

Former congressman Anthony Weiner Kevin Hagen for The Wall Street Journal


As Mr. Weiner considers a bid for mayor of New York, his congressional career—abruptly cut short by a sexting scandal in the spring of 2011—provides a window into how the Democrat might govern.

In Washington, Mr. Weiner focused on local issues that won favor in his Brooklyn and Queens district and a few high-profile national causes that generated television bookings and headlines. But he showed little appetite for the behind-the-scenes deal-making that produces significant legislation.

Rep. Peter King, a Long Island Republican who worked with, and sometimes sparred with, Mr. Weiner in Washington, said he and fellow Congress members sensed that Mr. Weiner attended legislative meetings "to come out of it with one line for television."

"It was certainly felt for the last few years that he was in Congress that he wanted to be mayor and was certainly more focused on that," said Mr. King, who on Tuesday endorsed Republican Joe Lhota for mayor.

Mr. Weiner defended his approach in Congress, saying he fought hard for his district and his beliefs. For instance, his office said in 2007 he had steered more than $70 million for renovations and repairs at Gateway park through earmarks and lobbying federal agencies.

"Some people have military installations in their district," Mr. Weiner said in an interview. "I had that national park that most people never knew existed, and we invested an enormous amount and drew a lot of attention."

As a congressman, Mr. Weiner was perhaps best known nationally for his fiery speeches on the House floor and his advocacy for liberal issues such as a single-payer health-care system. He also placed a heavy emphasis on constituent service, stopping by the meetings of community groups such as the Gerritsen Beach Property Owners Association and talking about issues as local as installing traffic lights.

"He was everywhere. He was on the ground all the time," said Frank Galluscio, the district manager of the Queens community board that covers Forest Hills and Rego Park. "He would have these town hall meetings, literally, they seemed like there was one right after the other."


The strategy helped Mr. Weiner win re-election by healthy margins in a district with conservative leanings and gave him a history of working on New York City issues as he looked toward running for mayor. Mr. Weiner came in second in the Democratic primary in 2005 and considered running in 2009 before stepping aside.

The approach also kept Mr. Weiner from having a significant impact on legislation. His record of sponsoring one piece of legislation that was signed into law is similar to that of many of his former colleagues, but it pales in comparison to that of some lawmakers, such as Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Upper East Side Democrat who sponsored eight successful bills during the period Mr. Weiner was in office.

Mr. Weiner said it was unfair to judge his legislative productivity with such comparisons, saying it didn't account for amendments he attached to legislation sponsored by others.

"The problem with doing numeric things is that they're deceptive," Mr. Weiner said.

Mr. Weiner declined to discuss what he would highlight in a mayoral bid. "You'll just have to wait for that, won't you?" he said. "What I'll highlight in a campaign that I haven't announced yet? You'll report it when it happens, won't you?"

In an interview about his congressional record, Mr. Weiner cited a bill passed in 2000 aimed at eliminating the U.S. Justice Department's backlog in DNA testing that helps solve crimes. He wrote his own version, but the one that passed was sponsored by the then-chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's crime subcommittee, Rep. Bill McCollum, a Florida Republican. Mr. Weiner was a co-sponsor.

The anti-cigarette smuggling bill Mr. Weiner sponsored was aimed at preventing online cigarette vendors from selling to people who weren't paying local taxes or were underage. It passed with overwhelming majorities. Mr. Weiner said he was drawn to the issue because it resulted in lost revenue for the city, which has some of the nation's highest cigarette taxes.

Asked about what his former colleague brought to the delegation, Rep. Jose Serrano, a Bronx Democrat who has endorsed former city Comptroller William Thompson, cited his outspokenness.

"He would be very forceful in all his arguments," Mr. Serrano said. "I think he was [effective]."

Mr. Weiner gained acclaim and criticism for his work on arguably the most high-profile New York priority in recent years, a bill to fund health care and compensation for people who were near the Sept. 11, 2001, crash sites after the attacks and got sick later.

As the legislation took shape, Mr. Weiner was largely absent from meetings with outside groups that held a stake in the legislation, people involved said.

"It was going on for years," Mr. King said. "I never remember seeing Anthony at any of those meetings."

Then, in the summer of 2010, Mr. Weiner took the stage in dramatic fashion. After the bill was brought up under a procedure that required a two-thirds majority for passage and failed, Mr. Weiner gave a loud, animated speech haranguing Mr. King and his Republican colleagues, most of whom voted no.

The clip rocketed around the Internet. "I think that I spoke for a lot of Americans when I said what I did," he said.

Republicans said the speech made it harder to win GOP votes in the House, where advocates wanted to run up the score to send a message to the Senate.

"It was completely uncalled for," said Rep. Steve LaTourette, an Ohio Republican who said he was thinking of voting for the bill until Mr. Weiner's speech. He voted against it, but the bill eventually passed. Mr. King "was doing everything in his power to get this thing done and for (Mr. Weiner) to get in his face and just be disrespectful, it was enough to put me over the edge."

Mr. Weiner said the speech made the issue "more national in scope" and helped it pass—a sentiment backed by John Feal, a construction worker who was one of the leading advocates of the health-care bill.

"If you're there for us fighting at the end, we're there for you," Mr. Feal said. "I know Anthony Weiner as the man from Washington, D.C., who helped us."

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