New York City mayoral election, 2013

[MASTERBAKER]

Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio’s wife Chirlane McCray, a former lesbian, opens up a


Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio’s wife Chirlane McCray, a former lesbian, opens up about falling in love with a man
McCray’s interview with Essence magazine comes 34 years after she penned a 1979 essay for the publication about coming out as a gay woman. She said she fell in love with a man 'by putting aside the assumptions I had about the form and package my love would come in.'
Comments (18)
By Kristen A. Lee / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, May 9, 2013, 1:27 PM
Updated: Thursday, May 9, 2013, 1:27 PM



10




5




0

Print
NY Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and wife, Chirlane de Blasio; photos from trip to Ghana.

NY Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and wife, Chirlane de Blasio; photos from trip to Ghana.

Bill de Blasio’s wife opened up about falling in love with a man after years of identifying as a lesbian and their life as a “very conventional, unconventional couple” in a candid interview released Thursday.

Chirlane McCray, 58, said her relationship with de Blasio was made possible “by putting aside the assumptions I had about the form and package my love would come in.”

The interview, with Essence magazine, comes 34 years after McCray penned a groundbreaking 1979 essay for Essence entitled, “I Am a Lesbian,” about coming out as a gay black woman.

A dozen years later, in 1991, McCray met de Blasio while she worked for the New York Commission on Human Rights and he was an aide to then-Mayor David Dinkins.
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio hugged his wife, Chirlane McCray, after announcing his Democratic candidacy for mayor.
© Keith Bedford / Reuters/REUTERS
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio hugged his wife, Chirlane McCray, after announcing his Democratic candidacy for mayor.

RELATED: BILL THOMPSON POISED FOR ENDORSEMENT FROM POLICE

“I was wearing West African-inspired clothing and a nose ring, and Bill says he had the love-at-first-sight experience,” she said. “I did note what a good-looking guy he was and that he was funny and smart and made other people laugh.”

McCray said the fact that he was a man, and white, was not her biggest concern.

“All I could think about was, ‘He's six years younger than me!’” she said.

Pictured is a screengrab from MYFOXNY.COM showing a page from a 1979 Essence magazine article called "I AM A LESBIAN." written by Chirlane McCray, before she married New York City Public Advocate Bill DiBlasio.
MYFOXNY.COM
Pictured is a screengrab from MYFOXNY.COM showing a page from a 1979 Essence magazine article called "I AM A LESBIAN." written by Chirlane McCray, before she married New York City Public Advocate Bill DiBlasio.

Asked if it was “strange being with a man,” given her history with women, McCray said:

RELATED: BILL THOMPSON WINS KEY ENDORSEMENT IN HIS MAYORAL CAMPAIGN: RUBEN DIAZ JR.

“I came out at 17. I hadn’t really dated any men. I thought, ‘Whoa, what is this?’ But I also didn’t think, ‘Oh, now I’m attracted to men.’ I was attracted to Bill. He felt like the perfect person for me. For two people who look so different, we have a lot in common. We are a very conventional, unconventional couple.”

De Blasio was aware of her history, but her essay in Essence “shook him up,”
she said.

Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray have been married for 19 years and have two teenage children, Dante and Chiara.
Craig Warga/New York Daily News
Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray have been married for 19 years and have two teenage children, Dante and Chiara.

“Other people told him in the beginning. Then at some point I gave him the article and said, “Look, this is who I am and you should read this.” It shook him up. But he didn’t show it. He was cool about it.”

The couple has now been married for 19 years and has two teenage children.

RELATED: BILL DE BLASIO PROUD OF HIS MARRIAGE WITH FORMER LESBIAN

McCray’s past, while never a secret, was not discussed during de Blasio’s

successful 2009 campaign for public advocate.
Bill de Blasio announces his run for mayor with his wife Chirlane.

Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News

Bill de Blasio announces his run for mayor with his wife Chirlane.

It only became widely known last December when news organizations wrote about her 1979 essay.

McCray and de Blasio then did a whirlwind of television interviews to talk about her past and their relationship. McCray and the couple’s children have been prominent, at times, in his campaign.

Her past serves as a counterpoint, of sorts, to the historic nature of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s rival Democratic candidacy.

RELATED: BILL DE BLASIO MARRIED TO WOMAN WHO WAS OUT AND PROUD IN THE 1970S

McCray called the political power duo a ‘very conventional, unconventional couple.’
Marcus Santos/for New York Daily News
McCray called the political power duo a ‘very conventional, unconventional couple.’

Quinn, who is married to a woman, Kim Catullo, would be city’s the first openly gay mayor if elected.

In the Essence interview, McCray said she was unconcerned when her sexual past was publicized.

McCray, who said she doesn’t like labels, declined to call herself bisexual, but suggested that she can still be attracted to women.

“I’m married, I’m monogamous, but I’m not dead and Bill isn’t either,” she told the magazine with a laugh.

“I know my husband loves me fiercely and passionately. I know he supports me and will always stand up for me.”

klee@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ele...talks-lesbian-article-1.1339398#ixzz2StWAx8ry

 

[MASTERBAKER]

Re: Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio’s wife Chirlane McCray, a former lesbian, opens

Russell Simmons endorses Bill de Blasio for mayor — over beholden Christine Quinn and ‘too quiet’ Bill Thompson



Hip hop mogul's support could make inroads into the black community. Web ad will begin airing Monday.

Russell Simmons shows his support for mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio in an ad that will begin appearing Monday.



Hip-hop icon and activist Russell Simmons has endorsed Bill de Blasio for mayor — and promptly slammed one Democratic rival as beholden to special interests and another as “too quiet.”

Simmons is known for supporting liberal causes, including gay rights.

But he had harsh words for Christine Quinn, the woman who would be the city’s first openly gay mayor.

RELATED: CYNTHIA NIXON LEADS DE BLASIO GALA

“I love the idea of a gay woman as mayor, but . . . she’s been bought and managed by special interests,” he said.

He also snubbed the race’s lone African-American candidate, ex-city Controller William Thompson.

“I don’t want a candidate who is too quiet,” said Simmons. “I want a candidate who is not afraid to offend a few people to support what he thinks is right.”

RELATED: BILL THOMPSON QUIETLY BUILDS FORMIDABLE MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

Neither campaign chose to comment.

Simmons, who grew up in Hollis, Queens and founded Def Jam Records, said was moved by de Blasio’s call to reform the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk tactic.

“I know a lot of people who have been stopped and frisked,” said Simmons. “If they get an arrest record, it can ruin their lives.”

RELATED: DE BLASIO’S WIFE CHIRLANE MCCRAY TALKS ABOUT LESBIAN PAST

Simmons recorded a web ad for de Blasio, which is set to be released Monday. In it, he supports the Public Advocate’s plan to raise tax rates on wealthy New Yorkers to fund city programs.

“He’s is clear that he is prepared [to pay more] and he understands why that is important,” said de Blasio. He raved that Simmons’ “role transcends identity and is not trying to speak to just one group or another.”

Simmons is the latest celebrity to endorse de Blasio. In recent weeks, he has picked up the backing of Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon and Sarah Jessica Parker.

De Blasio also got support Sunday night from prominent members of the gay community, including actress Cynthia Nixon and actor Alan Cumming, at an “LGBT for BDB” fund-raiser. Nixon introduced de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray — a onetime lesbian.

With Erin Durkin

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ele...ses-de-blasio-article-1.1342030#ixzz2TH1JlHHZ

 

[MASTERBAKER]

Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, charles Rangel support the former controller's bid fo

William Thompson picks up a pair of key endorsements



Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, charles Rangel support the former controller's bid for mayor

Two of the city’s most prominent African-American politicians, former Mayor David Dinkins and Rep. Charles Rangel, endorsed William Thompson for mayor — and his moderate stand on stop-and-frisk policing.

At a Harlem news conference Monday, Dinkins and Rangel said they support Thompson's view that stop-and-frisk could be a useful police tactic — a position that puts them at odds with the Rev. Al Sharpton.

“Clearly, it is a good thing if we can get weapons off the street,” said Dinkins.

Dinkins and Rangel also said they had confidence in Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who has been criticized for his staunch defense of stop-and-frisk.

But they cautioned that the tactic should be used only where there is suspicion of wrongdoing, and not to unfairly target black communities.

“Do you want people carrying guns in your community illegally that could do bodily harm? The answer is: Hell, no!” Rangel said.

“Do you want New York City policemen to respect and to follow their oath of duty . . . to our community as they would in other communities? You damn right.”

Rangel and Dinkins announced their support for Thompson at a news conference at Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem.



Sharpton, in an interview with the Daily News after the endorsement, said that stop and frisk should never be used.

“It is a policy that is based on racial profiling,” he said.

“I do not think its wise for Mr. Thompson, who needs maximum black turnout, to be dividing the community,” Sharpton said.

Thompson, the only black candidate for mayor, is relying on the endorsements of prominent African-Americans like Dinkins and Rangel to help generate enthusiasm for his candidacy among minority voters.

In another effort seen as galvanizing black support, Thompson on Monday intensified his criticism of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for declaring that he embraced “environmental racism” by opposing a waste-transfer station proposed for the upper East Side.

Quinn’s point was that opposing the upper East Side site would force the transfer station to be located in a minority neighborhood.

But Thompson said, “To utter that, and direct it at a black person . . . hurt.” On Monday, he took the rebuttal one step further and launched an online petition demanding that Quinn “apologize to New Yorkers of color.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...-endorsements-article-1.1362268#ixzz2VGPKBHRG