Anthony D. Weiner

Infobox_Congressman
name = Anthony Weiner


date of birth = birth date and age|1964|09|04
place of birth = New York City, New York
spouse= single
occupation= political assistant
alma_mater= State University of New York at Plattsburgh
residence= Queens, New York City, New York
state = New York
district = 9th
term_start = January 6, 1999
preceded = Charles Schumer
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Democrat
religion = Jewish

Anthony David Weiner (pron-en|ˈwiːnɚ "weener"; born September 4, 1964) is a Democratic politician from New York. He represents New York's 9th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. It includes parts of south Brooklyn and south central Queens. In Queens, the 9th including the neighborhoods of Forest Hills, Maspeth Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Howard Beach, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Middle Village, Ozone Park, Rego Park, Rockaway Beach, Belle Harbor ,and Woodhaven. Its Brooklyn section includes Flatlands, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Midwood, Mill Basin and Sheepshead Bay.

Early life

Weiner was born in Brooklyn, New York City to Morton "Mort" Weiner and Frances "Fran" Weiner. He lived for a time in the Rochdale Village, a large cooperative apartment complex that was dedicated by President Kennedy. 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. Weiner was roommates with the Comedy Central program "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart after college and the sole documented recipient of political campaign contributions from the comedian. [cite web | title = Jon Stewart Federal Campaign Contributions Report | work = Newsmeat | date = 2006-08-14 | url = http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Jon_Stewart.php | accessdate = 2006-08-18 ] Weiner then worked on the staff of then-Congressman and current Senator 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). [ [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/NY/ofc/usrep.html Political graveyard] ]

Weiner lives in Forest Hills, but is listed on the House roll as "D-Brooklyn."

Congressman Weiner is known to be one of the most "intense" and demanding members of Congress, employing a bully style of management, which includes verbally abusing his staff and demanding round-the-clock devotion from his staff [David W. Chen, [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/nyregion/23weiner.html "Congressman Pushes Staff Hard, or Out the Door",] The New York Times, July 23, 2008 ]

Committee Assignments

*Energy and Commerce Committee
**Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
**Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
**Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
**Subcommittee on Health
*Judiciary Committee
**Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
**Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
**Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
**Antitrust Task Force and Competition Policy

2005 campaign for Mayor of New York City

Weiner failed in his attempt to win the Democratic nomination for New York City Mayor in 2005 against three other Democrats.

Weiner started out last in many polls, but gained ground 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 then-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. "(2005 primary election returns.)" Weiner denied rumors that various high-ranking New York Democrats such as Schumer and then-New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had urged him to concede.

2009 campaign for Mayor of New York City

Inasmuch as Ferrer lost the general election to Bloomberg, Weiner is planning a run for the 2009 mayoral race.Fact|date=September 2008

FEC Violations

The Federal Election Commission had two cases (MURs, or Matters Under Review) about Weiner. Both cases have the same name, Friends of Weiner. MUR 4995 resulted in a $47,000.00 fine ("civil penalty") against Weiner because of some financial misconduct in one of his reelection campaigns. [ [http://www.fec.gov/press/press2001/010501murs.htm For Immediate Release ] ] MUR 5429 involved an illegal $28,000.00 loan that Weiner's parents made to one of his campaign committees. [ [http://www.fec.gov/press/press2004/20040916mur.html Compliance Cases Made Public ] ]

Political Positions

Weiner received an "A" on the liberal Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues. [cite web | title = Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record | url = http://www.drummajorinstitute.com/congress/drum-major-voting-summary.php?name=Weiner&state=NY&database=house | work = Drum Major Institute | accessdate = 2006-08-18 ]

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 "Democrat"ic" Party", the party's grammatically correct name) commonly used by Republican partisans, especially during the 2006 midterm election season. Fact|date=March 2008

Abortion

Weiner in 2003 received a 100% rating from NARAL and consequently a 0% rating from NRLC. He voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act making it a crime to perform Partial Birth Abortions. [ [http://www.ontheissues.org/NY/Anthony_Weiner.htm#Abortion Anthony Weiner on the Issues ] ]

Iraq War

Weiner voted for the Iraq War in 2002, which he later said he regretted. In a conversation with talk show host Bill O'Reilly on "The O'Reilly Factor," Weiner proposed a withdrawal from Iraq. When questioned by O'Reilly about how he proposed to stop Iran from having undue influence in Iraq after an American withdrawal, Weiner suggested that US forces should go to the borders of Iran and Syria so they would prevent foreign fighters from entering Iraq while being kept out of the cross-fire of what he sees as a civil war there. Fact|date=March 2008

Fight against congestion pricing

Weiner was one of the first elected officials to oppose Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to introduce congestion pricing policy in New York City.Fact|date=June 2007 The congestion pricing plan is modeled on the London congestion charge, a fee for motorists entering Central London. The London plan is credited by some with a 17% reduction in traffic and a 35% increase in vehicle speeds in the central business district of London, although its detractors question the figures.Fact|date=June 2007

Arab-Israeli Conflict Issues

Weiner has been a critic of Columbia University's professors who have made remarks some have taken as anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic. [cite web | title = High Bias | date = 2004-11-22 | url = http://opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110005928| accessdate = 2008-01-24 ]

In May 2006, Weiner stirred controversy in his attempt to bar the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations.cite web |title=Congressmember Weiner Gets It Wrong On Palestinian Group He Tried To Bar From U.S. |work=Democracy Now! |date=2006-08-30 |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2006/8/30/congressmember_weiner_gets_it_wrong_on ] Weiner claimed that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not represent the PLO, and implied that this was because the group is listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department. However, the Palestinian Authority has not been on the terrorist organization list since 1988. Weiner further stated that the delegation "should start packing their little Palestinian terrorist bags." Weiner went on to claim that Human Rights Watch, the "New York Times", and, in particular, Amnesty International are biased against Israel.

Objection to Saudi arms deal

On July 29, 2007, Reps. Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced that they would seek to stop a $20 billion arms deal that the Bush Administration has negotiated with Saudi Arabia. The lawmakers objected to the deal because they do not want to provide "sophisticated weapons to a country that they believe has not done enough to stop terrorism," also noting that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Weiner made the announcement outside of the Saudi Arabian consulate in Washington, stating that "We need to send a crystal clear message to the Saudi Arabian government that their tacit approval of terrorism can't go unpunished." Weiner and Nadler intend to use a provision of the Arms Export Control Act to review the deal and pass a Joint Resolution of Disapproval. [Klaus Marre, [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-vow-to-stop-saudi-arabia-arms-deal-2007-07-29.html "Lawmakers vow to stop Saudi Arabia arms deal,"] "The Hill", July 29, 2007.]

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/weiner/ U.S. Congressman Anthony D. Weiner] official House site
* [http://www.anthonyweiner.com Anthony Weiner] official campaign site
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Anthony_Weiner Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia
* [http://leftinaboite.blogspot.com/2007/02/anthony-weiner-rips-republic-party.html Video of Weiner] discussing legislative priorities in Feb. '07 on the House floor