COUNCIL ETHICS: Brooklyn Council Member Charles Barron in front of City Hall on Tuesday. Barron protested being removed from his post as chair of the Higher Education Committee earlier this month, and said he will bring ethics charges against Council Spea (Jack Phillips/The Epoch Times)

Barron to Bring Ethics Charges Against Speaker Quinn

By Jack Phillips

February 3, 2010 Updated: October 1, 2015

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NEW YORK—After being demoted from his position as chair of the Higher Education Committee earlier this month, Councilman Charles Barron (D-East N.Y.) said he would bring “ethics charges” against Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Chelsea) on Tuesday.

With him was former presidential candidate Reverend Al Sharpton, who supported Barron.

The Rev. Sharpton said New York's City Council is one of many “networks of power clusters” that need to be broken up. He added that Councilman Barron was a leader in representing inner-city kids in New York City and stood up against the City Council in speaking for the people.

Speaker Christine Quinn received a nearly-unanimous 48-1 vote in her re-election as council speaker over rival Barron in early January. The Council later voted 47-1 to remove Barron as chair of the Higher Education Committee. He was replaced with Ydanis Rodriguez from Northern Manhattan.

In response to being ousted from the position, Barron likened Quinn's role in the City Council to that of a “dictator.” He called for reform in the City Council, saying that Quinn appoints all chairs of the committees and determines the amount of capital money Council members receive.

Barron alleges that Quinn “abused her authority” and will take his case to the City Council's ethics committee. He added that the reason for the nearly-unanimous votes against his favor was because other Council members “fear her power.”