Current Affairs

US: Christine Quinn formally announces bid to become NYC’s first openly gay and first female mayor

Mar 10 2013
Written by Joseph McCormick

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

New York City took another step closer to having its first openly gay and first female mayor on Sunday as City Council speaker Christine Quinn, formally announced that she will run for the position.

The Hotly tipped Democrat, and City Council speaker announced via a video on her website her intention to run for the post, in which she reiterates her love for the city, and mentions her previous leadership of LGBT rights advocacy groups.

Earlier this week a Quinnipiac University poll released showed that 37% of Democratic voters favoured Quinn, which, if she continues to close in, could mean she could reach 40%, and avoid a run-off primary.

Quinn married her long time partner Kim Catullo, in New York City last May.

She is expected to have the backing of the city’s current mayor, who will be stepping down at the end of his final term, Michael Bloomberg. She has drawn criticism for her closeness to Bloomberg, who was a Republican-turned-Independent.

“I’m about keeping New York City a place for the middle class to live and grow and a place that is going to help those hard working people get into the middle class,” she says in the video. “I’m not about talking and finger-pointing and complaining; I’m about getting things done.”

If elected to the post, Quinn would not only be the first openly gay mayor of New York City, but also the first female.

Last year Quinn called on fast-food outlet Chick-fil-A to leave New York because of its anti-equality views. She wrote to the president of New York University where Chick-fil-A has an outlet, urging him to break off his relationship with the chain.

Also last year Michael Bloomberg, used his much sought after endorsement for Barack Obama for the US presidential election, citing a need for strong leadership, and President Obama’s support for equal marriage.

An advocate of equal marriage, and supporter of equal marriage campaigns in four US states, Mayor Bloomberg personally pledged $500,000 (£312,000) towards equal marriage efforts in Washingon, Maine and Minnesota. He had previously pledged $250,000 (£155,000) to help towards making equal marriage legal in the state of Maryland.

Quinn’s campaign launch video is available to watch below.