Disgraced ex-pol Anthony Weiner heads crowded field of NYC Council candidates heading into June 24 primary

Political comeback bids by disgraced ex-Rep.Anthony Weiner and a grudge match pitting Republican rivals in southern Brooklyn highlight the 51 City Council races heading into the June 24 primary.The scandal-scarred Weiner is taking a stab at re-entering public life after being sentenced to 21 months in jail in 2017 for sexting with a minor, and he has his eyes set on replacing term-limited lefty Carlina Rivera in Manhattan’s District 2 that includes the East Village and the Lower East Side.

The 60-year-old former congressman — who was a frontrunner in the 2013 mayoral race before ultimately finishing fifth in the primary – heads a field of five Democratic candidates and admits trying to reinvent himself.“I’m trying to do a high-wire act blindfolded over a pond of angry alligators, you know?” he said.“I got my scandal.

I haven’t run in a while, and I am running as a different kind of candidate.”The once-rising Democratic star told The Post he’s “not hiding” from his past and insists most voters haven’t made it an issue on the campaign trail and that hopes his experience as an elected official will put him over the top.Still, he conceded the comeback bid won’t be easy – especially in his uber-liberal district where he’s running as a “practical common-sense Democrat in a time that the party has lost its way.”He said his competitors – which include Assemblyman Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan) and ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio aide and nonprofit leader Sarah Batchu – are too “far left,” so he’s banking on voters seeking more moderate leadership.“I consider myself a fairly progressive person, but I don’t think it’s progressive to think it’s okay to pay $2.90 to get on the subway while five people are climbing [the turnstile] behind you and don’t pay,” Weiner said.

“And I don’t think it’s a progressive value to spend a billion-and-a-half dollars on police overtime when we could be hiring more police officers.”Eps...