Election '96
Deaf Delegates
Mean "Deaf Power"

Bobbi Cordano

"The interpreters were excellent," said Cordano, the daughter of politically active Deaf parents and Assistant Attorney General for Minnesota. "In addition, there was real-time captioning on the two big screens at the convention center for the first time in history."

The disability caucus, a subgroup of the DNC, was also "the most active in the DNC's history," she reported.

Teaming Up to Be Strong
Deaf Power yielded to Deaf Networking in order for Cordano to attend the convention. At the state convention where delegates were chosen, Cordano teamed up with Ken Breslow, a psychologist from Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf who is deaf.
"We were determined one of us would be elected," she said. Breslow had a scheduling conflict--and worked to support Cordano. They formed a caucus that supported environmental clean up and livable wages; they called themselves the "livable communities caucus." In the end, the caucus claimed 154 members--6 more than the 148 members necessary to qualify for sending a delegate to the national convention--and Cordano was on her way.