NEW YORK governor David Patterson has chosen little-known congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton’s vacant Senate seat, ending a selection process fraught with controversy and recrimination.
The announcement came a day after Caroline Kennedy withdrew her name from consideration, and her aides accused the governor’s office of engaging in “mudslinging” over the appointment.
Mr Patterson said that Ms Gillibrand (42), who represents an eastern, rural part of the state, was the best person to represent New Yorkers in the Senate following Mrs Clinton’s appointment as secretary of state.
“She is dynamic, she is articulate, she is perceptive, she is courageous, she is outspoken,” he said.
Ms Gillibrand is on the conservative wing of the Democratic Party, with a 100 per cent approval rating from the National Rifle Association.
A married mother of two young children, she entered Congress in 2006 when she defeated a four-term Republican incumbent who accused her during the campaign of being behind a report that the police had been called to his home during a domestic dispute.
“I realise that for many New Yorkers this is the first time you’ve heard my name, and you don’t know much about me,” Ms Gillibrand said yesterday. “Over these next two years, you will get to know me, but much more importantly, I will get to know you.”
Yesterday’s announcement followed two days of extraordinary drama during which Ms Kennedy withdrew from the race to succeed Mrs Clinton, citing “personal reasons”. Mr Patterson had been widely expected to choose Ms Kennedy, who had the tacit support of President Barack Obama, but following her withdrawal, sources close to the governor claimed she was never seriously in the running.
The sources pointed to alleged irregularities over tax affairs and the employment of a nanny and hinted at problems in Ms Kennedy’s marriage. Ms Kennedy’s spokesman, Stefan Friedman, denounced the “mudslinging” which, he said, demeaned the selection process.
Ms Kennedy withdrew “for personal reasons”, Mr Friedman said. “Any statements to the contrary are false.”
