Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner appears to be trying to mount a political comeback and has officially registered to run for an East Village City Council seat.
The once-promising politician, now infamous after being brought down by two very public sexting scandals and serving time in prison for sexting a minor, filed the paperwork formalizing his status as a candidate last week after publicly toying with the idea of running for the Council seat.
Weiner said Tuesday his account with the city’s campaign finance board should be considered “exploratory” and that he hasn’t yet decided on whether to actually run. Weiner said he filed the paperwork because a local Democratic club required it to be considered at a candidates forum Thursday.
“So here I am,” he said.
“I’m doing this one step at a time,” Weiner said in a phone interview that was interrupted multiple times as he tried to usher his dog, a pit terrier lab mix named Billy, into his apartment after returning from a walk.
The race to replace Council Member Carlina Rivera, who cannot run in 2025 due to term limits, is shaping up to be among the most competitive Council races. Also in the running for the seat are current Assemblyman Harvey Epstein and Andrea Gordillo, Manhattan Community Board 3 chair.
The former U.S. representative said he has some “volunteers” already working for him, but no paid staff or fundraising mechanisms at the moment. He also said that he’ll be putting out a book called “25 ideas for 25” that will be “coming out soon.”
“That’ll be the next thing I’ll do and I’ll be going to places and talking to people and we’ll see what happens,” Weiner said.
Weiner hasn’t held public office since 2011, when he was ousted from his congressional seat because of a sexting scandal involving multiple women, including a minor.
Two years later, subsequent sexts revealed his online pseudonym “Carlos Danger” and destroyed his 2013 bid for mayor. He was later caught sending inappropriate photos to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina and eventually sentenced to around a year and a half behind bars for the incident.
Weiner was previously married to Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton during her 2016 run against Donald Trump. Investigators reviewing Weiner’s online activity accidentally uncovered emails that led then-FBI Director James Comey to reopen an investigation of Clinton’s emails — an infamous political scandal in its own right.
Weiner declined to comment on how he’d wrestle with his checkered past during a potential campaign.
“Running for office is a privilege, and those who seek to represent this district must have a clear understanding of the challenges our families face,” Council member Rivera said in a statement. “The democratic process is a cornerstone of our society, and every voice matters in moving us forward. I encourage my neighbors to engage fully in the primary process and make an informed choice that will help shape a brighter future.”
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