Commissioners vote to censure Wiener

KRQE TV

Updated: May 9, 2012 8:58 AM

Albuquerque, N.M. (KRQE) — Just two weeks after photos surfaced of him in a red light district in the Philippines, Michael Wiener's fellow commissioners voted to censure him.

Before the vote, several people voiced their outrage, many even handing out stickers that said "No more Wiener."

Commissioners then listened to people on both sides of the issue address the commission.

"Commissioner Wiener was on vacation in the Philippines and to the best of my understanding, nothing he did was illegal or immoral. Commissioner Wiener is not married and if his fiance doesn't object to his being in the photo, who are we to object," a supporter said.

But there were many people who asked Wiener to step down.

"Commissioner Wiener on their own, the recent photos of you abroad are not news. Our issue is how you speak to, speak about and represent our women and families," a woman told the commission.

And it was photographs that landed Wiener in hot water.

He posed for the pictures in front of a brothel in a red light district in the Philippines. He insists he was just sight-seeing during a lay-over while visiting his fiance and daughter who live in the Philippines.

In the end, the commission voted to censure Wiener by a vote of three to zero saying he has a pattern of inappropriate behavior.  Commissioners Wiener and Wayne Johnson recused themselves from the vote to give Wiener a symbolic slap on the wrist.

Wiener tells KRQE News 13 he has no plans to step down and is running for re-election.

He will face off with Republican Lonnie Talbert in the primary in less than 30 days.
 

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