Campaign Trail
New York Times
“After months of maintaining a cool, above-the-fray approach to the 2013 mayoral race, Christine Quinn. . . is enduring the first bumps of what may be a pockmarked road to the Democratic primary.”
NY Observer
“There is some disagreement in political circles about how popular Quinn . . .remains in LGBT circles. Her perch as Speaker of the City Council makes her one of the highest-ranking LGBT politicians in the nation, but she grabbed just over 50 percent of the vote in her re-election bid in 2009, despite running in the most heavily LGBT district in the country.”
New York Observer
“Among the political chattering classes, Ms. Quinn is thought to be a long shot, someone too close to the mayor to be palatable to a Democratic primary electorate. Labor and progressives have won both of the past two contested Democratic citywide elections, and installed one of their own, Eric Schneiderman, as the state’s attorney general. And to them Ms. Quinn has become a kind of pariah.”
Wall Street Journal
“Christine Quinn . . . is the only likely mayoral candidate with her own dedicated band of protesters. . . Since 2009, a small cadre of demonstrators has targeted Ms. Quinn at dozens of appearances, a rare public show of unwavering anger toward one New York City politician. Their complaints vary, but as a group, they stick to one overall message—that Ms. Quinn shouldn’t be mayor . . . Although they operate on the fringe, the protesters represent somewhat more than a nuisance for Ms. Quinn: The issues they raise are among those that Ms. Quinn is likely to have to address from more mainstream critics as she gears up for a City Hall run.”
Politicker
Quinn “will first have to cut her path to City Hall through . . . a Council that may include members eager to exact revenge on the outgoing speaker, while also battling the persistent impression she is a political stand-in, a Medvedev to Mr. Bloomberg’s Putin.”
NY Post
“The council speaker is trying desperately to be all things to all people. She believes she can become the next mayor by splitting all the babies in half. Stop-and-frisk, wage mandates, economic development, education, union power, taxing and spending — she tries always to thread the needle between competing interests.” It is a “ham-handed effort to simultaneously pander to opposites. . . Thus, she wants the business community to believe she shares its concerns about wage and sick-leave laws, while telling the unions her heart is with them on the same issues. She collected money from both sides, and both now demand their piece of flesh.”
Wall Street Journal
“Quinn’s absence at the hearing exemplified her reluctance to wade into a controversy that divides two factions important to her presumed candidacy for mayor in 2013: her longtime Chelsea constituents and the business and labor interests who have donated heavily to her campaign and who support the expansion.”
New York Daily News
“The number of people on the fence is up from an April survey that had Quinn at 32% support, followed by Thompson at 12%, de Blasio at 10%, Liu at 9%, Stringer at 7% and Allon at 1%. That survey showed 29% of respondents clocking in as unsure.”
Crain's
“Insiders have largely written off Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who was damaged by the council’s slush fund scandal and extension of term limits, and struggled to win re-election.”
Joe My God Blog
“Quinn will doubtlessly run for mayor in 2013, but faces strong opposition by a faction of the LGBT community, some of whom show up to protest many of Quinn’s public appearances.”
New York Observer
“Ms. Quinn has hitched her wagon to Mayor Bloomberg’s centrist, business-friendly star, at the risk of angering the progressive base.”
Epoch Times
“Anthony Weiner leads the pack with 18 percent of Democratic voters citywide . . . Former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn tied in a hypothetical election with 15 percent of the Democratic votes each.”
AM New York
“Quinn’s support of Bloomberg, particularly his push to extend term limits in 2008, could hurt her chances as the mayor becomes increasingly unpopular,” concluded by Democratic strategist Joseph Mercurio.
New York Daily News
“Angry voters whittle down Speaker Christine Quinn’s power base.”
New York Times
“Christine Quinn, the Council speaker, barely mustered a majority against two challengers.”
Wall Street Journal
“Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently held private meetings with Democratic mayoral hopefuls Scott Stringer and Bill Thompson, raising questions with each of them about the viability of their candidacies. . . . He signaled he is leaning toward supporting City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a longtime ally.”
New York Daily News
“They [Quinnipiac] want us to believe that Quinn, whose only real test so far has been in her Council district of Chelsea and Greenwich Village, is somehow the Democratic front-runner in this entire city. Both Thompson and de Blasio have heard this before.”
The Jewish Daily Forward
“Dozens of prominent liberal New York City rabbis are demanding that 2013 mayoral frontrunner Christine Quinn approve a bill that would require city businesses to provide employees with paid sick days. ‘The progressive Jewish community, with its deep, longtime narrative of social justice and aggressive fairness, is in no way cemented to Speaker Quinn,’ said Michael Tobman, a New York City-based political consultant.”
DNA Info
“A group of protesters is ramping up efforts to thwart the mayoral hopes of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The fringe anti-Quinn contingent has been active for years, protesting outside her events with colorful placards covered in critical slogans. But as the 2013 election to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg heats up, so, too, has the fervor of those determined to slow front-runner Quinn’s ascent — with members planning a full-fledged counter-campaign.”
DNA Info
“City Council Speaker Christine Quinn might lose the endorsement of the political club that launched her to power…Many Chelsea residents, dissatisfied both with her performance representing their neighborhood and her job as speaker, have joined the [Chelsea Reform Democratic] club in a bid to ensure anyone but Quinn wins its mayoral endorsement.”
Newsday
“No Democrat who was the front-runner for an open seat for New York City mayor at the dawn of the campaign has been elected mayor since 1953.”
The Guardian
“Why do New York liberals support conservative Christine Quinn? She could be the city’s first woman and openly gay mayor, but her record doesn’t line up with most progressives. For whatever reasons, Christine Quinn seems to have a strong hold over the primary right now. The record suggests, however, that once voters tune into the race, Quinn’s standing might not be as solid as it looks.”
Huffington Post
“Quinn basically had a deal with Bloomberg that he would support her and, as such, is clearly presenting herself now as pro-business, while walking and talking her way across the five boroughs as a populist. Therefore, Quinn has positioned herself uncomfortably over the issues like paid sick leave. The backlash on the sick leave issue has already cost her the support of Cynthia Nixon (one of the stalwarts on marriage equality) and may cost Quinn the support of Gloria Steinem as well, as women are perceived to suffer disproportionately without sick leave reform.”
Huffington Post
“Even if Quinn got on her knees and begged forgiveness for the murder of the term limits law, I still regard her as too compromised to become mayor. She is clearly viewed as the frontrunner and many New Yorkers seem downright medicated by the prospect of an openly gay woman as mayor…who cares who the front runner is in March…New York women don’t vote on the basis of gender.”
New York Daily News
“Hoping become the city’s first openly gay mayor, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn faced a smattering of boos from LGBT groups Wednesday night for her resistance to paid-sick-days legislation — despite a generally enthusiastic reception to her candidacy.”
New York Daily News
“Business leaders opposing paid sick leave legislation have raised or given nearly $370,000 to the mayoral campaign of the person who has blocked a vote on the bill: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Daily News has learned. The business leaders were among the 180 people who penned an open letter to Quinn last summer arguing that mandating paid sick leave would be prohibitively costly for small businesses.”
Overheard
Brooklyn Rail
“‘It made me kind of question what her values and principles were,’ says Siegel. ‘My feeling is that the way you govern says something about your character and I don’t think you have to compromise on principles in order to get things done.’…But others believe that ever since she stepped on to the scene, Quinn has put her ambitions first, always eyeing a path to a higher office. The current front-runner in the race for mayor, Quinn over the past decade has maintained dual relationships with tenants’ rights groups and the real estate lobby, labor unions and business interests, and police reformers and One Police Plaza, in order to keep her progressive cred while also currying favor with the city elite.”
NY Daily News
Quinn has “been sued repeatedly for nonpayment of rent.”
NY Observer
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.”
Room Eight: NY Politics
“The three major newspapers (Times, Daily News and N.Y. Post) are in the tank for NYC council speaker Christine Quinn with the objective being to make her the next mayor of this city. They have been trying without subtlety to decimate those they perceive as her main opponents in the 2013 mayoral primary.”
Wall Street Journal
“Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently held private meetings with Democratic mayoral hopefuls Scott Stringer and Bill Thompson, raising questions with each of them about the viability of their candidacies….As he did in the meeting with Mr. Stringer, the mayor told Mr. Thompson that he is inclined to support Ms. Quinn, who has developed a tight professional alliance with Mr. Bloomberg since she became the City Council leader in 2006. Ms. Quinn presided over the body’s decision to overturn term limits in 2008, paving the way for the mayor to run for a third term.”
NY Magazine
“A year before the mayor’s races in 2001 and 2005, who was considered the Democratic favorite? The incumbent city council speaker,” says a Democratic strategist unaffiliated with any of the current contenders. “But Peter Vallone and Gifford Miller lost those primaries.”
NY Post
“Her formula for governing is doomed to fail because there is no clear guiding principle. If she were to use that calculating, transactional approach as mayor, City Hall would resemble an auction house, with all bidders assuming they would get something for their money. Prosecutors and newspapers would have a field day.”
Politicker
“With her newfound notoriety, it would seem, the stars are aligning for Ms. Quinn to follow Mr. Bloomberg’s footsteps as the most prominent mayor in the country. However, she will first have to cut her path to City Hall through a crowded field of opponents and a Council that may include members eager to exact revenge on the outgoing speaker, while also battling the persistent impression she is a political stand-in, a Medvedev to Mr. Bloomberg’s Putin.
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New York Times
“’You can call me Speaker,’ Ms. Quinn said in a testy tone. ‘It’s my press conference. I actually decide what words are necessary.’ It was not a pleasant episode for Ms. Quinn, who is frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2013 but whose critics have expressed concerns about her temperament. Even her own aides and fellow council members winced.”
New York Daily News
“She has been sued repeatedly for non-payment of rent.”
Village Voice
“’Does the fact that she’s gay and a woman somehow excuse her record?’ She has blazed a trail of destruction to advance her career. New Yorkers will not forget how she pushed a vote through the Council to extend term limits against the wishes of NYC voters.”
Village Voice
“Quinn has no power over the emergency agencies, nor over any of the mayoral agencies, nor over Con-Edison, the National Guard, nor emergency powers relevant to a major crisis like a hurricane. . . ‘She’s got no executive power,’ a City Hall observer says. ‘She can introduce legislation. On the hurricane, she’s just backing the mayor on everything when she’s supposed to be the person on the other side of City Hall questioning what he does.’…So why was she there in the aftermath of the hurricane? It looked a little bit from here like Bloomberg and Schumer . . . were giving Quinn a cut of the spotlight to help raise her profile in advance of her mayoral run next year.”
The Villager
“As for the politics behind the announcement about the Army Corps study [on storm surge barrier], Bob Trentlyon [President of Chelsea Reform Democratic Club] said Schumer let Quinn have the limelight. ‘He obviously agreed to let her announce it — Schumer usually wants to be out front on things, but he let her do this,’ Trentlyon noted.”
Village Voice
“‘[Christine] Quinn is going to lose the Hispanic vote because we’re going to make sure of that,’ Frank Garcia, chairman of the New York State Coalition of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, tells the Voice. ‘We don’t feel that [she] takes the Hispanic vote very seriously right now.'”
New York Post
“Christine Quinn, who wants to be the first female mayor of New York, is expected to give her blessing to a district change that would help the political career of Vito Lopez — who is accused of sexually harassing four female staffers. The redistricting could help elect the alleged lecher to the City Council. In return, Quinn would curry favor with what’s left of Lopez’s Brooklyn political machine for her mayoral campaign.”
New York Post
“Quinn is expected to approve new maps that would . . . put him [Vito Lopez] in position to cruise to a seat on the [city] council if he runs next year. Female employees say he created an ‘atmosphere of intimidation’ in his offices, berating and threatening them — and often groping and kissing them against their will. So, will Quinn stand by the principles she’s endorsed, and block the creation of a special Vito district — or will she allow the disgraced lech Lopez to vault himself into the City Council [in exchange for his endorsement]?”
Gotham Schools
“Christine Quinn, an early favorite in polls who is seen as Bloomberg’s closest ally, received the chilliest reception of the night. Her stump speech drew booing, led by Donny Moss, an activist who is one of Quinn’s fiercest detractors.”
New York Daily News
“Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s decision to schedule a hearing on the paid sick days bill only inflamed one” of her rivals [Bill deBlasio] who accused her of lacking the “guts” to allow a vote on the measure.”
Capital New York
“Voters have long memories and will remember those elected officials that knowingly disregarded the will of New Yorkers in 2008 [on term limits].”
The Gothamist
“Baldwin…says that the Speaker is ‘a very nice person; but he thinks she is ‘untrustworthy.’ He also ‘resents’ that she is ‘Bloomberg’s hand-picked successor’ and notes that she has ‘blood on her hands’ after helping Bloomberg (and herself) get a third term.”
Huffington Post
“The current speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, has blocked the efforts to take these horses off the streets and out of harm’s way since a bill was introduced to ban the trade in 2007.”
The Gothamist
“Street vendors have already received support from 36 of the 51 council members—all they need is a vote to lower the fines. For reasons unknown, Quinn has delayed the vote on this legislation, which vendors have been working nearly six years to rectify.”
Village Voice
“[Christine] Quinn is going to lose the Hispanic vote because we’re going to make sure of that,” Frank Garcia, chairman of the New York State Coalition of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, tells the Voice. “We don’t feel that [she] takes the Hispanic vote very seriously right now.”
Gay City News
“The speaker is not without critics among queer New Yorkers; in fact, she often faces LGBT picketers at public appearances.”
Queens Politics
“Once people on a city-wide level start seeing her ranting and raving and punishing her own constituents, she will turn people off and is going to have a tough road ahead against more kinder, less vicious individuals such as Bill Thompson and Bill Deblasio.”
Washington Post
Quinn describes herself: “I know when to be a bitch and I know when not to be a bitch. I make a conscious decision about when I’m gonna, you know, open up the bitch tap and let the water run. It can be really effective when I need it to. I’ve gotten through to people who are far more important than me by being, you know, a real bitch to their staff on the telephone.”
Huffington Post
“Term limits aren’t the only thing Quinn killed. She assisted in bringing down the only hospital trauma facility in the Greenwich Village area when she helped St. Vincent’s Hospital to close and sell to developers at Rudin Management, who then contributed to her campaign…Quinn backed Jamestown Properties in their bid to build on top of the Chelsea Market in Quinn’s neighborhood, over fierce opposition from her own constituents. Jamestown then pledged money to the High Line project, who, in turn, contributed to Quinn. Some say Quinn is also stepping over dollars to save pennies regarding her opposition to the HASA For All Act, which expands housing benefits to more New Yorkers with AIDS.”
New York Times
Hacked By Imam with love
The Money
NY Observer
“Ms. Quinn also has another thing: the so-called elites. These are the people and groups who make up the Partnership for New York City, the Association for a Better New York, who work on Wall Street or in real estate and who make up for votes with money and editorial board influence.”
Councilpedia
“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.”
NY Post
“Quinn took in more than $17,000 in campaign donations connected to Hudson Yards developer Related Cos. since the start of 2012 . . . During the same six-month period, Quinn privately negotiated a deal that gave the firm a break from the recently passed law that raises to $10 an hour the pay for lower-income employees who work for companies that receive major subsidies from City Hall.”
NY Daily News
“As the Manhattan Democrat contemplates her campaign for mayor, she enjoys a political boon that has to make her opponents salivate — millions of dollars in pork that’s hers to hand out like party favors . . .’Having tens of millions of dollars available to distribute to Council members and their constituents translates to votes,’ said Baruch College political scientist Doug Muzzio. ‘It gives her an advantage, a significant advantage, as a matter of fact.'”
Wall Street Journal
Scott Stringer calls out Quinn in the Wall Street Journal, “There was no slush fund in my office…I don’t give out money based on political considerations to favorite council members.”
City Hall News
“Asked about changing her tune on the slush fund scandal, Quinn clams up and declines to answer.”
New York Magazine
Christine Quinn comments on her political future after slush fund scandal: “If I asked one more person, ‘Do you think I’ll be able to run for another office some day?’ Either people said yes, and I said, ‘Oh you’re full of it, you’re just lying to me, you want to make me feel better,’ or they said no, and I’d be crushed.”
New York Daily News
“As the Manhattan Democrat contemplates her campaign for mayor, she enjoys a political boon that has to make her opponents salivate — millions of dollars in pork that’s hers to hand out like party favors…‘Having tens of millions of dollars available to distribute to Council members and their constituents translates to votes,’ said Baruch College political scientist Doug Muzzio. ‘It gives her an advantage, a significant advantage, as a matter of fact.’”
New York Times
“The American soft-drink industry, fighting Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s restrictions on sugary drink sizes, is courting a lawmaker who could eventually have the influence to overturn the rules: Christine C. Quinn. . . Executives from the Coca-Cola Company donated nearly $10,000 this month to Ms. Quinn’s campaign.”
