Rep. Anthony Weiner was expected to announce his resignation on Thursday, 20 days after he mistakenly sent a lewd photo of his groin to a Twitter follower and 20 years after he first campaigned for elected office.
The Democrat was elected to the New York City Council in 1991, and at 27 years old, was the youngest person ever elected at that time to the office. He served from 1992 to 1998, when he launched his first campaign for Congress.
Weiner succeeded then-Rep. Charles Schumer, his political mentor, to represent New York's 9th congressional district covering south and central Queens, and parts of southern Brooklyn.
He won that election by a margin of 66 percent to 23 percent, and was re-elected for every term in the district afterward.
He ran for mayor in 2005, and won enough votes to force a Democratic runoff, but stepped aside to avoid dividing the primary. The move won him respect from party leaders who said it would soon be his turn.
He was considered a front-runner for the mayoral election in 2013, and had amassed more than $5 million in campaign funds before his scandal erupted this spring.
Weiner was born in Brooklyn, attended Brooklyn Technical High School and graduated with a degree in political science in 1985 from SUNY Plattsburgh.
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He went on to work under the mentorship of then-Rep. Schumer, based first in Schumer's office in Washington, D.C., then returning to New York City to work in the Brooklyn district office.
As a city councilman, Weiner initiated programs to tackle quality of life concerns – cleaning up graffiti, developing historic Sheepshead Bay, keeping supermarket businesses in the neighborhood, according to his official biography.
As congressman, Weiner was appointed to the Judiciary Committee and was elected whip of his class.
He sat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, overseeing telecommunications, public health, air quality and environmental protection, the nation’s energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce.
He also served on the Judiciary Committee and as a part of the Democratic leadership team.
