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Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a former member and speaker of the New York City Council. Quinn is the third person and first woman to serve as speaker of the New York City Council.Chibbaro, Jr., Lou. "Most powerful" gay politician in the country , Washington Blade, January 20, 2006. Retrieved on 04-11-2007. She ran to succeed Michael Bloomberg as the city's mayor in the 2013 mayoral election, but finished third in the Democratic primary. Quinn is a political contributor on CNN and MSNBC.
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 served as 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.
In 2001 Quinn won a full term on the City Council, defeating Republican Michelle Bouchard 75%-25%. Because the district lines were redrawn after the 2000 census, her term lasted only two years. She was reelected in 2003 after the districts were redrawn according to population shifts (all council districts must have an equal number of residents). In 2005 she was reelected to a four-year term unopposed. In 2009 she was reelected to a third term with 81% of the vote.
In April 2008 the New York Post reported that Quinn's office had appropriated millions of dollars to organizations that did not exist, and that the money was then secretly routed to organizations favored by individual councilmembers. In a news conference that followed Quinn said, "I had no knowledge of it; I did not know this was the practice". She said she had found out about it only a few months earlier, alerted authorities, and ordered staffers to stop the practice, but that they did not listen. Quinn hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent her in the federal and city investigations. Records showed that nearly 25% of those "secret slush" funds went to organizations in Quinn's district and that two of the biggest recipients had contributed to Quinn's 2009 mayoral run. In September 2011 one of the city council's lawyers reported that the federal "investigation has been closed without taking up any action," but only after two councilmen were indicted at the cost of $100,000 to the city.
In November 2009 Quinn urged the New York Senate to pass same-sex marriage legislation, saying that "she and her partner, lawyer Kim Catullo, would not get married until they could in New York. Near tears, she added: 'This is literally a moment when people can stand up and say that everybody's family matters, that everybody's home is a blessed place and that everybody has the same rights.'"
On July 28, 2012, Quinn sent a letter demanding that the president of NYU end its relationship with Chick-Fil-A, because of the stance of the company's CEO, Dan Cathy, against same-sex marriage.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, among others, denounced this move. In June 2009 the City Council approved a 40% cut in the budget of the Public Advocate's Office. Gotbaum declared herself a victim of "political payback" because of her opposition to the changes in the term limits law, a notion Quinn claimed was "ridiculous". All five candidates for Public Advocate showed up at City Hall in June to protest the move, and in 2010 New Yorkers again voted overwhelmingly to limit politicians to two consecutive terms.
Widely viewed as Bloomberg's heir apparent, Quinn was considered the early frontrunner in the nine-candidate race for the Democratic nomination. During her mayoral campaign, multiple media outlets reported on Quinn's temper; The New York Times reported that her staff had her City Council office soundproofed due to her outbursts.Multiple sources: Quinn's rivals attacked her for reversing her position on mayoral term limits and supporting Bloomberg's bid for a third term in 2009. In August 2013 The Washington Post opined that Quinn's primary chances were damaged by Bloomberg's "tacit endorsement" of her campaign, and in September The New York Times asserted that her change in position on term limits had also harmed her chances.
Quinn's campaign faded as time went on, and she finished third in the primary. She received 15.5% of the vote, while winner Bill de Blasio received 40.3% and Bill Thompson 26.2%.
In October 2014 Quinn stumped for the Women's Equality Party established by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in July 2014. When asked about the Working Families Party's criticism of the creation of a competing progressive party, she said, "Change is hard." In January 2015 Cuomo hired Quinn as a special advisor.
In 2015, Quinn became president and CEO of Women in Need (WIN), a nonprofit organization that is one of New York City's largest providers of services to homeless women and children.West, Melanie Grayce (02/26/2016). Christine Quinn Embraces Homeless Work.. Wall Street Journal - Online Edition. p. 1 - 1. () Her annual salary is $350,000. Since Quinn's first job was as a housing organizer for poor and homeless people, she noted that she had come full circle with her new job. Quinn said she was hoping to continue the good work of WIN's previous longtime leader, Bonnie Stone, and use a holistic approach to help women facing domestic violence, eviction, and other issues.A Discussion on New York City and Its Future: A Conversation with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Author: QUINN, CHRISTINE C.
Journal: New York Law School law review
Date: 07/01/2013
Volume: 58 Issue: 1 Page: 55-69
Quinn made headlines in 2018 for her comments about Cynthia Nixon's campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Referring to her own 2013 mayoral candidacy, Quinn said, "Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City", and added, "Now she wants to be an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York. Being an actress and celebrity doesn’t make you qualified for public office".
In 2019, Quinn and WIN drew criticism from the press (including a masthead editorial in The New York Daily News) for two contracts to operate homeless shelters in South Park Slope, Brooklyn. The allegations, verified by multiple journalists, included that the contracts contained up to $89 million of unexplained and apparently inflated costs. WIN and Quinn repeatedly declined to comment when asked for an explanation of the cost. One of the shelters opened in 2020.
Though Quinn was designated an elector in the 2020 presidential election, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer served as her alternate.
Quinn joined the board of Athlete Ally, an organization fighting homophobia in sports, in February 2014. "EXCLUSIVE: Former Speaker Christine Quinn joins board of nonprofit for gay athletes". New York Daily News, February 4, 2014. She is Catholic.
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