"I am a better elected official because of it, and I think that I am a better person because of it," she
added.
Oddo underwent a similar transformation. After a somewhat sheltered upbringing on Island, he said
his time on the Council has helped him "shed some ignorance."
"The best thing about the Council is my best friends aren't white, aren't Catholic and aren't straight,"
he said.
Under Ms. Quinn's influence, Oddo has become more sensitized to issues of race, gender and
sexuality. He even appears to be softening on his stance against gay marriage -- an issue Ms. Quinn
has been championing for years.
"It takes on a different context. It isn't about two random people living on the West Coast of the
country. There's a face to it now," Oddo said.
Quinn, conversely, authored and successfully passed a bill in July that reduced the city's general
corporation tax into a single sales factor -- a move projected to save businesses here $2.7 billion over
the next 10 years. Hardly an accomplishment that would bring praise from her liberal base, Oddo
called it "the most creative idea in this year's budget."
They will have to continue to be creative to meet challenges the Island, and the city as a whole, will
face during their presumptive third terms. According to several analyses, the city budget gaps over the
next three fiscal years will be even larger than this year, with no federal stimulus money to fill them.
At the same time, Oddo and Ms. Quinn hope to utilize a public-private partnership to open a breast
health center on the Island, and find ways to alleviate the borough's massive traffic problems.
HAVE LOFTY GOALS
Beyond that? It's no secret Ms. Quinn wants a crack at Mayor Michael Bloomberg's job. Oddo is the
heir apparent to Molinaro. If it works out, they would continue the recent legacy of closely tied mayor
and borough president tandems, following Molinaro and Bloomberg and Guy Molinari and Rudolph
Giuliani before them.
"That would be great for Staten Island," Oddo said.
Peter N. Spencer covers city government for the Advance. He can be reached at
spencer@siadvance.com.
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