Gillibrand appointment gets mixed reviews

Hillary’s replacement gets flack from both sides

By FRITZ MAYER

NEW YORK STATE — When Governor David Paterson selected a congressional newcomer to take over the senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton, he created a great deal of resentment from members of his own Democratic party.

Last November, Kirsten Gillibrand won her second term in Congress, representing a sprawling district that stretches from the Hudson Valley north up to Lake Placid, but bypasses population centers such as Albany and Poughkeepsie. She is seen as a centrist who will be able to fend off challenges to the seat from the right when she runs for election for the office in 2010.

Paterson, of course, fully supports the 42-year-old politician, and Senator Chuck Schumer has also voiced his support. But some of her issue positions, immigration for one, have made the appointment controversial.

Gillibrand ran for office in 2006 on a platform that opposed any path to citizenship for immigrants, and as a member of congress she supported legislation called the Save Act that would have required that all employers verify their employees’ immigration status. She also supported the building of the controversial fence along the Texas-Mexico border.

When Paterson announced his selection, Sandra Oxford, a Sullivan County-based human rights advocate, sent out an email that said, “I was shocked when I personally viewed her campaign website, which proudly posted a picture of the “wall” she was so enthusiastic about.… I am disappointed that New York will now have this type of misrepresentation in the U.S. Senate.”

Clinton, Schumer and most other congressional Democrats opposed the Save Act.

Gillibrand was also a champion of gun rights, and received a 100 percent grade from the National Rifle Association on votes regarding gun-owner rights because of her staunch opposition to gun-control laws. Now that she will be representing the entire state and not just her rural district, Gillibrand said that urban gun control would become part of her agenda.

That was not good enough for some.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a statement showing his displeasure, which said, “She has actively opposed the efforts of New York City, and cities around the state and nation, to enact common sense measures that keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals.”

The same issue has prompted Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy of Long Island, a leading gun-control advocate, to announce that she will challenge Gillibrand for the Democratic nomination for the senate seat in 2010.

But Gillibrand has taken other stands that are more progressive. For instance, she supports marriage equality for same-sex couples. She also supported the Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiation Act, which would have allowed the federal government to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices for prescriptions for Medicare patients.

On that side of the equation, Republican Congressman Peter King has said publicly that he is seriously considering a run for Gillibrand’s seat in 2010. And there are unconfirmed reports that former Governor George Pataki, now a private lawyer, is considering re-entering the political arena with a run against Gillibrand.