Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner is mounting another comeback bid, this time running for an open New York City Council seat.
The seat comprises the 2nd District, which includes Manhattan’s Lower East Side and East Village and is currently represented by Carlina Rivera, who is being forced out by term limits.
Weiner previously served on the City Council from 1992 to 1998 representing the 48th District.
Weiner, now 60, left public life after a series of sex scandals that began when he accidentally posted a lewd photo on Twitter (now X) in May 2011 and ended with his conviction in 2017 for transferring obscene material to a minor.
Weiner’s first sex scandal prompted his resignation from Congress in June 2011, after having served there since January 1999. He ran for and won the House seat previously held by his mentor, now-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Weiner previously sought a political comeback in 2013 when he ran for mayor of New York City, but his campaign was tanked by revelations that he had continued to “sext” women after leaving Congress.
Weiner married Huma Abedin, a high-ranking aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, in 2010, but his life reached a new low when in 2016 there was another report that Weiner had engaged in inappropriate and potentially criminal behavior with a 15-year-old girl online.
Weiner had his laptop seized, and federal investigators discovered the device contained emails relevant to the FBI inquiry into Clinton’s emails. FBI Director James Comey then announced that he would reopen the FBI investigation into Clinton’s emails. Clinton later cited the FBI move, which came just 11 days before the 2016 presidential election, as one of the reasons she lost.
Weiner was sentenced to 21 months behind bars for sexting the 15 year old, and was required to register as a sex offender. He was released early on good behavior in 2019.
After getting out of prison, he was hired as CEO of a countertop company called IceStone owned by a friend. He then became a consultant and joined WABC as a left-wing commentator.
The former New York congressman shared last week with The Atlantic his take on the Democratic Party. “Voters don’t expect you to have every answer and to agree with them on everything,” he explained.
Weiner appears to be taking a more law-and-order approach in the June 24 Democrat mayoral primary, arguing that the city needs more cops and less pot shops. The incumbent, Eric Adams, a former Democrat, is running for reelection as an independent.
“Now, I could be completely wrong, but there seems to be a disconnect with the brand that New York Democrats are selling and what people want to buy right now,” he told The Atlantic.
