Flanked By Parents, Weiner Formally Announces Mayoral Candidacy
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/image.../85/168806.jpg
August 03, 2005
Surrounded by his parents and standing in front of his boyhood home, Congressman Anthony Weiner formally announced his candidacy for mayor Wednesday morning.
Weiner, who has represented Brooklyn and Queens since 1999, made the announcement from the Park Slope neighborhood where he grew up.
Although all four Democratic candidates have been campaigning for some time, Weiner is the first candidate in the race for mayor to hold a rally announcing his candidacy.
"This campaign is not just about voting for me because I'm not the other guy," he said. "This campaign isn't going to be about voting for me just because I'm a Democrat, as proud a Democrat as I am. This campaign has to be about the forward-looking ideas that are going to lead this city into the next generation."
Weiner made the announcment flanked by his mother and father, whom he thanked for their ongoing support.
The former city councilmember was elected to Congress in 1999, taking the seat vacated by Charles Schumer when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Recent poll numbers show Weiner trailing Democrats C. Virginia Fields and Gifford Miller as well as Democratic front-runner Fernando Ferrer – who is himself trailing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Ferrer is hoping to boost his campaign by launching a TV ad campaign Wednesday on several New York City cable stations, including NY1.
With just a month to go before the primary, the remaining Democratic hopefuls spent Tuesday continuing to woo voters.
Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields spoke at the Rotary Club of New York Luncheon in Midtown Manhattan, while City Council Speaker Gifford Miller visited a senior center in Brooklyn's Midwood section.
Miller and his wife greeted voters and handed out campaign flyers in the neighborhood
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.js ... &aid=52520
