Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to Fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Senate Seat

Source: NY Daily News

New York Governor David Paterson has chosen Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, a second-term congresswoman from upstate NY to fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Senate seat after the hot mess that ensued from Carolyn Kennedy abruptly withdrew her name from consideration. Gov. Paterson and his aides created more drama about Carolyn Kennedy's withdrawal and that was terrible. They knee-capped her in a major way, which I suspect will come back to bite the governor if he decides to seek re-election.

The 42-year-old Hudson Valley Democrat will reportedly be named by the governor at an announcement Friday in Albany. Gillibrand was considered one of the top three or four contenders in Paterson's secretive selection process, where the front-runners were considered to be Kennedy and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Of course, Ms. Gillibrand did not escape the wrath of the other contenders, led by more senior politicians, including Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who criticized her support of more conservative issues such as gun ownership rights was out of step with most New York Democrats.

Gillibrand is a proven vote getter in an eastern New York district that sprawls from the mid-Hudson Valley to north of Albany. She defeated a long-term Republican incumbent in 2006 and won re-election last year by a wide margin.

Gillibrand is married with a son and worked as a lawyer before challenging Republican John Sweeney in 2006 to represent New York's 20th District. Her upset win came after a police report was leaked shortly before the election that showed Sweeney's wife had called 911 in what appeared to be a domestic violence incident. Gillibrand is considered one of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, a stance that reflects her largely rural district. She voted last year against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill.

Gillibrand graduated from Dartmouth College in 1988 and earned a law degree at UCLA in 1991. She is the daughter of Albany lobbyist Douglas Rutnik. Source: NY Daily News

Okay, so there we have it--Senator Gillibrand. This drama with Carolyn Kennedy has come to a much-needed end. I hope Gov. Paterson realizes that his poor handling of this process will come back to haunt him should he have ambitions to run for re-election.