100 Women We Love: Christine Quinn

She's the second most powerful politician in the City of New York, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She's the third speaker in the City Council’s history. She's the first female and first openly gay speaker in city history. But beyond it all, at heart Christine Quinn is a tried-and-true New Yorker. From her home base in Chelsea, where she lives with wife Kim Catullo and their two dogs, the mighty Quinn has made some bold moves, especially on behalf of the LGBT community and less privileged New Yorkers. She’s boycotted the St. Patrick's Day Parade over their policy to exclude openly gay groups, and forced Greenmarkets to accept food stamps. She’s spent her career advocating for affordable housing while head of the Housing Justice Campaign for the Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development; fighting against hate crimes while executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project; and promoting and supporting legislation for marriage equality in her home city and state, and across the country. This year, however, will see Quinn put to the biggest test of her career as she campaigns to be mayor of the most populous, powerful and prestigious city in America. On the Daring Scale, Quinn ranked her decision to run for mayor right up there "on the level of bungee jumping." We’ve got your back, future mayor! –DN