Following the term limits debacle whereby Christine Quinn helped push through term limit extensions refusing to heed the wishes of 89% of New Yorkers for a public referendum on the issue, Speaker Quinn now finds herself in a precarious situation in New York City. She faces a serious primary challenge from Maria Passannante-Derr for the Democratic nomination for City Council, but further, she continues to complicate her situation by refusing to commit to backing the Democratic nominee for Mayor, which would anger Democrats in City Hall, and in particular the Black Caucus if, as is likely to be, Comptroller Bill Thompson is the Democratic nominee. This would put her Speaker position possibly in jeopardy as she would lose the votes of the black caucus in City Hall, even if she were to win, but she may not even get that far.
She is already starting to see an erosion of support, and if her current credible challenger, Community Board Member, Maria Passannante-Derr starts to pick up City Council endorsements, from members of the Black and Latino Caucuses in City Hall as is likely to happen, Speaker Quinn may very well lose in a Democratic Primary.
New Yorkers, while not unhappy with Bloomberg per se, are not terribly happy with the extension of term limits being rammed down their throats. Bloomberg will more than likely win, but the palpable anger over the undemocratic manner in which term limits were extended, may very well produce a credible challenge to the mayor in Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is African American, and may very garner the support of New York considerable population of Blacks and Latinos.
Christine’s Quinn’s refusal to commit to supporting Bill Thompson may cost her dearly in her district, a district which includes Chelsea, with its huge housing developments, consisting of a considerable Black and Latino population, and where there is already anger over the term limits issue.
Interestingly while the Mayor himself, may not necessarily suffer the consequences of the extension of term limits, due to his relative popularity, Quinn, on the other hand, may very well suffer the brunt of the anger, perceived as she is, as having been responsible for the undemocratic manner of the passing of the bill that allowed the mayor to run for a third time, giving progressive New Yorkers, their 20th consecutive year of a Republican Mayor. While New Yorkers like Bloomberg and indeed consider him a moderate, and are all too aware that he used to be a Democrat, and openly supported Obama, I am not sure they will be too forgiving of Quinn for the apparent betrayal of the Democrats, and of the Democratic process (New Yorkers had voted overwhelmingly for term limits).
Furthermore, Christine Quinn is unpopular in her own right for various reasons, not least of all the fact that she is considered unfriendly to animal welfare rights, not having allowed a single animal rights bill through the City Council. She backed the Horse Carriage industry, against a majority of New Yorkers who now think this is an antiquated industry with no place in New York City both for the sake of the horses and for the various issues of safety, congestion, and littering that it presents. She is seen as unhealthily close to Bloomberg, and not considered as an independent voice that can stand up to the powerful mayor.
If you would like to help put a true progressive in City Hall and oust Christine Quinn, please visit Maria Passannante-Derr
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