City Council candidate proposes WEINER Act to bar sex offenders from elected office

Sarah Batchu, a candidate running for term-limited New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera’s lower Manhattan seat, announced a proposal to ban registered sex offenders and people convicted of sexual harassment, abuse and rape from holding public office in the city. 

Her name for this potential future piece of legislation? The Withholding Eligibility In NYC Elections for Restricted Individuals Act – the WEINER Act. That’s a reference to the  controversial candidate also running in the Democratic primary for the Council District 2 seat: Anthony Weiner. The former Congress member filed paperwork to run in December, looking to launch a potential comeback over a decade after leaving office amid a sexting scandal. In 2017, Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison for having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl. And as he neared the end of his prison sentence in 2019, a judge ordered him to register as a level-one sex offender.

“We have 4.5 million people in New York City who are women and when we see men like this running for office, it really sends the message that our safety is expendable, our pursuit of justice is futile, and our pain is invisible,” said Batchu, a nonprofit leader and the former vice chair of Community Board 3.

If elected to the City Council, she would look to immediately introduce the legislation upon taking office in 2026. While Batchu has so far led the field in fundraising, it’s a competitive race. In addition to her and Weiner, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein and Community Board 3 Chair Andrea Gordillo also have strong campaigns. For now, Batchu is hoping to start a conversation at a time where multiple former elected officials accused of sexual misdeeds – not just Weiner – are seeking political comebacks. Many people believe the victory of President Donald Trump – who was found liable in a civil trial of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carrol – has emboldened others to try and resuscitate their political careers.

Reached for comment, Weiner texted, “No shit that my opponents don’t want me in the race when so many voters are looking for something other than more of the same.”

Batchu’s proposed law would not affect politicians like Andrew Cuomo, mayoral candidate Scott Stringer or Mayor Eric Adams, who have all been accused of sexual misconduct. All three men deny wrongdoing. None have been convicted of, or even charged with a crime. The WEINER Act would not even theoretically apply to Hiram Monserrate, a City Council candidate running for a seat in Queens, was booted from the state Senate in 2010 after he was charged with assaulting his then-girlfriend. He was later convicted of misdemeanor reckless assault, not a sex crime.

The state does not currently have a sweeping ban on individuals with criminal convictions running for public office, although some convictions – specifically those related to public corruption – can lead a candidate to being disqualified. In 2021, the New York City Council passed a law to prohibit candidates running for office if they’ve been previously convicted of certain corruption charges. Batchu’s proposal would expand those restrictions to include the conviction of sexual offenses. Enforcement would be carried out by a review commission, which would evaluate candidates' backgrounds while working with law enforcement and judicial systems to access conviction records, according to Batchu.

Voicing support for Batchu’s proposal, Queens City Council Member Julie Won said she thinks expanding the existing law to also ban sex offenders of varying degrees is the right thing to do. 

“If you have such a great redemption story, good for you, let's make a movie out of it,” Won said. “But do you really need to be in a position of power where you are going to have a higher platform where you are going to have even more opportunities to do harm in a way you’ve done before?” 

As for whether the proposal would find wider support in the City Council, Won pointed to the body’s current women-majority. “I don’t know anyone that’s looking forward to (potentially) having sex offenders in the chambers with us for votes,” she said.