- Christine Quinn
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Christine Quinn Speaker of the New York City Council Incumbent Assumed office
January 2006Preceded by Gifford Miller Member of the New York City Council from the 3rd district Incumbent Assumed office
1999Preceded by Thomas K. Duane Constituency Manhattan's West Side Personal details Born July 25, 1966
Glen Cove, New YorkPolitical party Democratic Domestic partner Kim Catullo Residence Chelsea, Manhattan Website NYC Council: District 3 Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is a Democratic politician and the current Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, Quinn is the first female and first openly gay speaker.[1][2]
In 2007, the New York Post named Quinn the third-most powerful woman in New York, after Hillary Rodham Clinton and Diane Sawyer.[3] She was rated one of the "Forty Under Forty" by Gotham Magazine.[citation needed]
Contents
Personal life
Quinn was born in Glen Cove, New York. She attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She served as head of the Housing Justice Campaign for the Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development. Quinn entered politics to manage the City Council campaign of Thomas Duane in 1991, after which she was Duane's Chief of Staff for five years. She later became the Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, and was appointed a member of the NYC Police/Community Relations Task Force by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
She resides in Chelsea with her partner, Kim Catullo.[4] Her former partner, Laura Morrison,[5] is Chief of Staff to State Senator Tom Duane.
Political career
Quinn ran successfully for the city council in 1999. As of 2009, she still represents the council's third district, representing Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and Hell's Kitchen, as well as parts of SoHo and Murray Hill. In January 2006, at the age of 39, after serving on the city council for almost seven years, Christine Quinn was elected city council speaker.
In 2008, Quinn acknowledged the existence since 2001 of a practice of appropriation of funds to fictitious organizations; documents provided to The New York Times by Quinn’s office indicated that about $17.4 million of such funds were appropriated to groups with names such as "The Coalition for Informed Individuals" and "Firewood Senior Services."[6]
Before becoming speaker, Quinn served as chair of the Health Committee, during which she sponsored the Equal Benefits Bill and the Health Care Security Act, which requires that city contractors provide parity in benefits between married spouses and registered domestic partners. This and the Health Care Security Act (which ensures health care for grocery workers) were passed over Mayor Michael Bloomberg's veto. However, the courts threw out the Equal Benefits Bill for conflicting with existing competitive state bidding laws.[7] Quinn led the council's opposition to the mayor's West Side Stadium plan, helping to defeat the proposal.
Quinn has boycotted the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in New York because of the Ancient Order of Hibernians's policy against homosexuals marching openly (i.e., displaying signs, banners or badges advertising their sexual identity). She tried unsuccessfully to broker a deal with the organizers in 2006 to allow her to wear a gay pride pin.[8][9] Subsequently, she was named 2008 Irish American of the year by the weekly newspaper Irish Echo.[10]
Preceding the controversial lecture by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia University in 2007, Quinn wrote to the university requesting that his invitation to speak be withdrawn.[11]
In 2008, Quinn backed Mayor Bloomberg on a controversial bill that overturned voter-approved term limits and allowed for the mayor, city councilmembers (including her), and borough presidents to run for third terms, reversing the results of two successive public referenda.[12] The Public Advocate and Comptroller both denounced this move; neither sought a third term. In June 2009, the City Council passed a budget that imposed a 40% budget cut on the Public Advocate's Office.[13] No other city agency had its budget cut more than 6%.[citation needed]
Just eight days before the 2009 elections, she endorsed her party's ultimately unsuccessful mayoral candidate, Bill Thompson.[14] Quinn was re-elected in 2009 to her council seat and, on January 7, 2010, was elected to a second term as speaker by the 49 member Council. On November 8, 2011, Quinn was accused of being inpolite for chewing gum during her speeches and behind the mayor's speech.
Quinn is expected to run for New York Mayor in 2013.[15]
References
- ^ Chibbaro, Jr., Lou. "Most powerful" gay politician in the country, Washington Blade. Retrieved on 04-11-2007.
- ^ Clary, Greg (11 October 2009), "Thousands march for gay rights in Washington", CNN, http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/11/thousands-march-for-gay-rights-in-washington/, retrieved 11 October 2009
- ^ [1], New York Post, retrieved on 2007-05-14
- ^ Christine C. Quinn Biography
- ^ "Building Ties That Bind New Councilwoman Quinn Looks To Common Good". Daily News (New York). 1999-02-20. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/1999/02/20/1999-02-20_building_ties_that_bind___ne.html.
- ^ "Ms. Quinn and the Potemkin Accounts." The New York Times. April 5, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/opinion/05sat2.html
- ^ N.Y. High Court Rules D.P. Benefit Law Invalid, Associated Press. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ NY Snubbed In Gay Row, Sky News, retrieved on 2007-03-05
- ^ Chan, Sewell (March 5, 2007). "Quinn to March for St. Patrick, but in Dublin". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/nyregion/05quinn.html. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
- ^ [2], The Irish Echo. Retrieved on 2008-12-31.
- ^ Parsons, Claudia (2007-09-20). "NY university urged to cancel Ahmadinejad speech". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2040571120070920. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ [3], Observer. RetriePhony Allocations by City Council Reportedved on 2008-23-1.
- ^ "Rivals Unite to Protest Public Advocate Budget Cut", New York Times, June 23, 2009.
- ^ [4]
- ^ Oowell, Michael (August 22, 2011). "Quinn A Council Speaker Who Tightens the Purse Strings on Dissent". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/nyregion/christine-quinn-uses-council-funds-to-reward-allies.html. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
External links
- New York City Council: District 3 - Christine C. Quinn
- The New York Observer's Christine Quinn Archives
- Searchlight 2002 - District 3
Non-profit organization positions Preceded by
Matt ForemanExecutive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project
1996-1998Succeeded by
Jeffrey MontgomeryPolitical offices Preceded by
Thomas DuaneMember of the New York City Council from the 3rd district
1999–presentIncumbent Preceded by
Gifford MillerSpeaker of the New York City Council
2006–presentIncumbent Speakers of the New York City Council Members of New York City Council Speaker: Christine C. Quinn Staten Island
49: Rose (D)
50: Oddo (R)
51: Ignizio (R)Categories:- 1966 births
- Living people
- New York City Council members
- New York Democrats
- Lesbian politicians
- LGBT politicians from the United States
- American people of Irish descent
- Women in New York politics
- People from Glen Cove, New York
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