Kirsten Gillibrand named to New York U.S. Senate seat

In a decision that ended a monthlong political soap opera, Gov. David Paterson announced Friday that Kirsten Gillibrand, a second-term New York congresswoman, will take over the Senate seat left vacant by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

His decision came a day after Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President Kennedy, unexpectedly withdrew her bid for the spot, which Clinton gave up to become secretary of State in the Obama administration.

Gillibrand, 42, is an unfamiliar face to many residents of New York. The mother of two from a mostly rural district of upstate New York is a conservative Democrat -- a point that is expected to divide the states’ Democratic Party leaders. She has won two elections in one of the state’s most Republican districts, defeating a longtime Republican incumbent in 2006 and easily winning reelection last year.

Gillibrand is a staunch defender of the constitutional right to bear arms and has publicly recounted her experiences firing a gun at an early age. Last year, she voted against the $700-billion Wall Street bailout bill.

“I realize that for many New Yorkers, this is the first time you have heard my name and you don’t know much about me,” Gillibrand said in a news conference Friday in Albany. “Over the next two years, you will get to know me, and more importantly, I will get to know you.”

Gillibrand will take over the seat Sunday; a special election will be held for the position in November 2010. She said she hoped to follow in the footsteps of Clinton, and pledged to work for women’s rights, energy technology, agribusiness, lower healthcare costs across the state and a stimulus package that would create jobs in New York.

Gov. Paterson said that he was “95% sure” on Monday whom he would choose and that he made his decision at Tuesday’s presidential inauguration.

“I was completely sure by the time [I was] sitting there at the inauguration,” he said. “I figured, I’m freezing and I still want Kirsten Gillibrand, so she must be the right choice.”

Paterson said he waited until Friday to make the announcement because he wanted to speak first to the candidates he did not select.

He revealed in recent days that in addition to Kennedy, he had considered New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo.

Paterson said Friday that Cuomo had never asked for the job. Paterson, however, asked Cuomo to “please remain available,” in case the governor could not find someone of Cuomo’s caliber to fill the Senate seat.

Paterson had publicly said that he was struggling with the decision to fill the spot. Critics accused him of dragging the selection process on for too long and sending mixed signals.

“In retrospect, I wish I had not shown all of you the wrestling match,” he said, adding: “I was not trying to mislead anyone.”

Kennedy’s sudden retreat from the contest, announced just after midnight Wednesday over what she said were personal reasons, sparked a whirlwind of rumors and speculation that she withdrew because she could not pass a vetting process, was not personally or politically prepared for the job, or was encouraged to back out by the governor. Aides to Paterson have said that the governor would not have chosen Kennedy in any case.

New York political analyst Joseph Mercurio said he questioned why the governor chose a conservative Democrat as a senator for a liberal state.

“It’s a good thing to consider appointing a woman,” he said. “But it’s a little odd to appoint someone who’s been voting against downstate’s interests and issues.

“She’s supported by NRA,” Mercurio added, referring to the National Rifle Assn. “She’s a Blue Dog Democrat,” a reference to the coalition of moderate and conservative Democrats in the House.

Paterson said Friday that his decision was not based on gender, race or geographic location. Gillibrand “has fought for responsible policies every step of the way -- middle-class tax cuts, quality and affordable healthcare, economic security for families and assistance for family farms,” Paterson said, adding that she was the lead sponsor of legislation that would implement the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

Gillibrand, who stepped away from the lectern to take a congratulatory call from President Obama during the news conference, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and earned a law degree at UCLA in 1991. She served as an aide in the Housing and Urban Development Department during the Clinton administration. She is the daughter of prominent Albany lawyer and lobbyist Douglas Rutnik.

“She is dynamic, she is articulate, she is perceptive, she is courageous, she is outspoken,” said Paterson, who noted that he wanted to bring someone in that would fight for more aid in a federal stimulus package for New York.

“I am proud to say that we have found an extraordinary New Yorker to follow in the mold of Hillary Clinton,” Paterson said.

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erika.haya saki@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Kirsten Gillibrand

Age: 42

Education: B.A., Dartmouth, 1988; law degree from UCLA, 1991.

Experience: Law clerk with the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals; special counsel to then-U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo; associate with the Davis Polk & Wardwell law firm; partner with the Boies, Schiller & Flexner law firm; member of U.S. House, 2007-2009.

Family: Husband, Jonathan; two sons.

Quote: “I will look for ways to find common ground between upstate and downstate. There are so many issues where we can come together, whether you’re talking about making sure we preserve our watersheds and our clean water, but also preserve our opportunities for economic development; where we can reduce gun violence and protect our children and keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but also protect our hunters’ rights.” -- Jan. 23, 2009.

Source: Associated Press