Following Months of Speculation, Quinn Announces Her Candidacy for Mayor

Christine Quinn, the New York City Council speaker since 2006, announced her candidacy for Mayor on Sunday morning when she released a biographical video on her new campaign website. If elected, Quinn would be the first woman and openly gay mayor of New York City.

“Today I’m announcing, making it official, that I am running for Mayor of the City of New York,” Quinn, 46, said. “I’m running for mayor because I love this city—it is the greatest place in the world. It’s the place my grandparents came to from Ireland. They came here because they heard magical things could happen here.”

During the five-minute video, which was filmed at the Moonstruck Diner on West 23rd Street, Quinn spoke about her ten years of experience in the City Council and laid out her future commitment to the middle class.

“I’m about keeping New York City a place for the middle class to live and grow, and a place that’s going to help all of those hardworking people get into the middle class,” Quinn said. “I’m not about talking and finger-pointing and complaining, I’m about getting things done.”

Kim Catullo, Quinn’s wife, was not mentioned in the video.

Along with the YouTube splash, Quinn officially opened her campaign on Sunday by greeting residents as part of a “Walk and Talk” event in New York’s five boroughs. 

“It’s a great way to hear directly from New Yorkers, what’s going on in your homes, what’s going on in their lives, so I can make sure when I’m mayor, my focus is their focus,” Quinn said of the event.

Early polls show Quinn far ahead of her competitors, which include Bill de Blasio, John Liu and Bill Thompson, according to The New York Post. Quinn has so far raised the most money, and is expected to gain the endorsement of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Quinn first came to New York, after graduating from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. in 1988, to become a community organizer and work for the Housing Justice Campaign.

She managed the campaign of Tom Duane in 1991 and then served as his Chief of Staff in the City Council. Quinn then became the executive director of the NYC Anti-Violence Project. She began serving in the City Council in 2002 and was elected Speaker in 2006, “making her the highest-ranking woman and highest-ranking openly gay elected official in City history,” according to her campaign website.