Who

Quinn is the speaker of the New York City Council, a mayoral-candidate-in-training, and the most powerful lesbian in New York.

Backstory

Long Island-born Quinn got her start in politics in 1989, working in grassroots housing activism and helming a housing campaign for the Association of Neighborhood Housing Development. Two years later she went to work as chief of staff for Tom Duane, the openly gay councilman in Chelsea, leaving in the mid-'90s to head up the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, where among other initiatives she lobbied for hate crime legislation. In 1999, Quinn won a Council seat representing Chelsea, succeeding her old boss Duane, who moved up to the State Senate. Her election as City Council speaker in 2006 broke new ground: She was the first woman speaker, the first gay speaker, and, as her father insisted on pointing out, the first Irish speaker in Council history.

Of note

Quinn arrived as speaker amid high expectations. Taking over for Gifford Miller, the Times described her as a "straightforward adversary unafraid to compromise for the sake of practical politics," and she was viewed as someone who could bring transparency to a body that has long been shrouded in mystery. As a councilmember, Quinn had demonstrated a streak of independence: She pushed forward with legislation to provide health care benefits to domestic partners even though Mayor Bloomberg was opposed, and she was a high profile opponent of the proposed West Side Stadium, one of the mayor's pet projects.

Since stepping up as speaker, Quinn has spearheaded the sort of popular bills that resonate in various communities around town (pre-K for four-year-olds, bulletproof vests for cops, beefed-up rent stabilization laws). But the woman who initially styled herself as an outsider and renegade has also proven herself as a canny politician, cozying up to the city's business establishment and throwing her weight behind various big development projects. It's a transition that isn't altogether surprising considering she's now hoping to take over from Bloomberg as mayor in 2009 and has coffers to fill. Although she hasn't officially declared herself a candidate, she's already acting the part, going in for photo ops at elementary schools, hobnobbing with the business elite (and potential donors) at social functions, and quietly lining up high-profile supporters as she prepares to face off against a Democratic field likely to include Bill Thompson, Anthony Weiner, and Brooklyn beep Marty Markowitz.

But in a revelation that will undoubtedly complicate her mayoral run, in April 2008 a federal probe exposed a longstanding City Council practice of earmarking discretionary funds to fake organizations. Although Quinn inherited the dishonest system from her predecessors, her failure to address the issue has put her in the spotlight, particularly in the wake of embarrassing revelations from fellow politicians like Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson. Quinn has apologized for tolerating the practice and scrambled to reform the discretionary spending process.

Keeping score

She made $113,500 for her work on the city council in 2007.

The look

Quinn's signature red mop isn't natural, as you probably suspected. She went from brunette to firebrand redhead only after joining the City Council.

For the record

Quinn has long battled with the organizers of the St. Patrick's Day parade over their ban on gay groups marching. She has declined to participate in the parade in recent years, although in 2006 she said she'd march if she could wear a gay pride sash. (She was turned down.) In 2007, she upped the ante on her protest, flying to Dublin to march in that city's St. Patrick's Day instead.

Personal

Quinn lives with her partner, attorney Kim Catullo, and their two dogs, Andy and Sadie. Aptly, the housing crusader's place in Chelsea is rent-stabilized.