Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

When Michela Alioto-Pier was an aide to Vice President Al Gore in 1992, she couldn't navigate her wheelchair in some areas of the West Wing.

So she threatened to sue, and the White House improved wheelchair access.

Now a San Francisco supervisor, Alioto-Pier is running into similar trouble at City Hall, where her colleagues recently voted against a plan to lower the board president's elevated speaking dais so a ramp could be installed.

"When they voted against it, I looked at other supervisors and said 'Is this San Francisco, the most liberal city in the world?'" Alioto-Pier said. "They voted against accessibility upgrades?"