Quinn Quiet on Mayoral Plans

New York City council speaker Christine Quinn refused to take the bait Wednesday morning when asked whether she planned to run for mayor in 2013.

Although she is widely expected to make a run, an announcement more than two years before the Democratic primary would be unusual, something the trailblazing lesbian lawmaker suggested in her response at the breakfast forum presented by the political publications City Hall and The Capitol.

"There is a lot of time between now and the next political go-round," she told moderator Edward Isaac-Dovere one day after delivering her annual State of the City address. "I think the most important thing is the job I have to do."

Quinn would be the first woman and the first openly gay person to serve as mayor of the largest American city. Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, currently occupies the office.

Asked whether she would anticipate the backing of Mayor Bloomberg in a campaign, Quinn declined to answer. Her support for his controversial decision to extend term limits and seek a third term in 2009 was a factor in the speaker's unexpectedly close primary contest that year.

"I'm not somewhere in a room making a list of pros and cons for different jobs," she said. "I'm proud to serve with the mayor in government. I'm proud that we have been able to get things done. I'm proud that we can disagree agreeably, and I hope we have a lot of success together over the next two and a half years for the people of our city."

According to filings with the city's Campaign Finance Board, the speaker has more than $3 million on hand for a prospective 2013 race. At least five other Democrats are interested in the mayor's post, including former city comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., who narrowly lost to Bloomberg in 2009 and has already declared his candidacy.