Anthony Weiner, the texting-twittering-tiranic former U.S. Representative announced in a video message early this morning that he is running for New York City mayor. Two years after resigning from Congress in a lewd photo scandal, he’s ba-ack. Pundits are asking if voters in the conservative state of North Carolina who recently re-elected Mark Sanford to a Congressional seat were able to forgive and forget, can New York voters do the same for Weiner? In 2009 Sanford’s political career seemed to be over when he covered up a trip to Argentina to see his mistress, Maria Chapur, a woman he later described as his “soul mate”, by having his staff cover for him, saying he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, a hiking path in the eastern USA. He and his wife, Jenny, were divorced in 2010 and he finished his second term as governor in 2011. The scandal ended any hopes of Sanford running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Yet for a crime surely much more heinous than tweeting lewd pics of private parts, voters forgave him and voted him into office. Will New York voters be as forgiving?
Surely the Democratic, liberal city of New York that is used to its fair share of scandals and were very vocal that President’s Clinton’s ‘sex-crimes’ with Monica Lewinsky did not impact his ability to do the job should apply the same standards to Mr. Weiner? Or were Weiner’s crimes a bigger message about his stupidity (lets face it, elected officials should consider the risks of tweeting lewd photos…..)? Everyone forgave Newt Gingrich’s philandering ways too and focused on his abilities.
Maybe Weiner could be a great mayor for the City of New York….. Lets face it: it takes quite a dick to manage this town!
P.S: You may ask what this blurb has to do with real estate…..well, a strong mayor is critical to the future success of New York City. The impact of Bloomberg’s reign is monumental by any standards and anything less than the best could be bad for New York real estate.