Anthony D. Weiner
| Anthony Weiner | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 6, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Schumer |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | September 04 1964 New York City, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | single |
| Religion | Jewish |
Anthony David Weiner (born September 4, 1964) is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of New York. He represents New York's 9th congressional district (map) in the United States House of Representatives. The district includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens including the Queens communities of Auburndale, Bayside, Belle Harbor, Breezy Point, Briarwood, Broad Channel, Electchester, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills (where Weiner lives), Forest Park, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Hillcrest, Hillcrest Estates, Howard Beach, Jamaica Hills, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Lindenwood, Maspeth, Middle Village, Neponsit, Oakland Gardens, Ozone Park, Pomonok, Rego Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, Rockaway Park, Rockaway Beach, Roxbury, Woodhaven and the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bergen Beach, Brighton Beach, Gerritsen Beach, Kensington, Manhattan Beach, Marine Park, Midwood, Mill Basin and Sheepshead Bay.[1]
Early life
Weiner was born in Brooklyn, New York City to Morton "Mort" Weiner and Frances "Fran" Weiner. He attended New York public schools, including Brooklyn Technical High School, and received a bachelor's degree from State University of New York at Plattsburgh. He then worked on the staff of then Congressman Chuck Schumer from 1985 to 1991.
New York City Council
Weiner was elected to the New York City Council in 1991. At 27, he was the youngest person ever to serve on that body up to that point.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1998, midway through his ninth term, his former boss, Schumer, opted for an ultimately successful campaign for the United States Senate. Weiner ran for and won the Democratic nomination to succeed him, which was tantamount to election in the heavily Democratic 9th. He has been reelected three times with almost no opposition. He is only the fifth person to represent the 9th since its creation in 1920 (it was numbered as the 10th from 1920 to 1945, the 15th from 1945 to 1953, the 11th from 1953 to 1963, the 10th again from 1963 to 1973, the 16th from 1973 to 1983, the 10th again from 1983 to 1993, and the 9th since 1993). [1]
Weiner has one of the most liberal voting records in the House. He voted for the Iraq War in 2002, which he later said he regretted.
Weiner received an "A" on the liberal Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues.[2]
2005 campaign for mayor of New York City
Weiner ran for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York in 2005 against three other Democrats.
Weiner started out last in many polls, but surged in the final weeks of the campaign. His publicly announced campaign strategy was to come in second in the Democratic primary election with enough votes to force a runoff election, win that runoff, then campaign against the Republican candidate, incumbent Michael Bloomberg. When the initial returns came in, Fernando Ferrer had 39.95%, just shy of the 40% required to avoid a runoff, and Weiner had 28.82%. In a legally non-binding statement, Weiner then declared himself withdrawn from the race and endorsed Ferrer, citing the need for party unity. Eventually, the runoff was declared unnecessary as absentee ballots put Ferrer over the 40% mark. Weiner denied rumors that various high-ranking New York Democrats such as Schumer and then-New York State Attorney General (and current Governor of New York) Eliot Spitzer had urged him to concede.
Inasmuch as Ferrer lost the general election to Bloomberg, this move may set Weiner up as a very possible nominee, if not a front-runner, for the 2009 mayoral race.
Fight against congestion pricing
Weiner was among the first elected officials to oppose Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to introduce congestion pricing policy in New York City.[citation needed] The congestion pricing plan is modeled on the London congestion charge, a fee for motorists entering Central London. The London plan is credited with a 17% reduction in traffic and a 35% increase in vehicle speeds in the central business district of London.[citation needed]
Miscellaneous
- Weiner is the sole documented recipient of political campaign contributions from comedian and Daily Show host Jon Stewart,[4] who was his post-college roommate.
- Weiner, who is a Democrat, repeatedly called his opposition "the Republic Party" when speaking on the floor of the United States House of Representatives in February 2007. The term "Republic Party" is widely seen as a counter to the epithet "Democrat Party" (as opposed to "Democratic Party", the party's grammatically correct name) commonly used by Republican partisans, especially during the 2006 midterm election season.
References
- ^ Anthony Weiner neighborhoods, accessed April 15, 2007.
- ^ Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record. Drum Major Institute. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
- ^ Burnett, James. "Life of the Party", New York, 2001-12-03. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
- ^ Jon Stewart Federal Campaign Contributions Report. Newsmeat (2006-08-14). Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
| Preceded by Charles Schumer |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 9th congressional district 1999– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
External links
- Official House website
- 2006 Campaign site
- 2004 campaign finance data
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
- Video of Weiner discussing legislative priorities in Feb. '07 on the House floor
- opensecrets.org - Anthony Weiner campaign contribution profile
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