Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and first openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

speaker.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 Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

as the city's mayor in the 2013 mayoral election, but lost the Democratic primary. Quinn is a political contributor on CNN and

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

Early life, education, and early political career

Quinn was born in

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. The city's population was 28,3 ...

, one of two daughters of Mary (née Callaghan) and Lawrence Quinn. Her mother died of breast cancer in 1982. She attended School of the Holy Child in the village of Old Westbury on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in New York, and graduated from Trinity College in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

in 1988. Her maternal grandmother, Ellen (née Shine) Callaghan, was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS'' Titanic''. 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 In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

New York City Council

In a 1999 special election, Quinn ran for

in the 3rd district. The 3rd district covers the Manhattan neighborhoods of Chelsea,

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, and Hell's Kitchen, as well as parts of

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to ...

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

and Murray Hill. Quinn became the Democratic nominee and defeated Republican Joseph Mauriello, 89%-11%. 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.

Pre-speakership

While on the City Council, Quinn served as Chair of the Health Committee. 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 partner A domestic partnership is an intimate relationship between people, usually couples, who cohabitation, live together and share a common domestic life but who are not marriage, married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partner ...

s. This bill (along with the Health Care Security Act, which ensures health care for grocery workers) passed over Mayor

's veto. Quinn also "shepherded" a ban on indoor smoking at commercial establishments through the City Council; the bill passed 42–7.

Speaker of the New York City Council

Quinn was elected Speaker of the New York City Council in January 2006 and reelected in 2010. She was the first female and first openly gay person to hold this position.

Ahmadinejad visit

Preceding the controversial lecture by Iranian President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2007, Quinn wrote to the school requesting that his invitation to speak be withdrawn due to his support of

state-sponsored terrorism State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors. It contrasts with '' state terrorism'', which is carried out directly by state actors. States can ...

and hate speech, the latter particularly with regard to the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Her request was denied.

Controversy regarding Council funds

Under New York City law, the City Council Speaker has authority over the yearly City Council funds, worth almost $400 million (in 2012), to distribute among 51 members. This discretionary funding system, sometimes called the "slush fund", has been criticized, with some councilmembers alleging Quinn to have cut funding to their districts as a form of political retaliation. She repeatedly denied these allegations. In April 2008 the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' 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.

Food stamps

Under Quinn's leadership, the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Council led efforts to make Greenmarkets accept food stamps. She also opposed requiring applicants for food stamps to be electronically fingerprinted.

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

stopped fingerprinting food-stamp recipients in 2007, but the practice continued in New York City under the Bloomberg administration.

Humanitarian efforts

On December 26, 2012, Quinn wrote a letter to President Obama formally requesting that he commute Jonathan Pollard's lifetime sentence for providing classified information to Israel. She wrote, "I know I share similar views with many past and current American elected officials," and asked Obama to "use isconstitutional power to treat Mr. Pollard the way others have been treated by our nation's justice system."

LGBT issues

Quinn was a vigorous LGBT advocate during her tenure on the City Council. In 2006 she boycotted the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York due to the policy of the parade's sponsor, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, against gays marching openly. The same year she tried unsuccessfully to broker a deal with the organizers to allow her to wear a

gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...

pin. Subsequently, she was named 2008 Irish-American of the Year by the New York-based '' Irish Echo'' and has boycotted the parade every year since, marching instead in St. Patrick's Day parades in other cities around the world. In November 2009 Quinn urged the New York Senate to pass same-sex marriage legislation, saying that "she and her partner, lawyer Kim Catullo, ouldnot get married until they ould do soin 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 Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...

, because of the stance of the company's CEO, Dan Cathy, against same-sex marriage.

Term limits

According to '' New York'', " oryears, Quinn opposed term limits, a position that helped her get elected speaker by fellow Council members in 2005. Once in the job, though, she commissioned a poll, and it showed that the public opposed tinkering with them. In December 2007, Quinn declared that repealing term limits would be 'anti-democratic,' a position she called 'firm and final.'" But in 2008 Quinn backed Mayor

's effort to overturn the two-term limit for New York City elected officials, saying she had changed her position due to concern about the impact a change in leadership could have on the city's economic recovery. In 2008 the Council voted to extend term limits to allow the mayor, City Council members, and borough presidents to run for third terms, reversing the results of the two previous public referenda. Bloomberg was subsequently elected to a third term as mayor, and Quinn to a third term on the City Council. 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.

2013 mayoral election

On March 10, 2013, after much speculation, Quinn announced that she was running for

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

. (

, the incumbent, was term-limited and could not run again.) Actor Alec Baldwin in an interview on CNN said of Christine Quinn that she is a nice person and he planned to vote for Bill de Blasio in the September 2013 Democratic Party Primary. 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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that her staff had her City Council office soundproofed due to her outbursts. 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 ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' opined that Quinn's primary chances were damaged by Bloomberg's "tacit endorsement" of her campaign, and in September ''

'' 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 Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

received 40.3% and Bill Thompson 26.2%.

Post-council activities

In 2013 Quinn's memoir, ''With Patience and Fortitude A Memoir'', was published by William Morrow. It sold poorly, with ''The New York Times'' reporting only 100 copies sold its first week. 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 The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...

'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. 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. Before accepting the position at WIN, Quinn fought against a homeless shelter planned for her own neighborhood of Chelsea. 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. eingan 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.

Personal life

Quinn resides in

Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side (Manhattan), West Side of the Boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River an ...

, with her wife, Kim Catullo, a lawyer. They married on May 19, 2012, and spend their summer weekends at a home they bought in 2004 in Bradley Beach, New Jersey. Her former partner, Laura Morrison, was chief of staff to former State Senator Thomas Duane. Quinn joined the board of Athlete Ally, an organization fighting

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

in sports, in February 2014. She is Catholic.

References

External links

New York City Council: District 3 - Christine C. Quinn
*
''The New York Observers Christine Quinn ArchivesSearchlight 2002 - District 3Christine Quinn for NYC Mayor
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Christine 1966 births 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century New York (state) politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American women writers 2008 United States presidential electors 2012 United States presidential electors 2016 United States presidential electors 2020 United States presidential electors American memoirists Chelsea, Manhattan CNN people American lesbian politicians American lesbian writers LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ Roman Catholics Living people American LGBTQ city council members New York City Council members MSNBC people New York (state) Democrats People from Bradley Beach, New Jersey Politicians from Glen Cove, New York People from Chelsea, Manhattan Speakers of the New York City Council Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni American women memoirists Women New York City Council members Recycling in New York City Catholics from New York (state) American people of Irish descent Lesbian Christians 2024 United States presidential electors