Anthony Weiner officially announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City on Wednesday:
The improbable campaign that Mr. Weiner, a Democrat, unveiled on Wednesday hinges on his image as a shunned outsider whose political solitude has unburdened him from coddling New York’s powerful special interests and freed him to speak uncomfortable truths, according to those close to him.
A scrappy political street fighter, never known for forging alliances or sharing the limelight, Mr. Weiner said in an interview that “to some degree, this is my most natural footing.”
Of the endorsements that his rivals are collecting like trophies this year, he said, “I’ve never really structured a campaign that way.”
Instead, after a self-imposed two-year exile, the 48-year-old former congressman will initiate a series of neighborly public outings intended to showcase him interacting with ordinary New Yorkers and send a clear message: The scandal has passed, and a tough city is prepared to hear him out. That process is expected to start on Thursday, when Mr. Weiner visits a subway station in Harlem.
“There may be, or are, many New Yorkers who would never vote for me,” he said. “Even those New Yorkers, I want to have a conversation with.”
