NEW YORK – Mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner hit the campaign trail again Friday, meeting with victims of a storm that ravaged New York last year, but he struggled to move past the sexting scandal threatening to derail his political comeback attempt.
He faced reproaches even in the furthest reaches of the city. After meeting several people who shared their Superstorm Sandy horror stories in Staten Island, Weiner was confronted by retired schoolteacher Peg Brunda.
“I don’t quite understand how you would feel you’d have the moral authority, as the head administrator in this city, to oversee employees, when your standard of conduct is so much lower than the standard of conduct that is expected of us,” said Brunda.
Weiner asked whether she would vote for him. Brunda said no.
“I want to let your neighbours make their decisions for themselves,” Weiner said.
Weiner says he intends to stay in the crowded mayoral race despite revelations this week that he continued to exchange sexually explicit messages with women even after similar behaviour forced his resignation from Congress two years ago.
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His mayoral campaign represents Weiner’s attempt to return to politics after resigning from Congress. He had been polling well before this week, when a 23-year-old woman revealed that Weiner had sent nude photographs to her months after his resignation.
Weiner, who is married to longtime Hillary Rodham Clinton aide Huma Abedin, admitted having racy correspondence with as many as three women since leaving office.
Some news outlets continued to heap ridicule on Weiner Friday.
The free daily newspaper AM New York ran a photo illustration of Weiner wearing a clown nose, next to the headline “3-Fling Circus.” Even The New Yorker magazine got in on the act: next week’s cover will feature a cartoon Weiner astride the Empire State Building like King Kong, using a smartphone to photograph the skyscraper between his legs.
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A front-runner in the race, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has been saying for days that Weiner has turned the race into a “circus,” repeated those comments in interviews and campaign appearances Friday.
Weiner said he visited the beachfront neighbourhood in Staten Island because he wanted to bring attention to the plight of storm victims.
“One of the reasons why we’re here today is that I knew that now, you’re gonna come with me. And you should see this,” he told reporters. “There is this notion because the cameras had left, because some of the headlines changed, that the problem was solved. But for many, many people, they are still dealing with the challenge.”
Weiner said his online dalliances are a thing of the past.
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Associated Press writer Jon Gerberg contributed to this story.
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