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Christine Quinn
2009 Icon
New York City Council Speaker
b. July 25, 1966
"The fact that I was elected…the first openly gay woman, and then everybody went right back to business, really shows that in New York, we embrace diversity.”
Christine Quinn is the first woman and the first openly gay candidate elected speaker of the New York City Council. She is the city’s second most powerful elected official.
Before she ran for office, Quinn served as the executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, and was appointed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a member of the New York City Police/Community Relations Task Force.
In 1999, Quinn won a seat on the New York City Council. In 2006, she was elected City Council speaker.
Quinn boycotted New York’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade because of the parade’s policy banning gays from marching. In 2006, she was unsuccessful in negotiating to wear a gay pride pin.
In 2008, Quinn was named Irish American of the Year by the Irish Echo newspaper. The New York Post has twice named Quinn one of the 50 most powerful women in New York City, and New York Magazine has named her one of the most influential New Yorkers.
Quinn lives with her partner, attorney Kim Catullo.