After much drama and anticipation, Governor David Paterson has appointed Kirsten Gillibrand to the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton when she was confirmed as Secretary of State in the Obama administration.
Who is Kirsten Gillibrand
A Democrat elected to the House of Representatives in 2006 and re-elected in 2008 to represent the heavily Republican 20th Congressional District in upstate NY, Gillibrand needed to appeal to both parties.
Gillibrand serves on the Seapower subcommittee and the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats, and Capabilities subcommitte of the house Armed Services Committee. She also founded the Congressional High Tech Caucus with Texas Republican Congressman McCaul to ensure the country stays at the cutting edge of the high tech industry.
In order to be completely transparent to her constituents, she established the “Sunshine Report” on her official website which lists all of her meetings and appointments on a daily basis, and also posts her “earmark request” and her personal financial report.
Gillibrand was raised in an upstate New York politically active family, her mother is a lawyer, and her father was an adviser to former governor Pataki and is a lobbyist in Albany. She is the granddaughter of Dorothea "Polly" Noonan who founded the first Women’s Democratic Club in the upstate area of NY.
In her early 40s, Gillibrand is married, and the mother of two young sons. She has an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth and a law degree from UCLA, worked for a major law firm in NYC after being a clerk for a federal appeals court judge and special counsel in Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Andrew Cuomo.
While working at the law firm she did pro bono work for abused women and their children and also for tenants who sought affordable housing free of the hazards of lead paint.
Where Does Gillibrand Stand on the 2nd Amendment
Gillibrand states on her official website that she supports the 2nd Amendment right to own arms which she attributes to having been raised in a hunting family and owning a gun herself. She supports lawful citizens’ right to have guns through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Where Does Gillibrand Stand on Immigration
She also states on her official website that it is her belief that the system for immigration is “broken” and the “first step to fixing our immigration system is to stop the flow of illegal immigration.” She proposes to stop the flow by making the Southern border secure and enforcing current laws on employment. She also is opposed to amnesty for immigrants who are illegally in the country.
What Happens to Gillibrand’s Vacant Congressional Seat
Republicans in New York will be throwing in their hats in anticipation of a special election to be held to fill the seat that will now be vacant in the House of Representatives by Gillibrand’s Senate appointment. It will be interesting to see if another Democrat will be able to win in the heavily Republican 20th Congressional District that Gillibrand represented.
Sources:
Official Congressional Website of Representative Kirsten Gillibrand
Hernandez, Raymond. “Frenetic Start in Congress for One Democrat, Class of ‘06”. New York Times [New York, February 20, 2007]
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