Conflict of Interest

NY TImes

“We felt a little strange about giving her the contributions because Chris had portrayed herself as someone who was transparent and a reformer.”

NY Observer

“The city Conflict of Interest Board fined Christine Quinn’s former top aide for ‘soliciting contributions on behalf of the Council Speaker’s re-election campaign.’  The fine is $2,500.
Maura Keeny reportedly asked for the money while she was helping to craft legislation in the Speaker’s office that would have impacted some of the donors.”

NY Daily News

“Local Law 34 lowered the maximum political contributions from those doing business with the city to $400. But due to a loophole, officeholders like Quinn could hold on to the maximum $4,950 donations from those doing business with the city. . . This new law was designed to hinder, if not end, the age-old, transactional ‘pay-to-play’ politics that had favored the few for so long at the expense of the many.  Why would the Council allow incumbents to keep money received under limits it judged to be more than 10 times too high, potentially undermining this good- government reform?”

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.”

www.christinequinn.com

Quinn “made a strong and unequivocal promise to her then future constituents: She had not and would not take money from landlords or developers. “No I haven’t and no I won’t,” she said with emphasis…it did not take long before Quinn started to break her promise. A re-examination of her campaign contributions from 1999 shows she was lying through her teeth even during her first campaign. And today, as then, she’s in complete denial.”

Using City Resources

Village Voice

“It turns out that many in Quinn’s touted group of dedicated volunteers have a strong personal interest in her being reelected — indeed, their jobs may rely on it. According to documents the Voice has obtained, thirty-one of the “more than 90″ volunteers are current staff members on the City Council.”

Village Voice

“Even during the busy weekdays running up to the budget agreement, 24 presumably overworked staffers found the time to volunteer for Quinn. . . On a single workday, June 10, one young aide who lives in Brooklyn, Danielle Castaldi-Micca, managed to bop all around the district, obtaining 55 signatures for the speaker.”