(Photo: Getty)

Council Speaker Christine Quinn may have negotiated a more business-friendly paid sick day bill than advocates wanted, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not satisfied. Indeed, in a statement released earlier this morning, Mr. Bloomberg castigated the legislation's latest iteration as "short-sighted economic policy" and declared his intention to veto it.

“Since the onset of the national recession, our administration has been singularly focused on rebuilding our economy," Mr. Bloomberg said. "We have succeeded in bouncing back far more quickly than the rest of the country, and the number of private-sector jobs in the city is now at an all-time high – but there are still far too many New Yorkers out of work, and it is crucial that we continue doing everything we can to allow businesses to grow."

However, Mr. Bloomberg did state the bill, which would exempt businesses employing fewer than 15 people and not phase the law in until next year, is an improvement over earlier versions that set the threshold much lower.

"While this compromise version of the bill is better than previous iterations, it will still hurt small businesses and stifle job creation," he continued. "Supporters claim it will only take effect if the economy is healthy, but there is never a good time to make New York City less competitive. The bill is short-sighted economic policy that will take our city in the wrong direction, and I will veto it."

A deal to provide five paid sick days to full-time city workers was reached late last night after labor unions, liberal activists and some mayoral candidates pressured Ms. Quinn to allow a paid sick day vote. For several years, Ms. Quinn argued, like Mr. Bloomberg, that the bill would have an adverse effect on the local economy. But at a City Hall press conference today, she said the compromise struck the right balance between the needs of city workers and the small business community.

"We really wanted to balance the different interests that were out there," Ms. Quinn explained, "to get workers who needed and deserved paid sick leave that right, get people protection so they could take days off and not lose their jobs, but we wanted to do it in a way that was mindful of the economy, mindful of the impact on small businesses, both in size, but also in administrative impact."

Ms. Quinn likely has the votes to override Mr. Bloomberg's veto.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

Politicos across the city are abuzz with excitement over The New York Times' front-page profile of Council Speaker Christine Quinn's "surprisingly volatile" temperament, but one of her top rivals in the mayoral race, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, isn't piling on. Indeed, when asked about the article today, Mr. de Blasio simply urged Ms. Quinn to put her forceful personality behind paid sick day legislation in the City Council.

"I dont worry so much about the fact that she raises her voice and gets angry at people," Mr. de Blasio said at a City Hall press conference on the paid sick day bill. "I worry that she doesn't speak up for average New Yorkers. I think it's one thing to say in a private conversation, she gets angry and upset with people, but I'd like to see her speak up when it matters on issues like this and we haven't seen that. Repeatedly, we've seen her look the other way on issues like paid sick days and living wage. That's what the public will ultimately judge, the substance, whether someone is on their side or not."

In The Times piece, Ms. Quinn is described as routinely issuing threats to other lawmakers with parlance like, “I’m going to cut his balls off.” Mr. de Blasio, an occasional Quinn antagonist, declined to mention if he's ever been the recipient of similarly colorful remarks, but did say he was always respectful of his staff and colleagues.

"I think I can be demanding of my staff. I think I'm respectful of my staff," Mr. de Blasio said. "I'm also respectful of other elected officials, other leaders, ... that's something you have to do, even if you disagree with them."

Bill Thompson (Photo: NY1)

Bill Thompson is ramping up pressure on his mayoral rival, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, on her refusal to allow a vote on paid sick leave legislation. Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Thompson was more muted on the topic, but he'll be on the steps of City Hall later today to directly push Ms. Quinn to allow a vote.

"It is long past time for paid sick leave to become the law in New York," Mr. Thompson wrote in a letter to Ms. Quinn earlier this morning. "We should no longer force parents to choose between holding their jobs and caring for loved ones, especially young children. While paid sick leave would enable fathers to lean in by pitching in during family illness, it will especially be a godsend to single mothers."

Another mayoral candidate, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, has made support of paid sick days an early centerpiece of his campaign, even creating a "count-up" clock to measure the time elapsed since the legislation was first introduced in the City Council. A sign the issue is heating up, Mr. de Blasio's campaign sent out an email to reporters this morning pointing to Mr. Thompson's past less-than-passionate position on the bill.

For her part, Ms. Quinn has argued that the legislation should not be implemented in the current fragile economy. But Mr. Thompson is attempting to outflank this claim by proposing a compromise bill with a 1-year delay before businesses are required to provide paid sick days to their workers.

Over the weekend, Mr. Thompson additionally released a video “welcoming" Ms. Quinn to the mayoral race while simultaneously criticizing her on the issue. She has also felt pressure from Working Families Party, famed feminist Gloria Steinem and other activists.

Update: (2:10 PM): In response, Mr. de Blasio stated he opposed Mr. Thompson's modification:

"The one million New Yorkers who do not have paid sick days have waited nearly three years for this bill to even have a vote -- that's long enough. The current bill would already give businesses six months to adjust, asking working families to wait a full year is pointless. If this Mayor and Speaker won't enact this bill, then I'll sign it with the new Speaker in my first week as Mayor."

Mr. Thompson's full letter to Ms. Quinn can be read below:

“I mentioned paid sick days, just want to give you an up to the moment report that, as of 7 o'clock as this forum began, it has been 2 years, 11 months, 11 days, 5 hours and 30 minutes since the paid sick day legislation was introduced in the New York City Council," Mr. de Blasio declared during a mayoral forum last night. "It is an affront to democracy that between Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn there has not been a vote on paid sick days, this would be one of the most profound changes we can make in this city."

Mr. de Blasio went on to let his audience know they could also follow the saga of the stalled bill online with a digital counter reminiscent of another political timekeeping device, the debt clock Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were fond of displaying on the campaign trail last year.

"And if you go on our website ... you will see a new, exciting, interactive count-down," the candidate correct himself here," count-up clock, actually, showing how long it has been that democracy has been stifled in this city."

Mr. de Blasio's office announced the "Count-Up Clock" yesterday afternoon, and paired the "exciting" timekeeping device with an online petition to pressure both Ms. Quinn and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who also opposes the bill.

Watch Mr. de Blasio's debate comments below:

(photo: advocate.nyc.gov)

"The harshest dictatorship I've ever seen has been under Christine Quinn," said Allen Roskoff, a notorious antagonist of Ms. Quinn's and president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. "One of the two bills that Christine Quinn has sponsored herself ... is to name the Queensboro Bridge after Ed Koch, who people here know in the gay community is considered an AIDS criminal and know what he's done as far as right-wing people he's supported for office. ... It is so unusual to name anything after someone who is alive, it's like, unheard of. And so, very good friends of the LGBT community, and members of the LGBT community and even people who said they were not going to vote for it voted to name the bridge and when I asked them why," he paused for dramatic effect, "because Quinn demanded it."

The anti-Quinn tirade was par for the course for Mr. Roskoff, a noted gay-rights activist who leads the well-connected club. Indeed, three of Ms. Quinn's Democratic opponents--Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu and former Comptroller Bill Thompson--sit on the group's board of governors.

Atop the Caledonia, a tony Chelsea apartment building where a black-clad doorman is solely employed to nudge a revolving door forward, the members of the Jim Owles club also grilled Harlem Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, a candidate to succeed the term-limited Quinn as speaker. Their questions focused on why she and her fellow progressives have not ensured a bill that would mandate paid sick leave for city workers becomes law. Critics have accused Ms. Quinn of effectively killing the Paid Sick Days legislation by keeping it from a vote on the Council floor.

"Could you address why the progressive caucus hasn't forced hearings and a vote on paid sick leave?" Mr. Roskoff asked Ms. Mark-Viverito.

"We've had conversations. We're actually having a meeting this week," Ms. Mark-Viverito replied, explaining that the legislation has "many different pieces to it" and that discussion about the bill is ongoing but incomplete. "We've been having conversations and there is some serious consideration about what next step we might want to take. We do talk about it every time, we do meet, and it's something we are concerned about, and you know, it's an election year and everything that's happening right now is being seen through that lens and that's the reality."

Ms. Mark-Viverito did not quite give the answer the anti-Quinn audience was hoping to hear: progressives are stalling because Ms. Quinn wants it that way. At one point in the meeting, Mr. Roskoff said that a council member, whom he only identified by gender, told him that she would not move to make the paid sick leave bill law because she was afraid Ms. Quinn would punish her by cutting funding for a crucial community program in her district. Ms. Quinn has argued the legislation would hurt small businesses in the current weak economic climate.

One member of the club, Scott Caplan, went on to assail Ms. Mark-Viverito's Progressive Caucus for having members "who don't even support LGBT issues." However, by the end of the meeting, Ms. Mark-Viverito was easily able to win over the crowd.

"At this point, I've already publicly stated I will not endorse Christine Quinn," she said, trying to speak through a hearty round of applause.

(Photo: Getty)

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio isn't ready to forget about the paid sick day legislation just yet.

“Wednesday, December 19th marks 1,000 days since New York's Paid Sick Leave Bill was introduced into the City Council," his government website declared today. "This landmark is no celebration." However, to press their point beyond mere words, Mr. de Blasio's office rolled out a creative new strategy: a series of "E-Cards" for New Yorkers to send to the Council, reminding them of how long the bill has been stalled. Needless to say, the cards in question are heavy in the use of pop culture references.

"Believe it or not, when I got started Lindsay Lohan was still a wholesome actress," Bill from the educational cartoon Schoolhouse Rock!, says in one, for example.

Mr. de Blasio, a likely mayoral candidate next year, has been pushing the issue extensively in recent weeks and months, and his allies hope his advocacy will help him outflank one of his top rivals, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has bottled up the bill.

View the cards below:

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Lena Dunham (Photo: Getty)

Lena Dunham, the star of HBO's hipster coming-of-age comedy Girls, has already dabbled in film, magazine writing and literature, but she seems to increasingly be adding local political activism to her resume. Last night, Ms. Dunham took to Twitter to express her support for the Paid Sick Days bill, which many politicos believe has been unfairly stalled by Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

"I'm always sick or convinced I'm sick. A flu shouldn't cost you your job. That’s why I support #paidsickdays U Can 2," Ms. Dunham wrote before including a link to an online petition asking Ms. Quinn to allow the bill to come to a vote on the floor of the City Council.

This isn't Ms. Dunham's first Twitter-fueled foray into local politics. In July, Ms. Dunham encouraged her followers to attend a series of dinners hosted by the liberal PAC Downtown 4 Democracy, which is dedicated to unseating a targeted list of Tea Party congressional incumbents. She also extended her support for Downtown 4 Democracy beyond the digital realm and actually attended one of the events in person.

Ms. Dunham's political causes have probably-not-coincidentally coincided with the interests of her close friend Audrey Gelman, who is the press secretary for Manhattan borough president and potential 2013 mayoral candidate Scott Stringer. Ms. Gelman sits on Downtown 4 Democracy's board and her boss is a staunch supporter of the paid sick days legislation.

How can Christine Quinn say "no" to Max?

The paid sick day bill drumbeat rolled on today, with yet another press conference on the steps of City Hall calling for Council Speaker Christine Quinn to allow a vote on the legislation she has long bottled up. The event this afternoon, however, featured elected officials and child-carrying parents, or, in the case of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and his son Max, both. And after the speeches finished, Mr. Stringer told Politicker the bill's proponents can count on Max's support.

"Max is a strong supporter of this legislation because every time he gets sick or he needs attention from his parents, he gets it," Mr. Stringer explained. "The reason he gets it is because we have a benefits package that allows for paid sick days, so I can take care of my son. Also, Elyse, my wife, can leave work without fear of getting fired. But think about it, there's 1.6 million people who don't have that same opportunity or ability."

Despite the importance of the bill, however, Mr. Stringer said he wasn't ready to call on the City Council to override Ms. Quinn--who's also a likely candidate for mayor--and force an up-or-down vote on the measure.

"I have long said that we should arrive at a compromise," he said. "When you do the motion to discharge, that's the most extreme place. I don't think we're at that point today."

Yet another likely mayoral contender, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio was also in front of City Hall for today's event.

"I want to thank Scott Stringer, he's not just talking about childcare, he's providing childcare today," Mr. de Blasio said at the start of his speech.

It would be bold for the City Council to do this, however, as some members may fear retaliation or may just not want to shake up the status quo. Nevertheless, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, an influential LGBT organization, is fed up with the stalemate and is calling on the City Council to override Ms. Quinn's authority.

"The time has come to challenge the obstruction of Council Speaker Christine Quinn and force a vote on the sick-leave bill in the City Council," the club's president Allen Roskoff said in a statement this morning. "It is time for all City Council Members to stand up for what they say they believe in and pass this bill intact. A discharge motion is rarely used in the Council, but it is the only hope the bill has of passage in its current strong form."

"We also call upon the many groups who claim to be leading the effort to pass the sick-leave bill to join us in this demand for a discharge motion," he declared later in the statement. "If they truly care about their members and worker’s rights, they must stand up to the Speaker as well and get their bill to the floor using a procedure that is perfectly legal under the Council rules."

It should be noted that Mr. Roskoff is a longtime Quinn-antagonist, and the board of governors includes three of Ms. Quinn's likely mayoral opponents in 2013: Scott Stringer, John Liu and Bill de Blasio. 

View the full statement below:

The time has come to challenge the obstruction of Council Speaker Christine Quinn and force a vote on the sick-leave bill in the City Council.

We call upon Council Member Gale Brewer to exercise her right under the Council rules as chief sponsor of the bill to gather seven supporters and file a discharge motion immediately to move the bill out of committee—where it has never had a vote—and onto the floor of the Council. If Council Member Brewer refuses to do so, the sponsors of the bill need to select a new chief sponsor who will.

The sick-leave bill has 36 Council co-sponsors—a veto-proof majority that can override a promised veto by Mayor Bloomberg. But instead of moving a bill with overwhelming support in the Council and among the people of New York, Speaker Quinn has refused to schedule a floor vote on it. Instead, she is holding the bill hostage and demanding concessions that will water the bill down to the point of meaninglessness in order to appease business interests and donors to her mayoral campaign. This is a disgrace.

It is time for all City Council Members to stand up for what they say they believe in and pass this bill intact. A discharge motion is rarely used in the Council, but it is the only hope the bill has of passage in its current strong form.

Up until now, Council Members have refused to unite against one-person rule in the Council, ceding their responsibility for representing their constituents entirely to Speaker Quinn. What do they get in return? Extra pay as committee chairs and member-item money to distribute to favored groups in their districts. They have destroyed any semblance of representative democracy in New York because they will not use the power entrusted to them.

If Council Members are not willing to stand up to the Speaker for what they allegedly believe in, we might as well dispense with having a City Council entirely and save the City a lot of money.

We are not naïve about what happens when a discharge motion is brought. City Council members who dare to stand up to the Speaker will be punished with a loss of personal perks. But what is that compared to the human suffering they supposedly are concerned about in advocating for a requirement that employers provide paid sick leave?

In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, Council Majority Leader Tom Cuite repeatedly bottled up the City’s lesbian and gay rights bill in committee. In complete frustration, we demanded our sponsors bring the bill to the floor through repeated discharge motions. We lost each of those votes, but each time we learned who really supported us and who did not. And each time we got more votes for the bill, pushing it towards victory in 1986 after Cuite stepped down. Cuite punished members who defied him by going so far as to withhold mail from them, but the ones who stood with us believed civil rights were more important than personal perks.

Speaker Quinn is always justifying her obstruction by claiming it is her job to build consensus. But the Council does not legally operate by consensus. The majority is supposed to rule. And in the case of the sick-leave bill, a supermajority already supports it. Denying a vote on the bill as it is now written is an affront to decency and a mockery of democracy.

We demand a discharge motion be initiated on the sick-leave bill immediately. The bill’s sponsors who speak so passionately for it at press conferences—saying it is a matter of life or death—must demand a discharge motion. The Progressive Caucus of the City Council must live up to its name and demand a discharge motion.

If Council Member Brewer as chief sponsor refuses to bring a discharge motion, then the true advocates of paid sick-leave must get themselves a new chief sponsor.

We also call upon the many groups who claim to be leading the effort to pass the sick-leave bill to join us in this demand for a discharge motion. If they truly care about their members and worker’s rights, they must stand up to the Speaker as well and get their bill to the floor using a procedure that is perfectly legal under the Council rules.

New York is fast becoming a City entirely for the rich—“a luxury product” in the words of Mayor Bloomberg who is rarely challenged by his ally Speaker Quinn. We need an economy that provides living wages, affordable rents, and decent working conditions for ALL New Yorkers, not just the privileged few.

Once in a great while, the Council led by Speaker Quinn stands up to Mayor Bloomberg and overrides his veto. But Council Members never stand up to Speaker Quinn herself to the detriment of the people of the City ofNew York.

The next time Council Members elect a Speaker, they should choose one who believes in democratic majority rule—not one who consolidates power and threatens those who dare to disagree simply for wanting to vote on the issues before them.

Christine Quinn (Photo: Getty)

Council Speaker Christine Quinn is currently facing a barrage of pressure as to whether she should allow a vote on a bill mandating paid sick day coverage for employees. On one side are labor leaders and progressive activists, and on the other are business advocates and conservative editorial boards. Ms. Quinn, a leading contender for Gracie Mansion in 2013, can now add one of her likely mayoral rivals in the Democratic primary to the list as well: Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

"We've had a very thorough debate on this over the last couple years in New York City, and this bill needs to come to the floor, and the City Council needs to vote," Mr. de Blasio said on Inside City Hall last night. "This is not the kind of issue that any legislative leader should hold back a vote. It's too important, there's been too much debate, there's too much need for it to go ignored in that fashion."

For her part, Ms. Quinn has expressed concern about whether it's "the right time" to place additional mandates on the city's businesses, as the recession already stretching their bottom lines, but Mr. de Blasio didn't accept that argument.

"You could also argue that in a tough economy, people can not afford to lose their jobs, and giving them a little bit of protection to help them make it through that tough economy is also important," he said.

Arguing for some sort of compromise, he added, "I'm sure we can strike that balance, but only if the bill comes to the floor."

Although the City Council could simply take up the bill without Ms. Quinn's approval, Mr. de Blasio was skeptical that action would necessarily be taken.

"It is but you're a realist and you understand that history suggests that it's very rare that members of the legislature will take that kind of parliamentary action," he said, and when asked if that's because members were fearful of retaliation said, "Sure, that's true of any legislative body."

He also was sure to mention that paid sick day legislation was previously shelved by Ms. Quinn when it was brought up in 2010.

"Some resolution has to happen," he said. "This cannot be swept under the rug. It was previously by the speaker a year plus ago. Now it's time to get to a decision here, let's go through the legislative process and resolve it."