As Candidates Vow to Hire Educator as Chancellor, Quinn Keeps Options Open

Several candidates for mayor on Tuesday pledged to hire an educator as the next schools chancellor, breaking with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who three times tapped leaders from business and government for the post.

But one candidate - Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, who is considered a front-runner for the Democratic nomination - left the door open for a nontraditional pick. Ms. Quinn said she would not rule out any candidates for chancellor, especially those who work at education nonprofits but hold no formal credentials.

“I want to make sure we consider everyone potentially out there,” she said during a forum for mayoral candidates at the Eagle Academy for Young Men, a school in the Bronx. A few hours later, at a forum hosted by Pace University and the National Organization for Women's New York City chapter, Ms. Quinn repeated her position, and was booed by some members of the audience.

Bill de Blasio, the public advocate and also a Democratic candidate for mayor, attacked Ms. Quinn over the issue, accusing her of supporting the nomination of Cathleen P. Black, a former chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, in 2010. Ms. Black's time in office was widely panned, and she resigned after 95 days in office.

“You cannot get out of this rut and move the schools forward without an educator in leadership,” Mr. de Blasio said at the first forum.

At the time of Ms. Black's appointment, Ms. Quinn told The New York Post that Mr. Bloomberg had the right to pick anyone he pleased to be chancellor. She praised the mayor's selection of Ms. Black's predecessor, Joel I. Klein, a former federal prosecutor, saying he had done a “terrific job.”

Mr. de Blasio initially welcomed Ms. Black's appointment but also called on her to hold forums to articulate her views on education.

State law requires a chancellor to hold an advanced degree in education and have at least three years of teaching experience. The state allows waivers for “exceptionally qualified persons.” Mr. Bloomberg sought waivers for his three appointments: Mr. Klein, in 2002; Ms. Black in 2010; and Dennis M. Walcott, a former deputy mayor, in 2011.

Among the candidates who said Tuesday that they would name only an educator who did not need a state waiver as chancellor were the Democrats Sal F. Albanese, a former City Councilman from Brooklyn; John C. Liu, the comptroller; and William C. Thompson Jr., a former comptroller; the Republican Joseph J. Lhota, the former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and the independent Adolfo Carrión Jr., a former Bronx borough president .

Mr. Thompson, when he was school board president in 2000, voted for Harold O. Levy, a banking executive who also required a waiver, to become schools chancellor.