Jeffersonville High School senior Kelsey Julius already has ideas on how to run the city.
As part of her “mayor for a day” experience, the 17-year-old told Mayor Tom Galligan she would put Wi-Fi at city parks and wants to revitalize downtown by adding high-end housing aimed at senior citizens.
But Julius’ No. 1 priority would be ensuring the city remains accessible for her and others who have mobility issues. Julius — who has been wheelchair-bound her whole life because of cerebral palsy — said accessibility affects more people than those with visible ailments.
“I don’t see myself as disabled. I see myself as with challenges. Any way I can get around is very important to me,” she said. “My independence is very important to me. I think that’s important to everybody.”
Overall, she gave the city an eight out of 10 in terms of being handicap-friendly. While she said she understood why older areas such as downtown weren’t as accessible, she took issue with the new wing of a place she uses almost every day for nine months — Jeffersonville High School.
Though Julius said she believes it was a loophole that allowed the new addition to have a security system but not automatic doors, building commissioner Russ Seagraves told her there is no law requiring automatic doors on a building’s exterior.
Marquita “Keta” Dean Sodrel, the wife of former U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel, accompanied Julius around to meetings with city officials for the day. Sodrel purchased the “mayor for a day” experience during the 2007 Bales’ Humanitarian Awards at an auction benefiting the Clark County Red Cross.
Sodrel said she bid on it because she has ideas to improve the city, but chose to give it to Julius, a family friend.
“She is brilliant. She has an amazing mind,” Sodrel said. “She has a big, big heart and she has so much [to offer].
“I like to call people with challenges amazing-able because they go every day with challenges we don’t even think about.”
Sodrel said one of the ways to improve accessibility is to have someone like Julius consult those involved about accessibility issues before a new project is undertaken.
Marie Robertson, Sodrel’s best friend and longtime community volunteer, also participated in the day’s activities, which included lunch with Galligan at Buckhead Mountain Grill.
Julius also met with city Planning Director Jim Urban and Police Chief Tim Deeringer during her one-day term in office.
Julius impressed City Council President Connie Sellers. The group talked mostly about accessibility and economic issues during a meeting that lasted about 40 minutes.
Galligan said Tuesday wasn’t the first time Julius has spoken to him about issues important to her.
“She is a very capable young lady. She has brought a lot of good ideas, not just this time, but several times,” he said.
Julius said she plans to go into medical research and hopes to attend Indiana University. While she ruled out a political career right now, she said she would like to become more of an advocate for those with mobility issues.
“I see people with more severe disabilities and I see what they have to go through,” said Julius, who is working on getting her driver’s license.
Clark County
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Discussion
Jeffersonville High School senior is Jeffersonville mayor for a day
Teenager with cerebral palsy says city needs small improvements on accessibility
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