Weprin Picked By Democrats To Run for Weiner’s Seat
New York Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens), has been picked by Democratic leaders to run for ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner’s seat in a special election on Sept. 13. A Republican opponent has not yet been named.
Weiner’s Ninth Congressional district includes areas of Brooklyn and Queens with large Jewish populations. High voter turnout is not expected in the special election, as no other major races will be on the ballot.
Weiner resigned last month amid a scandal involving racy photos he sent on Twitter.
Political thinkers and analysts believe state lawmakers may eliminate the seat when districts are redrawn in 2012.
Some pundits believed that would push party leaders to select an elder statesman with no ambitions to fill the seat, but Weprin is still relatively young.
Among the others who tossed their hats in the ring for the seat was former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, who served four terms in Congress.
Special election rules allow party leaders to hand pick candidates, avoiding primary votes.
Weprin spent eight years on City Council before being elected to the state assembly. He lost a bid for City Comptroller in 2009. Weprin comes from a Jewish family of politicians. His father Saul served as Assembly Speaker until his death in 1994, and his brother Mark serves in the state assembly.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30