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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. 

 Quinn grew up in Glen Cove, New York, a Long Island suburb. In 1988, she graduated from Trinity College, where she earned degrees in urban studies and education.  
Her first foray into politics was in 1991, when she managed the New York City Council campaign of Thomas Duane. When Duane won the election, he and fellow candidate Antonio Pagan became the City Council’s first openly gay members. Quinn served as Duane’s chief of staff for five years. 

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.