No Trust Without Truth: What the Chronicle Missed About LightHouse
- Andrew Moore
- Jul 28, 2025
- 3 min read
As we did with the San Francisco Standard's article on LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, we give a brief review of the story by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Overall, we found the piece to be informative and balanced; however, we would like to know how the fact-checking was conducted. We know that reporters are incredibly busy individuals working on tight deadlines to get a story published. Granted, we would like to clarify a few issues here.
Say It, Lose It
In the article, LightHouse's management, currently led by Brandon Cox, claimed that there were no complaints from dissatisfied clients. That is because it is widely known among many community members that there is a deep-seated culture of retaliation. Indeed, one of the allegations in Gebre v. LightHouse was that the organization did not post information about whistleblower protections on its website, a fact LightHouse confirmed in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Thus, many DeafBlind people fear that if they reach out to management, they would lose services in retribution for speaking out.
In addition to its failure to publish information about whistleblower protections as required by the FCC, LightHouse initially responded to a request for document production by stating that it did not maintain "logs of consumer complaints in any format." However, after the FCC ordered LightHouse to provide a list of consumer complaints under oath, it said that it found three (3) complaints in its records. When management is willing to be two-faced, can we, including reporters, trust what they have to say? We urge a thorough examination of the record in Gebre v. LightHouse if the truth matters, rather than taking up Cox and his subordinates at face value.
Trust cannot Be Rebuilt Under the Current Management
Our Campaign held its third protest on June 27, 2025 in front of the LightHouse headquarters building. After our first protest, LightHouse made a disingenuous attempt to address our concerns without actually engaging our community – by publishing what to us looked like an AI-generated and culturally insensitive monologue about supposed efforts to improve services. We were and continue to be left out of any discussion about DeafBlind services, let alone being seen and heard on iCanConnect matters. LightHouse management fled headquarters when they learned of our first protest, rather than coming down to talk to us. That is cowardice, not leadership.
As the Chronicle's story shows, Cox continues to dismiss us. Instead of inviting us to sit down with him and hear us out, he downplays the severe impact of the layoffs on iCanConnect, despite the program's staff being compensated by the FCC. Therefore, Cox and the current LightHouse Board have forever lost our community's trust, and Cox's removal is imperative to LightHouse's survival.
Setting the Record Straight
Finally, we clarify the Chronicle's description of the current status of the formal complaint before the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. On January 15, 2025, the FCC decided on LightHouse's motion to dismiss. It rejected nearly all of the arguments in the motion, allowing the case to proceed to discovery. As of this writing, the FCC has not decided the merits of the parties' arguments and the evidence they presented. Our Campaign has a separate complaint before the FCC, and we intend to proceed to formal proceedings if the FCC rules in LightHouse's favor in Gebre v. LightHouse. We cannot allow a federally funded program to continue being managed by leaders who have demonstrated a willingness to commit perjury.
There is no way the FCC would dismiss these complaints if they were valid. Do you have any idea how much trouble Lighthouse would have been in if these alligations were true. They would have been shut down immediately since the city of San Fransisco has the power to do so in one click of the button. The FCC has nothing to benefit from kissing up to Lighthhoise. If anything, they have much to gain from having a reason to shut them down since there is money involved.