Bloomberg Endorses Openly Lesbian NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn

According to the New York Times, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg says privately ("to almost anybody that asks") that he is endorsing Christine Quinn to succeed him in 2013 at the end of his third term. Quinn, the openly lesbian longtime speaker of the New York City Council, has been Bloomberg's indispensable lieutenant, often corralling the large and combative Council into complying with his marching orders.

In 2009, Quinn was considered by many to have a lock on becoming mayor, but then her boss decided on that controversial third term. As for 2013, that's a long ways away, but with Anthony Weiner presumably out of the picture, Quinn will likely only face the perennial unelectable fringe Democrats, plus whomever the GOP decides to sacrifice. While Quinn remains very popular in the LGBT community, there is a rather large contingent of gays and progressives who loudly and regularly protest her positions, which many say protect big business interests at the expense of nightlife, tenants, and others.