Anthony Weiner, the former United States congressman who resigned two years ago amid a media-catching sexting scandal, is officially running for mayor of New York City.
Weiner, 48, announced in a YouTube video late Tuesday that he’ll
be running in the New York mayoral race this November.
The long-time member of the US House of Representatives was
rumored in recent weeks to be weighing a bid for the Democratic
Party’s nod in this fall’s race, which will mark the first time
since 2001 that incumbent Michael Bloomberg will be ineligible to
run for the office of mayor due to term restraints.
Weiner previously served as a congressional Democrat in the
House for the ninth district of New York, a region composed
entirely of his native Brooklyn. After a 12-year run in the House,
however, Weiner walked away from office in June 2011 after
admitting to sending inappropriate images to young women while
married to his wife, Huma Abedin.
After conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart published lewd
photos the lawmaker was alleged to have sent from cell phone, a
sexting scandal dubbed “Weinergate” by the mainstream media
propelled the congressman into the national spotlight. Weiner
initially declined the accusations that he sent the images, only to
eventually come clean and walk away from office shortly after.
In a YouTube video released this week, Weiner apologized for his
past conduct and asked for another opportunity at elected office
from his longtime constituents.
“I made some big mistakes, and I know I let a lot of people
down, but I also learned some tough lessons,” Weiner said.
“I’m running for mayor because I’ve been fighting for the middle
class and those struggling to make it my entire life. And I hope I
get a second chance.”
“We love this city,” adds his wife Abedin. “And no one
will work harder to make it better than Anthony.”
With the tossing of Weiner’s hat into the ring, the once-popular
liberal lawmaker will have to compete with Comptroller John Liu,
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, 2009 mayoral hopeful Bill
Thompson and others for the Democratic Party’s nomination. The
former chairman of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority
and the one-time director of the White House Office of Urban
Affairs are among a handful of candidates who have confirmed
they’ll seek the Republican Party’s nod. The last time a Democratic
served as mayor of New York was 1993.
Rumors of Weiner’s return to politics have amounted in recent
weeks following a profile in the New York Times last month. But
even after appealing to New Yorkers through pleas in that paper and
elsewhere, Weiner faces an uphill battle in seeking the city’s top
position two years after he left the House with his tail between
his legs.
The results of a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday
found Weiner grabbing only 15 percent of New York democrats to
frontrunner Quinn’s 25 percent. One month earlier, a NBC New
York/Marist poll determined that less than half of the city’s
Democrats would even consider voting for Weiner in a mayoral
race.
“I think that is going to be up to the people of the city of
New York as they judge all of us,” Thompson, the 2009
Democratic nominee who previously served as Comptroller, told
WNYC.
“I agree with Billy,” added Quinn. “That’s not
a question for any of us to answer, it’s a question for the voters
to answer. But what I think the voters are really concerned about
is making sure that the next mayor isn’t someone who’s just going
to make promises, is somebody who’s got a record during their
career in government or the private sector of actually delivering
for New Yorkers.”
According to Weiner, he’s already done as much. Despite his
career being put on pause due to 2011’s scandal, he stands by his
accomplishments in the House and as New York City council member
from 1992 through 1998. In his campaign video, Weiner said he
secured one billion dollars as congressman to hire more New York
City police officers and also worked to help 9/11 first responders
receive adequate health benefits.
“Anybody who underestimates Anthony Weiner’s ambition is a
fool. And anybody who underestimates his ability as a candidate is
a fool,” retired Hunter College political science professor
Kenneth Sherrill told the Associated Press. But “we’re going to
see, basically, if Weiner can take hits as well as he can dish them
out.”
In kick-starting his campaign, Weiner published on Wednesday his
“64 Ideas to Keep New York the Capital of the Middle Class,” a
blueprint that calls for, among other items, bringing more jobs to
the city, reversing the trend of surging housing prices and
bringing affordable health care to 1.2 million New Yorkers who are
currently without insurance.
And if that doesn’t work, there’s another thing that might help
Weiner win the votes of New Yorkers: he currently has over $5.1
million cash in the bank that could be used towards his campaign,
second only to Quinn’s $7 million.
This article originally appeared on : RT