1/15/26 - Mayors, and rest

Andrew Pulrang

15 Jan 2026 — 4 min read

Stenciled white wheelchair symbol and lines marking accessible parking space on pavement

Good afternoon!

Well, that was a nice little bout of post-holiday cold. It lasted longer than I thought it would. I'm still a bit sniffly and stuffy, but feeling a good deal more functional now. So let's get back to it ...

2026 Disability Thinking Weekday Poll

As Mayor Mamdani Takes Office, Disability Community Seeks Action Beyond Words

Christopher Alvarez, AbleNews - January 7, 2026

"Mamdani took the helm as the city’s youngest mayor on New Year’s Day after a successful campaign where he promised to fight for change. As the new mayor has made significant appointments to his team, questions still tower on how he will carry out an accessibility agenda for concerned disabled New Yorkers."

It's good to see that there's at least one New York City area disability publication that seems to have committed to covering the city's new Mayor from a disability perspective. Personally, I am interested in more than how Mayor Mamdani will do on disability issues in New York, (and with all the other NYC issues too of course). This article also reminds suggests once more a recurring question disabled Americans all over the country have always struggled to answer. What can mayors of towns answer cities actually do to make life better for people with disabilities? The scope of municipal politics with disability issues is unique – extremely limited in some areas, surprisingly powerful in others. I hope to see this coverage of Mamdani tackle more than just his personal conduct in office, and help clarify what mayors and managers of other towns and cities really can and should be expected to do for residents with disabilities.

My Personal Quest for Rest

Kelly Mack, Rolling With It - January 1, 2026

"So, when my job situation suddenly changed, I was forced to contemplate many things about my life, including: Why do I increasingly exhaust myself more to get through each day? What if, instead of pushing through fatigue, I actually rested? How would more rest change my life? What is the balance between rest and necessary activity or exercise? Is it possible for me to reach a level of sufficient rest or will I always live in deep fatigue? Is there even such a thing as too much rest for me?"

What Is Radical Rest?

Kelly Mack, Rolling With It - January 8, 2026

"Even after so many years of considering myself a disability advocate, I was afraid to claim the rest that I needed. I felt the pressures to conform, to show up while feeling crummy, to fake a smile through pain, and all the things I did to push, push, push beyond what my body needed and could ultimately do."

I suspect that on balance, most disabled people struggle to rein in their hard working tendencies and get the rest they need. Relatively few of us, (though certainly not none of us), need to fight more against laziness and procrastination. There are disability stereotypes of both "super crips," who teach others by example how to be stoic, diligent, tireless, and resilient – and "lazy fakers" who use their disabilities to mooch off others and live deliberately sedentary lives. Unfortunately, there aren't many popular images and narratives of disabled people who effectively balance hard work and self-care. So posts and articles like these by Kelly Mack are incredibly important.

Urgent: We Must Act to Save the Protection and Advocacy Network - with the National Disability Rights Network

Medicaid Saves Lives – Sign the Petition to Protect It! - with The Arc

Request Bipartisan Oversight Hearings for Dismantling of US Dept of Education with the National Down Syndrome Congress

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