By Mathew Katz and Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Community Board 4 chair Corey Johnson — a rising star in the LGBT political world — has taken the first steps towards making a run for Speaker Christine Quinn's City Council seat in the 2013 city election.
Johnson filed to paperwork to create his campaign fundraising organization, "Corey for Council," Friday, capping off months of speculation that the youthful CB4 head would join the handful of local officials vying for Quinn's seat, which she is ineligible for because of term limits.
The organization is in its early stages and is being run out of an apartment. Johnson said he has not yet decided whether or not he will eventually run, but that the organization is in place to make sure he's ready to go if and when he does.
Johnson, 29, has worked as deputy director of programs at GLAAD. As the chair of CB4, which covers Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, he's been a vocal negotiator, often bringing warring factions together on issues such as affordable housing and the proliferation of bars in the neighborhood.
Johnson said that he would remain board chair if he makes a council run.
"If I am elected to a second term as chair, and I'm running again, I plan to fulfil the entire term," he said.
The list of potential candidates for Quinn's seat includes Community Board 2 chair Brad Hoylman, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation executive director Andrew Berman and attorney Yetta Kurland. So far, all of the candidates openly identify as LGBT.
