Christine Quinn is way behind in the unofficial 2009 mayoral fund-raising race, but she’s catching up. The City Council Speaker has taken in more than $234,000, mostly in the last month, according to her filings, and from the usual suspects: developers with projects in her district and a slew of insurers, most notably James Orphanides, president of First American Title Insurance, which was part of an Eliot Spitzer investigation last year. Quinn has also had fund-raising help from unlikely allies: Howard Koeppel, the car dealer and gay activist on whose couch Rudy Giuliani stayed during his marital woes, and Rob Speyer, heir to the Tishman Speyer empire and new owner of Stuy Town. Quinn, a former tenant organizer, came out against Speyer’s Stuy Town deal, but politicos say she needs to make herself business-friendly to compete in ’09. “We’re just gearing up,” says Quinn consultant Mark Guma. Comptroller Bill Thompson already has $2.65 million, Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrión $586,950, and Anthony Weiner hasn’t filed for another city campaign.

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• Table of Contents: February 19, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!