Christine Quinn

After Christine Quinn delivered a speech to the Citizens Budget Commission this morning, I asked her if if the beneficial continuity she thinks Michael Bloomberg's third term will provide extends to the City Council's committee assignments. 

My question was prompted by the New York Post article that reported City Councilman David Weprin risks losing a coveted spot as chair of the Council Finance Committee because he is not supporting the term-limits legislation.

Quinn said the rumor that she is threatening to take away committee assignments is false.

To help deal with the city’s fiscal crisis, Christine Quinn told business leaders that she wants to aggressively sell advertising space on garbage trucks, raise income and property taxes, and explore leasing public assets.

Also, Quinn said she’d seek $150 million in spending cuts from the Department of Education, plus cuts to other city agencies, but insisted they would be targeted to redundancies in bureaucracy, not delivery of services.

Quinn unveiled her plan during a breakfast in midtown hosted by the Citizen's Budget Commission.

“Everything from property taxes to personal income taxes must be considered,” Quinn said. “Increasing taxes will have to be part of the solution for getting through these tough times.  read more »

The New York City Bar Association just released a statement opposing the term-limits legislation that the City Council is considering. According to the A.B.A., Michael Bloomberg's plan would undermine the public's confidence in the legislative process.

From the statement:

"It would indeed be a tall order to convince New Yorkers that in taking this matter unto themselves after having been twice affirmed by the voters, that the Council members had only the public interest at heart.  In short, a change in term limits by legislative action would be bad policy, contrary to principles of good government and potentially damaging to our City institutions."

Also, Giuliani-era deputy mayor Randy Mastro sent a letter to the city Conflict of Interest Board that called into question the legality of a reported "deal" the mayor struck with term-limits advocate Ron Lauder and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

 

Here's the second internet ad from New Yorkers for a Public Vote, which takes aim at Christine Quinn for flipping her position on extending term limits legislatively.

(Quinn previously opposed changing the law without a voter referendum, although before that, she was in favor.) 

Quinn's inconsistency is an easy target for attack, but given that Quinn has acknowledged the flip-flop, I'm not sure how effective it is to focus on that aspect of the debate. The group's first ad urged viewers to call Quinn's office to demand a vote, but that was before she publicly took a position.

Focusing on the abbreviated timetable of the whole movement might resonate more. Bloomberg's third term makes sense when argued on the merits (he's qualified, there's a fiscal crisis, etc.), but the way in which this is unfolding is harder to explain.

Michael Bloomberg told reporters today that Christine Quinn is not just going to be re-elected "overwhelmingly" by her West Village constituents, but will win another term as speaker of the City Council.

If she's not re-elected to public office, however, Bloomberg said she would have "enormous opportunities" in the private sector.

Bloomberg was speaking to reporters on Fifth Avenue just before the start of the annual Columbus Day Parade, kicking off at 45th Street. He was responding to a question regarding an item in the New York Post today that reported Quinn would be named a deputy mayor in Bloomberg's next administration if she does not win re-election as speaker.  read more »

Christine Quinn, who came into the Council speakership as a self-declared reformer, is now coming under fire from one of the oldest good-government organizations in the city, which says it is “disillusioned” with her handling of the term-limits issue.

Citizens Union executive director Dick Dadey  released a statement yesterday criticizing Quinn for announcing her support of a legislative proposal by the mayor to allow elected officials to run for three consecutive four-year terms, up from two—before a single public hearing on the matter was held.

The group is also picking up on a recommendation from one of her most vocal critics, Representative Anthony Weiner, by asking her to hold public hearings across the city, rather than just two next week in City Hall.  read more »

On the weekend before the commencement of public hearings on a legislative proposal to extend term limits, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn held a brief press conference to announce what everyone around City Hall already suspected—that she favors Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to allow elected officials to serve three terms in office, up from the two currently allowed.

Quinn painted her decision as a demonstration of leadership in a divided City Council, and also as a bold stand during a financial crisis that, ultimately, will give voters more choices in next year’s election.

“As we move forward in these very difficult times, continuity in leadership will allow our city to continue to work,” Quinn said this afternoon at a press conference in City Hall’s Red Room.  read more »

If term limits are extended, the convention wisdom is that incumbents City Council members are basically shoo-ins for their current seats, in no small part because they’ve raised tons of money campaigning for higher offices already.

But they’ve also spent lots of money. Too much, perhaps.

Some City Council members have raised and spent money with eye towards a borough-wide or citywide races, but they then turn around and run for their old seats, the contribution and spending limits are much lower.

For a City Council race, the spending limit is $322,000 ($161,000 for the primary and $161,000 for the general election).

According to the Campaign Finance Board, Christine Quinn’s campaign spent $285,535.  read more »

Here's Christine Quinn at press conferences last week, and this week, explaing when she would announce her position on the term limits legislation that would allow her, the mayor and others to seek a third term.

In the first clip, Quinn said she'd state her position "early next week." In the second clip, she says, "I actually never said I would take a position on Monday or Tuesday," but rather, "in the near future."

One of the casualties of Michael Bloomberg’s move to run for a third term, it seems, is next year’s Democratic primary.

Yes, it’s still 11 months away, and the mayor has only just finished announcing his intention to overturn term limits, but the prospect of Mr. Bloomberg—and his billions of dollars—running again may have ended the contest before it even took shape.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a Bloomberg ally who was the favorite of much of the city’s business establishment, reacted immediately by announcing that she would abandon a planned run if the mayor went for reelection.

City Comptroller Bill Thompson, the only minority candidate in the prospective Democratic field, says that he’s running, but doesn’t sound incredibly convincing.  read more »

Anthony Weiner is also criticizing the City Council for introducing legislation to change term limits because he says  changing the law legislatively "takes away the right of New Yorkers to vote."

Always on message, Weiner also notes that there is some geographic snobbery in the fact that hearing on the bill will be held in Manhattan.

Today's announcement that there will be a hearing – beginning at 3 pm
– for citizens to come to Manhattan and complain is not a substitute
for a vote by all our citizens. It's symbolic of the overall process,
which takes away the right of New Yorkers to vote, allows the Council
to rush the process and offers only one afternoon of hearings on such
a fundamental change.

"New Yorkers around the city deserve hearings in their boroughs, and a
normal process for considering this important legislation.

There will be two public hearings at City Hall on the legislation to change term limits, at 3 p.m. on October 16 and another at 10 a.m. on October 17.

That was the biggest news to come out of Christine Quinn's press conference in the Red Room of City Hall, which took place a few minutes ago and was carried live on NY1, after she once again declined to take a clear stance on Michael Bloomberg's plan to extend term limits from two to three.

Quinn told the room full of reporters she wouldn't be taking a position yet, and instead, spoke about bills being introduced in the Council today that deal with housing and land-use issues.  read more »

Christine Quinn will not say today whether she supports or opposes the bill being introduced to change the city's term limits law from two terms to three.

"The speaker will not be making an announcement about her position," spokesman Jamie McShane said. He described yesterday's Democratic Caucus meeting as a "robust conversation" and said Quinn is still getting feedback from her members.

The prolonged wait for Quinn's position on term limits is in stark contrast to the way she handled another controversial piece of legislation, on congestion pricing. 

As McShane pointed out: "This is not congestion pricing,"

Christine Quinn is expected to announce later today that she supports making changes to the city’s term-limits law legislatively, rather than through a referendum that would put the issue to voters.

That's a change from the position she took on term limits last December, but, as it turns out, it’s actually in line with Quinn’s previous position.

In a public forum for City Council speaker candidates on November 21, 2005, Quinn said of the law permitting city officials to serve only two terms:

I also oppose term limits.

[skip]

I think it doesn’t allow elected officials enough time to become experts on the issues we need to be experts on in the legislature.  read more »

Speaking to reporters in London, Michael Bloomberg said, "It is my understanding that Chris Quinn plans to shepherd through the City Council a bill that will change it from two to three but keep term limits."

So, does that mean Quinn supports the bill?

Not necessarily, a spokeswoman for Quinn explained to me. The mayor was most likely referring to her role in overseeing the City Council, which has to convene and vote on the bill since Quinn hasn't taken a position on the bill yet.

Quinn just arrived at City Hall and told a throng of reporters, "I'm going to listen to my colleagues," and "at some point after that I'll take an official position myself."

Vito Lopez, the Brooklyn Democratic County Leader, told me in an interview yesterday that Michael Bloomberg is “almost unstoppable” in his quest for a third mayoral term. But Christine Quinn’s re-election as City Council speaker is another matter.  read more »

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, considered one of the most formidable mayoral candidates, just said in response to a reporter's question, "If term limits are extended to 12 years from 8 years, no, I would not run for mayor."

Quinn was speaking to the press in the Red Room at City Hall, where she announced she would consult with her leadership team before taking a position on Michael Bloomberg's announcement.  read more »

Marist is out with a poll saying what most people suspected: Michael Bloomberg is a clear front-runner in a hypothetical 2009 race against likely Democratic candidates Bill Thompson, Anthony Weiner and Christine Quinn.

 

Christine Quinn's spokeswoman, Maria Alvarado, is out with a statement saying that her boss will be "discussing" the impact of Michael Bloomberg's move to change term limits with her colleagues. Quinn hasn't been spotted around City Hall and it's unclear where or how she'll be discussing it with her members.

Here's the statement:  read more »

Christine Quinn did appear in City Hall earlier today, but made a quick departure from the building as reporters tried to ask her about term limits, according to a person who was there and was kind enough to send over a transcript.

Asked for reaction to the news that extending term limits might be easier than expected, Quinn told reporters, “All I can say is what I read in today’s New York Post, and I was surprised that the New York Post cover wasn’t about the 778-point drop on Wall Street and the failure of the bailout deal to pass.” (Actual Post headline: "Mike the III.  read more »

Two top mayoral contenders, Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn, were not available to comment this morning on the interview Ron Lauder just did with the Post. A spokesman for Thompson declined to comment, and a spokesman for Quinn said she was unavailable for comment [clarified].

Lauder told the paper he would support a one-time extension of term limits so Michael Bloomberg can be mayor again. Lauder, who nearly single-handedly brought term limits around, was considered a potential obstacle if Bloomberg did decide to run again.

I’m still waiting to hear back from a spokesman to Anthony Weiner; his campaign has previously said  read more »

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has been talking to political consultants who have laid out a road map for a potential mayoral candidacy, according to a consultant who has met with him.

The consultant did an analysis of the mayor's race over the last three months and shared parts of it with me. The written analysis lays out perceived vulnerabilities of the leading Democratic candidates—City Comptroller Bill Thompson, Representative Anthony Weiner and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn—and concludes that Klein's entry could create a situation in which Thompson wins the initial vote, but with less than 40 percent of the vote he'd need to avoid a run-off.  read more »

Democratic State Senate candidate Jim Gennaro is having an environment-themed fund-raiser tonight, hosted by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

It's taking place tonight at 5:30 at Cafe Notte, "a sustainable wine bar" on the Upper East Side, according to a reader. On the cafe's web site, it says co-founder Steven Salsberg "was appointed Vice Chairman by Mayor Bloomberg to the Council on the Environment of New York City. Steven is committed to making New York City restaurants environmentally responsible, and Café Notte is no exception."

Gennaro, the chair of the Council's Environmental Protection Committee, is trying to unseat Republican State Senator Frank Padavan of Queens. At an earlier fund-raiser, Gennaro has said he thinks his timing couldn't be better.

During a press conference in the Red Room at City Hall just now, Christine Quinn had a harsh reaction to a question about whether her staff had contacted individual Council members to find out what position they might take on an extension of term limits.

According to a transcript provided by a reporter who attended, Quinn was asked, "There were individual members who have said in the past few weeks that they’ve been approached by staffers from the central Council office to see—"

Quinn cut the reporter off and answered, “We've answered that question repeatedly—that did not happen. Let me be clear—when my staff speaks, they speak for me.  read more »

Addressing the collapse of Wall Street giants A.I.G. and Lehman Brothers in a press conference today, Michael Bloomberg said that the city is prepared to deal with lost revenue and repeatedly emphasized that the city will take steps to preserve its quality of life, which he said has buoyed New York in other times of financial hardship.

“New York continues to be a place where people want to live and that makes it a city where companies need to be. If we allow our quality of life to slip, we will do nothing but hurt our competitive advantage, and we’re not going to let that happen,” Bloomberg said.  read more »

I showed up just after the start of the press conference David Weprin held yesterday to express opposition to extending term limits legislatively.

It was to ignore the fact that there were only two other City Council members with him: Bill de Blasio and Eric Gioia. (Ken Moltner of the Ron Lauder-funded group Citizens for Term Limits and Susan Lerner of Common Cause also attended.)

As they spoke, you could hear City Council Speaker Christine Quinn speaking at a rally for same-sex marriage in City Hall Park.

In the clip above, Weprin cautions against reading too much into attendance at the event. Also, de Blasio and Weprin did not rule out running for re-election if term limits are extended.

The National Committee for the Furtherance for Jewish Education held their annual “empowerment breakfast” in a small hotel room on Ninth Avenue yesterday morning, where the talk of politics was unavoidable.

Breakfast chair Suri Kasirer called City Comptroller Bill Thompson to the front of the room to present an award. (She used to be a fund-raiser for him). Kasirer introduced him by listing a number of his accomplishments.

“No matter what Bill decides to do in the future," she said, "Hope he will be mayor.”

After a brief pause, the line got a round of applause from the audience. Then Kasirer added in good humor, “See, Chris is late, so it’s okay that I said it,” a reference to Christine Quinn, one of Thompson’s more formidable rivals in next year’s mayoral race.  read more »

DENVER—Christine Quinn this morning refused to definitely rule out a City Council vote on legislation to abolish or extend term limits for city lawmakers.

The term-limits issue, fueled by rumors that Michael Bloomberg will seek another four years as mayor, has been a hot topic of conversation among New Yorkers at the convention.

“You answer questions about what will or will not go to the floor for a vote when you have legislation—and a request," Quinn told me this morning after breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel, referring to the fact that despite speculation, no legislator has said they are working on a bill.  read more »

DENVER—It's ultimately about Barack Obama (and Hillary too!), but for New Yorkers here for the convention, it’s hard not to think about next year’s mayor’s race. too. All three major candidates for mayor—Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson and Anthony Weiner, are in town, and were at this morning’s New York delegation breakfast at the Sheraton.

“All we’ve done is move New York City to Denver,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who is also entertaining the idea of running for a citywide office next year. (His 2009 plans have become a source of considerable speculation). “It’s not like we’re shocked to see them in our midst.  read more »

DENVER—Speaking to reporters just before a breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel, Representative Charlie Rangel commented on the reported effort of some city politicians to change the laws that govern term limits before the 2009 election.

Referring to the next mayoral election, in which Bloomberg would likely run if term limits were extended, Rangel said, "If I didn't have a candidate in the race, which I do, which is our comptroller [Bill Thomson], I would really say term limits suck."

Then he added,"But this is a hell of a time to do it." (To put the issue before voters a referendum would have to go on the ballot this November).  read more »

City Comptroller candidate David Weprin is having a fund-raiser this Thursday at the Sheraton Hotel downtown.

The invitation doesn't show a dollar amount, but Weprin told me the ticket price is $250 and up.

Looking ahead to other 2009 citywide races, all three mayoral candidates are expected to be in Denver for the convention. Bill Thompson arrived yesterday, Anthony Weiner is arriving today, and Christine Quinn's office said she will be here.

The New York Times has been hard on Anthony Weiner recently, and he thinks that's a reflection of how the paper has changed.

This morning, The Times ran a story about the departure of yet another staff member from the congressman's office, and that was a follow-up to a July 23 front-page story about his high staff turnover.

(Also, last week, one of his likely mayoral rivals, Christine Quinn, got a more favorable profile.)

I saw Weiner this morning near Brooklyn Borough Hall, where he was handing out campaign literature with State Senate candidate Dan Squadron, and asked him about this theme.

The Times is making its "own theme,” Weiner said.  read more »

Also at last night's debate in Brooklyn, Kendall Stewart was handing out campaign literature, a 16-page broadsheet designed to look like a newspaper, complete with a masthead.

The front-page has a letter from Stewart, in which he uses the word “change” a lot, and a huge picture of Barack Obama next to a photo of Stewart.

Inside, there are photos of Stewart with other elected officials, like Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Senator Chuck Schumer, Brooklyn Democratic County Leader Vito Lopez, and City Comptroller Bill Thompson, all under the headline “Stewart Supporters.”

There is also an article reprinted from Gotham Gazette; original “articles”; a section called “Immigration Korner”; and glowing praise for Stewart from elected officials like Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio and Hiram Monserrate.

More pictures here.

On Tuesday, Michael Bloomberg endorsed state Senate candidate Dan Squadron, and this morning, several City Council members came out with their endorsement of Squadron’s opponent, incumbent Marty Connor. Among them was City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has an extremely close working relationship with the mayor.

It'll be interesting to see how they (and Quinn in particular) react to the mayor's involvement in the race. Remember, Bloomberg did give money to the Republicans in Albany and, as Connor reminded me earlier, the mayor isn't exactly a Democrat any more and this is their primary.

Earlier, Connor supporters had some unfriendly words for another Squadron supporter, Chuck Schumer, who was getting involved in the race.

 

UPDATE: A Connor spokesman emailed me after today's press conference: "No one asked about the Bloomberg endorsement."

Here's video Azi shot of Representative Anthony Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate, speaking at a rally for 1199, one of the most powerful unions in the state.

"I want to be as comfortable as I can," Weiner said, taking the stage, pulling a union t-shirt from his back pocket, and putting it on.

"You can either be on the 1199 bandwagon, or under the 1199 bandwagon," he told the crowd.

Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn, Weiner's main rivals in the mayoral race, also spoke at the Madison Square Garden event.

UPDATE: More from Azi:

In addition to the three likely mayoral candidates, the event drew Senator Chuck Schumer, Al Sharpton and Governor David Paterson, whose unannounced visit surprised organizers.  read more »

Representative Charlie Rangel, who has recently faced a flurry of tough , intense press coverage, is having what appears to be an enormous birthday party for himself at Central Park's Tavern on the Green on Wednesday, August 6.

The invitation notes that Bill and Hillary Clinton, David Paterson, Chuck Schumer, Andrew Cuomo, Tom DiNapoli, Malcolm Smith, Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn will be there. The "special guest" is Howard Dean.

The event will be a fund-raiser for Rangel's campaign committee, the Victory Fund. The committee is highlighting the "top ten targeted house races," all of which are in the DCCC's "Red to Blue" project.  read more »

One of Christine Quinn’s spokesman has taken a leave of absence and is now the interim director of communications for Democrat Mike McMahon’s Congressional campaign.

The spokesman, Anthony Hogrebe, was listed as the contact on a campaign press release announcing that McMahon has been endorsed by the United Federation of Teachers, which, according to the release, has 12,000 members in the district. McMahon is seeking to win the seat currently occupied by Vito Fossella, who is not running for reelection.

In a public statement, UFT's president, Randi Weingarten, said McMahon "is a champion for children and working people."

Before joining Quinn’s operation, Hogrebe worked on Gifford Miller’s 2005 mayoral campaign.

In other Quinn staffing news, her chief of staff, Maura Keaney, is expected to return from maternity leave in early September, according to another Quinn spokesman.

At the Crain's business breakfast breakfast this morning Representative Anthony Weiner spoke about "saving" New York's middle class, a theme that is likely to be at the center of his mayoral campaign.

The crux of Weiner’s speech, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, focused on job development. He did not rule out raising taxes, but did say that high taxes stymie job development. He defended the policy that prevents Wal-Mart (but not other big box stores), from coming into the city because it does not pay adequate wages. And he said that the city has to do a better job of offering incentives to keep business in New York City, since New Jersey has lower business taxes and can still access the city's workforce.  read more »

Fundraising may have gone slower than before for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn lately amid the discretionary spending imbroglio, but she still hauled in a fair hunk of cash--more than $620,000--in the past six months, according to her campaign filing.

Of that amount, the bulk--$410,0000--came in the three months since the Post first revealed the Council's so-called "slush fund," which in turn led to day after day of headlines questioning various appropriations made by Council members.

A look at her intermediaries (known as bundlers) doing much of the fundraising suggests the traditional source: the real estate industry is still hard at work.  read more »

Thirty-eight percent of New Yorkers polled by Quinnipiac want to see Michael Bloomberg elected mayor again in 2009.

Which will help fuel rumors that he may somehow work to overturn the term limits that currently prevent him from seeking the position a third time.

Since it's fairly unlikely Bloomberg could do that, here's how the other 2009 mayoral candidates did.

Overall:
12% Ray Kelly
11% Marty Markowitz
10 % Anthony Weiner
7% Bill Thompson and Christine Quinn
4% Betsy Gotbaum

Among Democrats only:

12% Markowitz
11% Weiner
10% Quinn
8% Thompson

Among independent voters, Markowitz, Kelly and Weiner each took 12 percent.