(Thursday, June 16, 2011) Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned from office today in 9th Congressional District, a seat he has held since 1999. However the Weiner speech was anything but normal. It sounded more like a political concession speech until hecklers started shouting at him several times even calling him a “pervert.” The speech was a fitting end to the circus-like atmosphere that had surrounded the embattled congressman.
In the end Weiner was not able to withstand the enormous pressure from his party leaders, media and constituents who were pressuring him to resign over the sexting scandal which has dominated the media and national politics for the past three weeks.
The Juniper Park Civic Association, which had organized a rally last Sunday to demand Weiner’s resignation, believes that now, without the distractions, congress can finally get back to their regular business of dealing with a slumping economy.
“The Weiner scandal has weakened the district considerably and further eroded voter confidence in their elected officials – which was already at an all-time low considering all of the recent political scandals in Queens,” said Robert Holden, president of the JPCA. With congressional redistricting about to start for the 2012 elections, the scandal could not have come at a worse time. New York is to lose a congressional seat and when Weinergate began the easy choice would be to eliminate his seat.
The Juniper Park Civic Association urges Governor Cuomo to move quickly on announcing the date of the special election to fill the vacated 9th congressional district seat.