The Politics1 Report, June 8, 1999:

New York City Councilwoman Christine Quinn (D), a lesbian, was elected to office last year with the strong support of the large gay communities in the Greenwich Village and Chelsea neighborhoods. Now Quinn finds herself contending with nasty rumors about her private life. According to the New York Post, Quinn dumped her longtime girlfriend shortly after the election and went on a vacation with her consultant Wayne Kowadler. That prompted the rumors—politically damaging in Quinn's district—that Quinn and Kowadler were having a romantic relationship. Quinn spokeswoman Maura Keaney maintains that Quinn is truly a lesbian and "there's no sexual or romantic aspect to their friendship." Kowadler, meanwhile, told the Post, "I am not now, nor have I ever been, a heterosexual—not that there's anything wrong with that."

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