New York City Mayoral Candidate Christine Quinn, the current City Council Speaker, is arguably best poised to benefit from Anthony Weiner’s disclosure this week that he continued to send lewd messages to women over social media after resigning from office two years ago.
Since Weiner’s admission during a Tuesday press conference, his support among New York City Democrats has plummeted. Sixteen percent of New York registered Democrats favor Weiner in new polling. That’s down from 25% in June. Quinn has gained 5% in the polls since June, sliding from a slight trail at 20% to the lead with 25%.
“All we’ve seen from former Congressman Weiner is a pattern of reckless behavior, a lack of responsibility and maturity, difficulty with the truth and he’s brought really a circus to what should be a discussion about the future of middle class New Yorkers,” Quinn said during a Friday appearance on Andrea Mitchell Reports.
Asked whether Weiner should withdraw from the race, Quinn deferred to voters.
“I said when he was deciding whether or not to get into the race, this was a decision for him to make, and now I think the voters are saying, it is a decision for them to make about who the next mayor is,” Quinn told Mitchell. “One thing I know, this is the greatest city in the world and it deserves a mayor who is serious, has a real record, has a vision for the future, someone who is responsible and mature.”
Quinn also spoke out about New York City’s controversial “stop and frisk” policy. Mayor Mike Bloomberg vetoed two bills this week that aimed to rein in the policy, which Quinn argued has become ineffective in its sprawling use.
“I would not get rid of stop and frisk, but I think it has been tremendously, tremendously overused,” Quinn told Mitchell. “When you overuse it, what ends up happening at its peak, you stop 700,000 New Yorkers. Over 95% of those stops led to no arrests, no seizures of weapon or contraband. So it is tremendous intrusion in innocent people’s lives. That creates a real rift between police and communities in this city and that’s a danger.”
