Danny Kedem has resigned as campaign manager for New York City mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner, whose position in the polls has slumped amid revelations that he continued sexting after resigning from Congress in disgrace in 2011.
The New York Times and Politico reported that Kedem left the struggling campaign within the last two days.
Weiner revealed Thursday he sent explicit texts to as many as 10 women, including three after he left Congress. He told reporters on the campaign trail that he is "working with people" to get help for sexually explicit texting, but that it is not an addiction.
"I don't believe that it is. The people that I am working with don't believe that it is," he said. "The point is that it's behind me. I have worked through these things.''
Kedem, 31, had helped guide Weiner's campaign to the top of the polls in the race to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Weiner has remained steadfast in his resolve to press on, but a poll released Thursday appeared to show voters' distaste for his revelations. The poll showed Weiner trailed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who had the support of 25% of Democratic primary voters compared with Weiner's 16% in the poll by NBC 4 New York, The Wall Street Journal and the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. Last month, the same poll showed Weiner leading Quinn by 5 percentage points.
Public advocate Bill de Blasio and former city comptroller William Thompson were tied at 14% each; 19% of Democratic voters were undecided.
Weiner is taking criticism from both parties. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — Weiner's Democratic leader when he was in Congress — said Thursday his behavior is "so disrespectful of women. And what's really stunning about it is, they don't even realize it. They don't have a clue.''
Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, a billionaire supermarket owner, pointed out that the mayor of New York is in charge of its school system. "No parent in this city wants someone with these problems to interact with their daughters or be an example for their sons,'' he said in a statement. Catsimatidis, de Blasio and Thompson have all said Weiner should drop out. Party primaries are Sept. 10. If no candidate wins more than 40% of the vote, a runoff will take place Oct. 1.
According to Kedem's online profile, the Duke graduate had guided John DeStefano Jr. successful re-election campaign as mayor of New Haven in 2011 and was a field organizer for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
