How important is the New York Times endorsement to a candidate for mayor? That is a question I ask each time I read another article attacking Christine Quinn in The Times.
On June 18, Michael Grynbaum quoted Chris Quinn from the night before as she spoke about an uncooperative City Council member, “I am going to cut his balls off.” He traces her career from bull horn street protests to inside deals for her own “political expediency and the advancement of her career.”
In a Times interview, she observed correctly that being an activist is about getting things done. It is not about standing around shaking your fist in anger. The article records her hiring in her early 20s by Bonnie Bower of Housing Justice Campaign. A few months later, Quinn criticized Bower to the board members. The Times quotes Bower, “I don’t think she had a passion for principle.”
