NY’s Weiner back on Twitter

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, once a rising star in the Democratic party, has returned to the forum that led to his political downfall in 2011, launching a new Twitter account.

Weiner, who is married, resigned from Congress after tweeting a lewd picture of himself and lying about his account being hacked. He later admitted trading inappropriate messages with several women.

Weiner’s first post Monday was decidedly not racy: a link to a 20-page policy statement outlining “64 Ideas to keep New York City the Capital of the Middle Class.”

By mid-afternoon, there were about 2,600 people following (at)anthonyweiner.

Weiner’s name has emerged this month in a large field of potential candidates for New York City mayor.

An NBC New York-Marist Poll last week showed about half the Democrats surveyed wouldn’t even consider voting for him because of the sexting scandal. But it also showed he’d get 15 percent of the vote in a potential Democratic primary, topped only by the current front-runner, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Weiner, who ran for mayor in 2005 and considered it in 2009, said this month in the New York Times Magazine that he might join the race to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The “Keys to the City” document with his policy positions touched on a range of issues facing the biggest US city.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press