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Author Archives: donny
Emily Giske
In a NY Times article entitled Quinn’s Friendship with Lobbyist May Pose Test in Mayor Bid,” Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group, said, “When someone who is a close associate (lobbyist Emily Giske) is making their living and improving their financial status because of their ongoing personal relationship with an elected official (Christine Quinn), that makes you a lobbyist on steroids.”
Posted in Backroom Deals, Dirty Politics
Lulus buy votes
“Awards of lulus (bonuses given by the Speaker to Council Members)— and the threat of removing them — are blatant vote-buying tools. Good government groups rail against them.”
Posted in Abuse of power, Assault On Democracy
Lulus as rewards
“The City Council celebrated Lulu Day on Friday as Speaker Christine Quinn dispensed the checks she issues twice yearly to fatten the wallets of favored members. The payments are called lulus because once upon a time the stipends were deemed “payments in lieu of expenses.” No more. Now they are paid on top of a $112,500 salary as rewards for faithful allegiance to Quinn’s agenda.”
Posted in Backroom Deals, Dirty Politics
real estate insider
“Ms. Quinn has abandoned the rabble-rousing that first gave her such a high profile, and is now the consummate real estate insider.”
Posted in Backroom Deals, Real Estate
Quinn fulfills bloomberg’s agenda
“As speaker, Quinn supported Bloomberg on nearly every initiative, from congestion pricing and his controversial trash management plan, to his term-limits overhaul. She backed his ban on smoking in parks and beaches, and his ill-fated selection of Cathie Black for schools chancellor. She refused to allow a vote on a bill that would have required businesses to give employees paid sick leave, even though a majority of the Council wanted it passed. She has allowed a living-wage bill to languish.”
Posted in Assault On Democracy, Separation of powers
Speaker gets the most money
“Each council member gets a different amount of money to spend. The speaker always gets the most. According to council members, those members who curry favor with the speaker get the most money.”
Posted in Backroom Deals, Dirty Politics
Stringer says Quinn cuts his and public advocate bugdets
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer on Quinn’s efforts to silence her critics, “Both the mayor and the council leadership have been complicit in this attempt to silence independent elected officeholders by going after our budget . . . and, you know something, there was no slush fund in my office.”
Posted in Abuse of power, Assault On Democracy
real estate money
“With so much cash, Quinn had donors in all sectors but she did particularly well with the real estate industry, attorneys and finance. Based on Campaign Finance Board data, Quinn had the most donation intermediaries, or bundlers, of any official.”
Quinn abandons working mothers – sick leave
“City Council Speaker Christine Quinn cooled the debate over a sick leave bill on Thursday, effectively killing it before it came up for a vote . . . The NYS Paid Sick Leave Coalition, a supporter of the bill, called Quinn’s move a ‘stunning abandonment of working mothers and parents and the progressive women who have supported her from day one.'”
Posted in Obstructs Human Rights, Workers
Influence with editorial boards
Ms. Quinn’s advisers “acknowledge that the last two City Council speakers to run for mayor got crushed, but they point to her advantages, particularly her popularity among the financial and real estate sectors . . . So fundraising should not be a problem for Ms. Quinn. And in political terms, real estate and Wall Street hold sway over the editorial boards, which in turn can make Ms. Quinn more palatable to middle-class voters.”