free number for Newsline

Question 24

 Will you encourage the board to be supportive of Nfb Newsline and thus promote  permament funding.

Question 25

Pat, how can you sleep at night, knowing that during the first 3 quarters of fiscal year 2010, MCB spent 130% of the budgeted amount 
for administrative salaries and wages; and during the same time period, you spent just 2% of the available funds for services to the 
older blind?

Question 26

The Commission for the Blind is supposed to be consumer driven. This important requirement is in some very important documents. How 
do you see this being exemplified by the Commission today? How do you see the Commission being consumer driven in the future?

Question 27

 Why have you so incredibly failed at your duty to manage the Business Enterprise Program.

Can you blame your employees when you have personally participated in the purging of the program of NFB members?  By the way, all of 
the examples above happen to be NFB members.  Can you plausibly disagree that you have attacked and continue to blatantly 
discriminate against people for being members of the NFB?  Any denials of these points will be lies on their face.

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