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. Read More
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.” Read More
On Sunday, MSNBC host Chris Hayes is hosting a roundtable featuring many of the main Democratic mayoral candidates on his eponymous show, Up With Chris Hayes. However, the panel won’t feature the woman who’s currently enjoying a large lead in the polls–Council Speaker Chris Quinn. Though Mr. Hayes has been highly critical of Ms. Quinn of late, both her aides and MSNBC spokespeople attributed her absence from his roundtable to scheduling.
“Speaker Quinn has been able to make 14 candidate forums thus far–two yesterday alone– and she has another 12 committed over the next six weeks. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t make this one work,” Mike Morey, a spokesman for the Quinn campaign, told Politicker. Read More
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.” Read More
Bill de Blasio and his campaign got quite a kick out of a prank internet site that mocked his mayoral opponent, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, this afternoon. The site, which looked exactly like Ms. Quinn’s campaign page, featured an announcement claiming Ms. Quinn would permit a vote on the Paid Sick Days bill Mr. de Blasio and other critics have long accused her of stalling in the Council. An email was also sent out linking to the page and proclaiming, “It’s time for an up-or-down vote on paid sick days.” Shortly after the site was unveiled, Mr. de Blasio’s campaign sent out a statement reacting to the hoax and praising the mysterious prankster.
“Consider us had. We thought after 3 long years of blocking paid sick days, the million New Yorkers who need them were finally going to get a break,” Dan Levitan, a spokesman for Mr. de Blasio’s campaign said. “Whoever is behind this may have an odd sense of humor, but they do have better judgment for what’s right for New Yorkers than Speaker Quinn.” Read More
