Olegario ollie cantos world

by Charles D. Nabarrete

In June 2022, a friend invited me to a meet-and-greet with Olegario D. Cantos VII, who goes by “Ollie.” A blind attorney, he was beginning a bid for city council in West Covina, Calif.

Even though I did not live in his district, I decided to try to help him in his quest for public office.  I had heard of a blind member of the California legislature who had served in the early 1900s. The American Association of Visually Impaired Attorneys (AAVIA), an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, had searched for visually impaired elected officials but only found a legislator from Minnesota.

Ollie is the first blind person and individual with a visible disability ever to be elected to the City Council since West Covina's founding in February

Justice Department official who is blind promotes collaboration between the disability rights community and the federal government.

He is the first person with a disability ever to be elected to city council since its founding years ago.

A leader of change within the civil rights arena for more than 30 years in the non-profit and governmental world with a time-tested and proven history.

From the Editor: Olegario (Ollie) Cantos served as associate director for domestic policy for the White House under President George W. Bush.

I had invited Ollie to speak to AAVIA during the 2023 ACB convention. His presentation was well-received by the membership.

When I read Ollie’s official campaign website (http://www.OllieCantos.com), I learned that he was born without sight in his left eye and had very limited vision in his right.

His parents, Orlando and Linda Cantos, immigrated from the Philipp