Colleen Angela Van Etten

Under a lesser known provision, States and local governments can receive payments to make polling places accessible to individuals with disabilities and train election officials, poll workers, and volunteers on how best to promote access and participation of people with disabilities in federal elections. (Discussed in Chapter 17 of my book, Always an Advocate, https://angelamuirvanetten.com/always-an-advocate/.)

But none of these reforms winnow the field to the candidate that will truly represent the interests of their constituency. Even though candidates bend over backwards to identify with potential voters by sharing details of their family, education, employment, gender, and race, how many candidates identify with disability? Very few. So let’s add another help to encourage people with disabilities to vote—more candidates with disability lived experience.

This post shares details of four people with dwarfism who serve as candidate role models.

Lee Kitchens—a dwarf with Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia—was a two-term alderman and five-term mayor of Ransom Canyon, Texas where City Hall is situated on 24 Lee Kitchens Drive! His Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering took him to a distinguished career with Texas Instruments and teaching at Texas Tech University. He twice served as Little People of America President and co-founded the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities.

Joe Roach—a dwarf with Achondroplasia—a three-term Houston city councilor, was the first dwarf elected to office in a major American city. Prior to his election, Joe was an acclaimed prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. He wanted to be known as a good council member or a bad council member not as a “Republican midget,” as an affirmative action program manager called him; she was rebuked with a 3-day suspension without pay.

Tony Soares—a dwarf with Achondroplasia—served on the Hoboken, New Jersey, City Council for eight years. He was elected while working as an advertising executive and defeated an opponent who didn’t take him seriously. He founded and led Hoboken’s Reform movement and won respect for his persuasiveness. After stepping aside from a mayoral race, one supporter later imagined Hoboken with Mayor Soares leading it instead of the “unqualified idiots” who served after him.

James Lusted—a 43-inch dwarf with Diastrophic Dysplasia—is the first dwarf councilor elected in the United Kingdom. He represents Rhos-on-Sea, on the Conwy County Borough Council in North Wales. This actor and TV presenter is a member of the Dwarf Sports Association and carried the Olympic torch through his hometown. His appointment as the Leader’s Disability Champion gives him a nationwide platform to encourage the participation of people with disabilities in public life.

How about you? Are you brave enough to throw your hat in the ring?

On September 25, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) 18 years after his father, President George H. W. Bush, signed the ADA. The amendment was necessary because the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) perception of disability under the ADA was too narrow. The ADAAA overrides past SCOTUS interpretations decreeing that the disability definition should be construed broadly to make it easier for individuals to establish they have a protected disability.

So what is the criteria for showing that dwarfism is covered under the ADAAA? A “yes” answer to any one of the following three questions means you’re protected.

• Do you have an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities?
• Do you have a record of such an impairment?
• Are you regarded as having an impairment even though you don’t?

It’s not about a diagnosis, but rather whether an impairment substantially limits the ability of an individual to perform a major life activity as compared to most people in the general population. This requires an individualized assessment.

The ADAAA (42 U.S.C. § 12102) and regulations of the United States Department of Justice (28 C.F.R. §§35.108, 36.105) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2) spell out how the disability definition should be construed. Non exhaustive lists define “physical or mental impairment,” “substantially limits,” and “major life activities.” As a little person with Larsen’s Syndrome I can pick pertinent traits from these lists to demonstrate my disability under the ADAAA. For instance, my physiological disorder (1) affects my musculoskeletal, respiratory, and cardiovascular body systems; (2) substantially limits my major life activities of walking, sleeping, standing, reaching, lifting, bending, breathing; and (3) affects normal cell growth. People with dwarfism and other disabilities can also pick from these lists to show how they meet the ADAAA disability definition.

Thankfully many people with dwarfism have qualified for ADAAA protection. Here are a few examples:

• An applicant was compensated $20,000 after being denied a purchasing manager position because he didn’t have a driver’s license even though having a license was not an essential job function. United States vs. York County, South Carolina (2019).
• A nine year old boy received compensatory damages from a youth wrestling league that failed to modify their policy to allow him to “play down” one age division so he could compete with wrestlers closer to his weight and size. B.K. vs. Pikes Peak Wrestling League (2016). 
• Starbucks agreed to pay $75,000 to a trainee after denying a reasonable accommodation during training and then refusing to hire her (2012).

So let’s reframe the question. Are YOU disabled under the ADAAA? Check the regulations (cited above) to find out.

You may also want to read other ADA blog posts by Angela Muir Van Etten:

• “Defendants Feign Ignorance When Hit With ADA Complaints.” January 30, 2023. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/defendants-feign-ignorance-when-hit-with-ada-complaints/
• “Public Participation ADA Violation.” January 23, 2023. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/public-participation-ada-violation/
• “ADA and Taxi/Rideshare Services.” July 25, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/ada-and-taxi-rideshare-services/
• “Take Action Against ADA Access Violations.” January 24, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/take-action-against-ada-access-violations/
• “ADA Compliance Challenge Continues.” January 25, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/ada-compliance-challenge-continues/  
• “ADA 30-year Milestone.” August 3, 2020. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/lift-on-bus/

Employment note:

Under its affirmative action rules, the EEOC treats dwarfism as a targeted disability because dwarfs face significant barriers to employment, above and beyond the barriers faced by people with the broader range of disabilities, see “Questions & Answers: The EEOC’s Final Rule on Affirmative Action for People with Disabilities in Federal Employment.” January 3, 2017. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/questions-answers-eeocs-final-rule-affirmative-action-people-disabilities-federal