Salon.com > Christine Quinn

Report: Anthony Weiner could announce mayoral run next week

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:34:00 +0000

The New York Daily News is reporting that Anthony Weiner is getting ready to jump into the New York City mayoral race, according to two anonymous sources, and even reportedly has a campaign manager.

From the Daily News:

The former congressman is preparing to jump into the race, possibly as soon as next week, the Daily News has learned. At least two people close to Weiner have been contacting political operatives to gauge if they would go to battle for him.

Politico reported on Wednesday that Weiner has picked a former DCCC adviser to run his campaign:

Danny Kedem, who worked on Mark Murphy’s congressional run in New York’s 11th District last year, has been brought on as Weiner’s campaign manager for a race he is likely to announce next week, according to multiple sources. Kedem’s resume includes a handful of other congressional runs and mayoral races, as well as field organizing work on Hillary Clinton’s presidential run.

Christine Quinn opens up about struggle with bulimia

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:49:00 +0000

In an interview in the New York Times on Tuesday, New York City Council speaker and Democratic mayoral candidate Christine Quinn opened up about her long struggle with bulimia and alcoholism, and her eventual path to recovery.

Quinn told the Times that she wanted to share her story because: “I just want people to know you can get through stuff. I hope people can see that in what my life has been and where it is going.”

After learning her mother had cancer while Quinn was in the eighth grade, she said she began binging and purging as a coping mechanism, to "expel" the things that were fueling her depression: grief over her mother's illness, anxiety about body image and the volatility of growing up in a family plagued by alcoholism.

It wasn't until 1992, after more than a decade of struggling with bulimia and excessive drinking, that Quinn sought help, she told the Times:

Poll: Weiner in second behind Quinn in mayoral race

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:21:00 +0000

If he decided to run for Mayor of New York City, Anthony Weiner would be in second place behind Christine Quinn in the Democratic primary, according to a new NBC New York/Marist poll.

The poll puts Quinn in the lead among Democratic voters with 26 percent, followed by Weiner at 15 percent. NBC New York points out that Weiner would need 40 percent to avoid a runoff against Quinn. Additionally, 50 percent of Democrats surveyed still said they would not vote for Weiner.

And, as Nate Silver points out:

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According to the poll, John Liu trails Weiner at 12 percent, with Bill de Blasio and Bill Thompson each getting 11 percent. 22 percent of those surveyed are still undecided.

Christine Quinn tries to get Time Warner to pull attack ad

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:24:00 +0000

New York City Mayoral candidate Christine Quinn is trying to get Cablevision and Time Warner Cable to stop airing an ad that attacks Quinn's "political ambition" and ties to the one percent, saying that there is "incorrect information" in the ad.

The ad, which began airing on Monday, was paid for by a group of left-leaning labor groups and other Democratic activists, which call themselves NYC Is Not for Sale 2013. The ad shows Quinn's picture amid a cloud of smoke, and says that “Virtually all of Christine Quinn’s decisions were made in rooms just like this, with her friends in the 1%.”

NY1 reports:

The ad also faults her for changing term limits, saying "She is always on the wrong side. On living wage."

Quinn's lawyer says she passed the measure, so she can't be on the wrong side. However, she delayed the vote and passed a watered-down version.

Christine Quinn gets attacked from the left

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:07:00 +0000

A coalition of left-leaning groups has launched a new ad campaign against New York City mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, attacking her ties to the 1 percent and her "political ambition."

The 30-second ad is part of a $250,000 buy by labor groups and one animal rights group, and will run for three weeks. From the New York Times:

The coalition opposing Ms. Quinn is called NYC Is Not for Sale 2013 and appears to be a successor to a group that actively opposed Mr. Bloomberg’s 2009 re-election bid. It also includes an animal-rights group, NYClass, that has long fought with Ms. Quinn over horse-drawn carriages and other issues. But the coalition also includes Democrats who had previously been major donors to Ms. Quinn.

The ad, which shows a picture of Quinn surrounded by smoke, says that “Virtually all of Christine Quinn’s decisions were made in rooms just like this, with her friends in the 1%. She wants you to think that she’s a progressive, but on the issues New Yorkers care most about, she is always on the wrong side."

Are female pols good for women?

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0000

For about as long as women have been running for office, people who care about women's lot have wondered whether one at the top would improve life for the rest of us. And last week's skirmish in the New York City mayoral race was an object lesson.

The feminist bragging rights of Christine Quinn, the only female candidate in the New York race -- the front-runner, potentially the first female and the first lesbian mayor of the biggest city in America -- were being questioned. Using her power as speaker of the City Council, Quinn was blocking a sure-fire vote mandating paid sick days.

She faced a clear choice. While the bill was opposed by her key ally, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, lack of sick days disproportionately affects low-wage female workers, who also tend to have more care-giving responsibilities -- and the coalition including the Working Families Party and union leaders made sure everyone knew it. Just as Quinn needed the support of people like Gloria Steinem and other high-profile feminists for her campaign, they were holding firm in demanding a vote on paid sick leave as a women's issue. And it all came at a time when people who might vote on feminist bona fides were arguing over a central question raised by Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In": whether more female leaders would improve the lot of all women.

Paid sick leave: The next liberal litmus test?

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:33:00 +0000

There's a new must-support issue for ambitious Democrats across the nation: paid sick leave. And if you want to see how important it has become, just look to the current race for New York City mayor.

Before Thursday, City Council speaker Christine Quinn (generally an ally of Mayor Michael Bloomberg) hemmed and hawed for three years over whether to put forth a paid sick leave bill, despite the fact that eight in 10 New Yorkers support it. The issue placed her in an uncomfortable bind, trapped between Bloomberg and the business community (all of whom oppose it) -- and workers and unions on the other side.

But after previously using her power to block the bill (despite the majority of the City Council supporting it), Quinn realized her situation had become politically untenable. And on Thursday, a compromise was reached that requires companies with 15 or more workers to offer employees at least five paid sick days. As the New York Times noted, the deal represents a "raw display of political muscle by a coalition of labor unions and liberal activists.

New York Times: Christine Quinn has a temper

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:30:00 +0000

In a 1,668-word article sparking an array of reactions, the New York Times on Tuesday digs deep into New York mayoral candidate Christine Quinn's temper. (It is a very, very bad temper, the article explains.)

Reporters Michael Grynbaum and David Chen provide a few lines in the front-page story to explain that Rudy Giuliani was also a political hothead and that Republican mayoral candidate Joseph J. Lhota once challenged a 77-year-old Holocaust survivor to “be a man.” The rest of the piece includes passages like this:

A session of the New York City Council had descended into chaos, and lawmakers were openly questioning her leadership. Ms. Quinn, the Council speaker, decided there was one person to blame: Betsy Gotbaum, then the city’s public advocate, who had been presiding.

The response was sudden and fierce. Ms. Quinn summoned Ms. Gotbaum to an office nearby and, with little warning, began shouting at her in increasingly angry tones about appearing weak in front of other lawmakers.

“You were like Bambi in there!” Ms. Quinn exclaimed, slamming her hand on a table for emphasis, according to Ms. Gotbaum, who was on crutches at the time.

Momentum surges for police reform

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:36:00 +0000

The NYPD is currently on trial in more ways than one. While a federal judge presides over a landmark case challenging the constitutionality of the police department's stop-and-frisk tactic, political will is growing to ban the racially divisive policing practices and to increase oversight on NYPD behavior. From the streets of East Flatbush to the forums of mayoral debates, momentum is growing to challenge the NYPD as it currently operates.

While Mayor Bloomberg's administration has long maintained that independent oversight of the NYPD is not necessary, his ally, City Council Speaker (and mayoral candidate) Christine Quinn announced Tuesday that lawmakers had reached a deal to install an inspector general to monitor the vast police department. The call for an inspector general, who could have investigative powers and the ability to issue subpoenas, followed mounting evidence of widespread discriminatory policing, both in the form of stop-and-frisks (over 86 percent of which target black and Latino New Yorkers) and the NYPD's spying on Muslim communities. For a careful politician like Quinn to support such a proposal reflects a shifting political tide towards reform.

Christine Quinn launches NYC mayoral bid

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:15:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Long seen as a leading contender, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn formally launched Sunday what she hopes will be a history-making mayoral bid.

A veteran of city politics, Quinn would be a groundbreaking mayor across two personal dimensions: She would be the first female and first openly gay mayor to lead the nation's largest city.

Announcing through her Twitter feed that she's in the race, Quinn said she wanted to give middle- and working-class New Yorkers the same opportunities generations of her family got when they came here.

"I'm running for mayor because I love this city. It's the greatest place in the world," she said in a video linked to her post, before setting out to start what she called a walk-and-talk tour intended to take her to every neighborhood in the city before the Democratic primary in September.

A former tenant organizer and director of a gay and lesbian advocacy group, Quinn, 46, has been on the City Council since 1999 and its leader since 2006. The position has afforded her considerable exposure going into the crowded field of candidates vying to succeed term-limited Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Who is vying to replace NYC’s Bloomberg in 2013?

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:57:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's 2013 mayoral race doesn't fully kick off until after voters are done picking a president. But some of the city's top political players are already jockeying for position, preparing to introduce themselves to voters who haven't paid much attention to who, exactly, will succeed Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor who has defined City Hall for more than a decade.

Bloomberg's successor will face significant challenges — among them a projected budget hole of at least $3.1 billion. And when the victor is sworn in on Jan. 1, 2014, it will be the first time since Bloomberg took office 12 years ago that the mayor likely won't have the financial and philanthropic resources to fund favorite initiatives out of his or her own pocket.

It's too early to make any assumptions about the race, political analysts warn. At this point in the 2001 contest, no one considered Bloomberg a likely prospect. But decision time is approaching — and there's a chance that it could be sooner than in previous election cycles. With no obvious Republican standard-bearers, it's possible that the most significant contest will be the Democratic primary, and there's been speculation the state Legislature could schedule it as early as June.