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Christine Quinn
NYC Mayoral Candidate Allon Hits Airwaves (Very Early)
Nov 7th - 3:20 pm
Newspaper publisher Tom Allon’s candidacy for mayor of NYC in 2013 hasn’t been taken terribly seriously up to this point – probably a function of the fact that he’s 1) not a politician – something that could be considered an asset, not nearly as rich as the last apolitical businessman who successfully took the plunge into Big Apple politics, Mayor Bloomberg.
Allon is looking to change that perception with a new TV ad – the first of the still-very-far-away election – that will run tomorrow exclusively on our sister station, NY1. The ad blasts the lack of voter choice in most elections, slams “career politicians,” and touts the fact that Allon, who is also a former teacher, is independent of the established political system.
“New Yorkers should be out voting today,” Allon said in a statement that accompanied a link to his ad. (I assume that by “today” he actually means “tomorrow”).
“But instead of having open and democratic elections like editorial boards and good government groups across the city demanded, the Republican and Democratic bosses once again orchestrated special elections to keep independent, reform-minded, and third-party candidates out of office.”
“As Mayor of the City of New York, I will make electoral reform and good government top priorities of my administration. If the people don’t have real choice on Election Day, our whole system of government is a sham.”
The ad features a few generic newspaper headlines highlighting the downsides of politics like “Mayoral Frontrunner Investigated” and “Politician Arrested” And then there’s this: “Slush Fund Scandal.” That’s clearly a dig at the perceived current frontrunner, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who presided over that particular mess, which continues to bedevil Council members.
‘Contagion, Not Just A Movie’
Sep 21st - 2:31 pm
Advocates who are pushing NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn to bring a paid sick days bill up for a vote are employing a little bit of Hollywood magic to boost their cause – perhaps trying to scare her into acting?
The coalition Family Values @ Work produced a Web video based on the new hit flu epidemic movie “Contagion” in which a grocery cashier, a coffee barista, restaurant workers and a school bus driver discuss how they’ve all gone to work when they were feeling too ill to do so – and most likely infected co-workers and customers in the process – because they don’t have paid sick days and couldn’t risk losing their jobs.
Only 19 percent of low-wage workers, like those featured in the film, have paid sick days, according to Family Values @ Work. Three in four food service workers, three in five personal health care workers and three in four child care workers, all of whom have significant interaction with others, do not have paid sick days.
Smart approach. And scary, which I guess is the point. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash my hands.
(This was first reported in City Hall News’ “Heard Around Town” morning email blast; third item).
Turner Revives Council ‘Slush Fund’ Scandal To Attack Weprin (Updated)
Aug 2nd - 11:55 am
Congressional hopeful Bob Turner is reviving the three-year-old “slush-fund scandal” that engulfed the New York City Council in 2008 and 2009, charging that his Democratic opponent David Weprin did nothing to stop the problem.
The scandal came about after millions of dollars in public grant money were allocated to “phantom” non-profit groups. Several Council aides were indicted in the scandal’s aftermath. Weprin, at the time, was the City Council’s Finance Committee chairman.
Weprin was elected to the Assembly in 2010.
A spokesman for the Republican businessman said in a statement that Weprin “never satisfactorily explained” how so much money was funneled through the fake charities at the time.
“David Weprin either knew about these fake charities or he wasn’t doing his job; there is no in-between,’ said Turner campaign spokesman William O’Reilly.
“Dummy charities were fabricated to park taxpayer money out of the public eye and David Weprin was supposed to be watching that money. Did he look the other way, or is Mr. Weprin really that careless with the public’s money? It is a legitimate question and Brooklyn and Queens voters deserve a clear answer.”
Weprin, who unsuccessfully ran for city comptroller that year, told a city radio show at the time that the scandal was unfortunate, but added, “in the end I think the process is stronger for it, and we’re all better off for all the scrutiny that came out of this.”
UPDATE: Jake Dilemani, Weprin’s campaign manager, forwarded the following response:
“Bob Turner is lying about David Weprin in a sad, pathetic attempt to distract the people of Brooklyn and Queens from his extremist tea party-inspired plan to slash trillions from Medicare and Social Security.”
NY1/Marist Poll: Quinn Narrowly Leads NYC Mayoral Field
Jul 28th - 7:00 pm
A new NY1/Marist Poll shows that the race for New York City mayor is wide open, now that Rep. Anthony Weiner is out of the race.
Back in April, our poll had Congressman Weiner as the front-runner, with 18 percent. With him now out of the race following his sexting scandal, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn leads the crowded Democratic field. Here is how it breaks down:
- Christine Quinn – 16%
- Bill Thompson – 15%
- Marty Markowitz – 14%
- John Liu – 9%
- Bill De Blasio – 7%
- Scott Stringer – 6%
- Undecided – 32%
The poll also asks voters if they think former Rep. Weiner, or former Governor Eliot Spitzer should run for mayor. The two didn’t fair well. Weiner only got 26% of support, and Spitzer got 33% support for a mayoral run.
And we also asked if Police Commissioner Ray Kelly should run. The electorate was divided on him. 42% said yes, they want him to run. And 42% said they didn’t want him to run, with 16% undecided.
Yesterday, a Quinnipiac University poll asked all voters who they would prefer to be Mayor. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly topped the field with 23% – though winning a general election against whatever Democrat comes out of the primary might be tough, assuming Dems unite around the winner.
EMBARGOED_Complete July 28, 2011 NYC NY1-Marist Poll Release and Tables
Quinn Predicts: LGBT Advocates Will Push Obama, Won’t Abandon Him
Jun 28th - 4:09 pm
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, appearing on CNN’s John King USA, took a pragmatic approach on whether LGBT and liberal voters should abandon President Obama if he fails to “evolve,” as he might put it, to a “yes” on same-sex marriage.
Quinn atttributed the success advocates just realized in New York to the fact that “nobody lost hope,” and instead managed to regroup with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s leadership and continue pushing the Senate until its members were able to take another vote on the marriage bill – this time passing it, 33-29.
“I think how the process works is that grassroots advocates, communities, voters, push elected officials, right? And we push the president to be better,” Quinn said.
“And I think that’s part of what got Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repealed. It’s part of why the president took the bold step he did around the Defense of Marriage Act. So, I expect all in the LGBT community – myself included – to push and push and push the president and every other important elected official until they are where we want them to be.”
“That doesn’t mean that we’re going to abandon them in the voting booth. But, it does mean our job is to keep that pressure, keep that conversation, keep that dialogue. And it has been effective with the president, and it was unbelievably effective with the New York State Legislature. That’s why we won, ’cause we never let up.”
Quinn, the first woman and first openly gay individual to hold her leadership role, made multiple trips to Albany over the past several years to personally lobby senators on same-sex marriage. She’s planning to wed her partner of 10 years, Kim Catullo, next spring.
Quinn, In Albany, Continues Same-Sex Marriage Lobbying
Apr 4th - 2:31 pm
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn – a possible candidate for mayor in 2013 – met with Senate Minority Leader John Sampson for about 30 minutes this afternoon, a meeting that she said was mainly to “thank” the lawmaker for restoring funding to city senior centers.
But Quinn said she also discussed a same-sex marriage.
“I wanted to follow up on a couple of budget things, thank Senator Sampson and others for his support on Title XX for senior centers,” she said. “But I’ve always been doing weekly visits on the marriage equality bill.”
“My other meetings have been marriage/budget,” Quinn added. “This was marriage/thank you. We try to come up once a week.”
Why Quinn met with Sampson and not, say, Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos is unclear. When Democrats controlled the Senate in 2009, a gay marriage bill failed.
Any vote to approve same-sex marriage this year would take not only several GOP lawmakers, but also some Democrats who haven’t supported the measure. Several of those Democratic “no” voters – former Sens. Hiram Monserrate and Bill Stachowski – are now gone. Two others – Sens. Joe Addabbo and Shirley Huntley – are now on the fence, as is GOP Sen. Jim Alesi.
Today’s trip by Quinn did not include a meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo or members of his staff.
Quinn’s low-profile appearance today was in contrast to her visit to Albany in March, when she and other gay-marriage advocates met with Cuomo.
The Democratic governor has vowed to pass a gay-marriage bill this year. The measure would help Cuomo shore up support in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which is weary over his cuts to education and health care.
NOTE from LB: A reader says Quinn met with Skelos when she was last in Albany. Also, Cuomo has said he wants a vote on gay marriage prior to the end of this session – perhaps even before Father’s Day.
Q Poll: Bloomberg Sinks To New Low
Mar 16th - 8:43 am
Today’s Q poll finds Mayor Bloomberg’s approval rating has sunk to its lowest point in eight years with voters disapproving of the job he’s doing, 51-39. That’s not far off from his last low point of 51-37 percent disapproval in late November 2003.
Only Bloomberg’s fellow Manhattanites approve of his performance, 55-34. Adding insult to injury for the mayor, all the other citywide elected officials – and likely 2013 mayoral contenders – have scored their highest approval ratings ever. They are as follows:
- 44-16 for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
- 54-16 for Comptroller John Liu.
- 55-25 for Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
“Is it the snow, the third-term blahs, the weekends away, the presidential chatter? Whatever the explanation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s once-upon-a-time stretch of 70-plus job approval numbers has gone south,” said Q pollster Mickey Carroll.
Meanwhile, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who just this week brushed off talk of him moving on to become director of the FBI, has a 67-20 approval rating. Bloomberg’s hand-picked NYC schools chancellor, Cathie Black, is still struggling to improve her standing with city residents. Most disapprove of her performance, 17-49, with 34 percent undecided.
Bloomberg can take solace in the fact that even if New Yorkers don’t like the way he’s handling himself on the job, they do believe he’s entitled to some privacy. A whopping 72 percent say it’s no one’s business where the mayor spends his weekends or vacations. This is down slightly from the 80 percent who said as much in a February Q poll.
The media should not follow the mayor and report on his time-off activity, most voters say (79-17). But when Bloomberg leaves the city, 84 percent believe he should have to say who he’s leaving in charge.
Quinn Calls For Hearings On City Storm Response
Dec 28th - 12:53 pm
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn is promising to hold oversight hearings on Jan. 10 to look into the city’s response to the Blizzard of 2010.
Quinn had some positive things to say about the way New Yorkers banded together during the storm and praised the work of the Sanitation Department, while admitting there were some significant failures in the overall response.
Here’s her statement in full:
“Yesterday, Members of the Council encountered the true spirit of New York in every corner of the five boroughs as neighbors helped one another overcome the difficulties brought on by the elements.
“Council Members also encountered justified anger throughout their districts as New Yorkers were stranded on trains and buses, forced to suffer with a backlog in response to emergencies. New York’s Strongest, the men and women of the Sanitation Department, do an amazing job day in and day out and we are grateful for their service. That said, by all accounts, the collective storm response was not anywhere near up to the standards New Yorkers are accustomed to.
“This is unacceptable.
“New Yorkers have serious questions about the City’s snow emergency policy and response. We in the Council will seek forward looking answers on behalf of our constituents. Therefore, the Council will convene oversight hearings on January 10th at 1pm to examine questions surrounding the City’s response to yesterday’s blizzard.
“This hearing acknowledges the reality that many New Yorkers are experiencing, that something went wrong. We will conduct a constructive fact finding effort with the goal of preventingit from happening again. As we convene this hearing we must be mindful that the events of the last two days are a stark reminder of the need to protect core public services from potentially life-threatening budget reductions.”
ESPA: Paladino ‘Not Cut Out’ To Be Gov
Oct 11th - 10:35 am
The Empire State Pride Agenda is the latest LGBT organization to weigh in on Carl Paladino’s ant-gay statements, calling it “unfathomable” that the Buffalo businessman “could espouse the homophobic position that the lives of gay New Yorkers are not as valid as his.”
“Law abiding, tax-paying LGBT New Yorkers, and parents of LGBT children, should not have to worry that their governor will be siding with those who feel we are less than, that we are second class citizens living less valid lives than our neighbors,” Levi said in a statement that appears in full after the jump.
“Apparently, Carl Paladino is fine with schools teaching that sentiment as well, and believes that to teach otherwise is brainwashing. Fortunately, what Carl Paladino calls brainwashing most New Yorkers call getting along.”
“Carl Paladino seeks to be governor, but by confirming anti-LGBT sentiments, he shows that he is clearly not cut out to be the leader of our state. New York needs a governor who is committed to equal treatment and equal respect for all its citizens, not one who finds a whole segment of the population he would be representing to be invalid and dysfunctional. ”
“The days of elected officials refusing to give LGBT people the dignity and respect we deserve as citizens are long over. We expect and demand better from those who seek to represent and lead our great Empire State.”
Levi, Sen. Tom Duane, (the chamber’s first openly gay and HIV-positive member); NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, (the first lesbian and woman to hold her leadership post); Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, (one of the first gay elected officials to represent Queens) and Marty Rouse of the Human Rights Campaign Fund will hold a pre-Columbus Day press conference to denounce Paladino’s “homophobic comments” at 11 a.m. in Manhattan.
HRC Leader: Paladino ‘Out Of His Mind’, Should Quit Race
Oct 11th - 9:01 am
The outrage from the LGBT community in response to Carl Paladino’s anti-gay remarks in Williamsburg yesterday continues, with the head of the Human Rights Campaign’s pro-gay marriage operation in New York saying the Buffalo businessman doesn’t belong in the governor’s race at all.
“Out of touch, out of his mind, should be out of the race,” Brian Ellner e-mailed to me this morning.
Ellner’s statement was actually the second of the morning and went further than the first reaction he sent out, which read:
“Paladino’s comments are stunningly out of touch with values in this state – and worrisomely tone deaf given events of recent days.”
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the first lesbian and first woman ever to hold her leadership post, called Paladino’s remarks “dangerous,” particularly since they came on the heels of an anti-gay torture spree of two gay teens and a gay man by members of a Bronx gang that rocked the city over the weekend.
“Given the horrifying anti-LGBT hate crime recently in the Bronx where four people were brutally attacked, the bullying of Tyler Clementi which led him to take his own life, and the recent rash of suicides by at least seven LGBT youth, Mr. Paladino should be ashamed for his hateful and backward remarks,” said Quinn, who also defended Cuomo’s record on LGBT rights.
“As someone who is seeking to a lead our State, it is clear that Mr. Paladino has no regard for the civil rights or the well being of LGBT New Yorkers. We need our elected officials to be leaders on diversity, not urging second-class citizenship for some groups of people.”
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