Kirsten Gillibrand

Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator from New York
Incumbent
Assumed office January 26, 2009 Serving with Chuck Schumer
Preceded by	Hillary Rodham Clinton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 20th district
In office January 4, 2007 – January 26, 2009
Preceded by	John E. Sweeney
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jonathan Gillibrand
Children	Theodore Gillibrand Henry Nelson Gillibrand
Residence	Hudson, New York
Alma mater	Dartmouth College (B.A.) UCLA (J.D.)
Occupation	Politician, Attorney

Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand (Template:Pron-en; born December 9, 1966) is the junior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. She was elected twice to the United States House of Representatives, representing New York's 20th congressional district from January 3, 2007 to January 26, 2009. She was the first female representative of the district and the first Democrat to represent the district since Edward W. Pattison left office in 1979. She was also a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during her tenure in the House.

On January 23, 2009, Gillibrand was appointed by Governor David Paterson to fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who assumed the office of United States Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Gillibrand is widely considered to be a centrist Democrat, appealing to Republican and conservative Democratic voters in upstate New York. At 42, Gillibrand is the youngest member of the U.S. Senate. She is the second female U.S. Senator from New York.

Early years and education

Born into a politically connected family, Kirsten Rutnik was born and raised in Albany, New York. Her parents are Douglas P. Rutnik, a Republican lobbyist and former attorney with the public defender's office, and Polly Noonan Rutnik, also an attorney; they are divorced. Gillibrand's maternal grandmother, Dorothea "Polly" Noonan (1915-2003), was a women's rights activist who founded the Albany Democratic Women's Club and was a confidant of Mayor Erastus Corning. "As a 10-year-old girl," Gillibrand later said, "I would listen to my grandmother discuss issues and she made a lasting impression on me."

After attending Albany's Academy of the Holy Names, she graduated in 1984 from Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, the first all-women's high school in the United States. While at Emma Willard, Gillibrand was the number one singles tennis player, she managed the school newspaper and served as a student council representative and yearbook photographer. She was inducted into the Cum Laude Society, the school’s highest academic distinction.

Known at Dartmouth College as Tina Rutnik, she majored in Asian studies and graduated magna cum laude. She received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the UCLA School of Law in 1991. She interned for Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) during college, and served as a law clerk on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Roger Miner.

Legal career

During the Clinton administration, Gillibrand served as Special Counsel to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Andrew Cuomo. She worked on HUD's Labor Initiative and its New Markets Initiative, on strengthening Davis-Bacon Act enforcement, and on drafting new markets legislation for public and private investment in building infrastructure in lower income areas.

As an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner, Gillibrand worked on a wide range of legal and policy-related issues. She handled many pro bono cases, including abused women and their children, and tenants seeking safe housing after lead paint and unsafe conditions were found in their homes.

During her employment at the firm, she represented Philip Morris (now Altria) from 1995 to 1999, during major litigation including defense of civil lawsuits and FBI criminal probes. Her campaign finance records show that she had received $23,200 in contributions from some of the company's employees. When it became an issue during the 2006 elections, Gillibrand freely discussed her Philip Morris work with the Albany Times-Union, stating that she had voted in favor of all three anti-tobacco bills in that session of Congress, that she did not try to hide her work for Philip Morris and had spoken about it before to other reporters. She stated that most of her work consisted of assisting the company in assembling documents in response to subpoenas, and that as an associate she had no control over which clients she worked for.

She was the Chair of the Women's Leadership Forum Network and was on the Boards of the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee and the Commission on Greenway Heritage Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley. She also served on the Advisory Board for the Brennan Center for Justice.

Political career

U.S. House of Representatives

In 2006, Gillibrand defeated four-term Republican incumbent, John E. Sweeney, in New York's 20th congressional district election by a margin of 53%-47%. She co-founded the Congressional High Tech Caucus with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) at the beginning of the 110th Congress. She voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 both times it came before the House.

File:GILLIBRAND SENATE.jpg

Gillibrand prepares to question former Vice President Al Gore on climate change as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Gillibrand won her bid for re-election in 2008 and enjoyed a sophomore surge, defeating challenger Alexander "Sandy" Treadwell 62%-38%. During the campaign, she was criticized for hosting fundraisers in London, England, and Paris, France. While the fundraisers were legal and contributions only came from American citizens living abroad, some critics claimed that her actions were hypocritical since during her first campaign, she had criticized Sweeney for hosting an out-of-state fundraiser for the 2006 election.

Media reports of her relationship with colleagues in the New York congressional delegation have been contradictory. During the spectacle surrounding Gillibrand's eventual appointment to the United States Senate in January 2009, progressive commentators like Politico's Glenn Thrush and New York Times editorialist (and Caroline Kennedy proponent) Maureen Dowd claimed that Gillibrand was "unpopular" and was known within her delegation by the unflattering nickname "Tracy Flick", after the Reese Witherspoon character from the movie Election. However, other reports suggest that while her popularity is limited geographically within her state—the majority of congressional districts in New York are concentrated "down-state", in the highly populated New York metropolitan area—Gillibrand enjoys good relationships with fellow delegates from the slightly more conservative, mostly rural and suburban "up-state" region from which she hails.

During her tenure in the House, she would travel the Washington Metro with her son Theodore and drop him off at the congressional day care center before proceeding to work. She has also posted her daily schedules and financial disclosure forms on her website.

As a result of her appointment to the U.S. Senate, Gillibrand's Congressional seat will be filled in a special election to be called by Governor Paterson.

U.S. Senate

On December 1, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced his choice of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the junior U.S. Senator from New York, as United States Secretary of State. Clinton's nomination was confirmed by the Senate and she resigned her Senate seat on January 21, 2009, creating a vacancy in the Senate to be filled by appointment by Governor David Paterson until a special election in 2010 for the balance of Clinton's term, which ends in 2012. Gillibrand had been rumored by the media as one of several people, including Caroline Kennedy and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, to be under consideration as Clinton's replacement. On January 23, Paterson announced his selection of Gillibrand as the junior Senator from New York. In attendance were Al D'Amato, in whose office she interned and who is one of only three living former Senators from New York (along with Clinton and James L. Buckley ), and other New York State officials and some members of the New York Congressional delegation. Gillibrand officially took office on January 27, taking the oath of office from Vice President Joe Biden.

The choice of Gillibrand was met with both praise and criticism. New York Democratic Representative Carolyn McCarthy, a vocal supporter of gun control who is reportedly considering challenging Gillibrand in the 2010 primary because of this issue, expressed strong objections to the appointment of anyone with a 100% positive rating from the NRA. Senator Chuck Schumer, also a strong gun control advocate, supported the appointment and urged McCarthy to give Gillibrand a chance. The New York Immigration Coalition also objected to the appointment based upon Gillibrand's views on immigration reform. President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid all expressed their support for the appointment. A Quinnipiac Poll in January 2009 showed that most New Yorkers polled expressed approval of Gillibrand's appointment to the Senate. However a Siena poll coming out at the same time showed mixed results.

Gillibrand is viewed by some as a rising star in the Democratic Party with a bright political future, as alluded to by Governor Paterson in his appointment of her to fill Clinton's seat. In May 2008, she was mentioned by The New York Times as one of several new Representatives who as potential governors could become the first female President of the United States. Friends have also commented that Gillibrand may eventually rise to the presidency.

Committee assignments

Following her swearing in, Gillibrand was assigned to the following Senate committees:

• Special Committee on Aging
• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
• Committee on Foreign Relations

Electoral history

2006 campaign

Main article: New York 20th congressional district election, 2006

Gillibrand ran in New York's 20th Congressional District against four-term Republican incumbent John E. Sweeney. The suburban and rural district was among the more Republican in the Northeast. Sweeney had a politically conservative/libertarian stance, and had not faced a serious opponent for election in any of his previous House races. Gillibrand won the election by a 6% margin over Sweeney.

2008 campaign

Main article: New York's 20th congressional district election, 2008

Gillibrand ran for re-election in November 2008, defeating challenger Sandy Treadwell (R) to keep her seat.

Results table

As New York election law allows fusion voting, Gillibrand ran under the aegis of both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party in her two elections to the House. The pooled vote totals for candidates are listed first, and the split of the votes among the parties they ran as is listed beneath.

New York's 20th congressional district: Results 2006–2008

Year		Democrat		Votes	Pct		Republican		Votes	Pct
2006		Kirsten E. Gillibrand		125,168	53%		John E. Sweeney		110,554	47%	*
			Democratic	116,416				Republican	94,093
			Working Families	8,752				Conservative	9,869
								Independence	6,592
2008		Kirsten E. Gillibrand		193,651	62%		Sandy Treadwell		118,031	38%	*
			Democratic	178,996				Republican	99,930
			Working Families	14,655				Conservative	10,077
								Independence	8,024

* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2006, there were 14,579 blank, void, and write-in ballots (6%). In 2008, the figures were separated, and there were 22,973 blank ballots, 26 void ballots, and 35 write-in votes (8%).

Political views

Considered a centrist or even conservative Democrat, Gillibrand was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during her tenure in the House of Representatives. She has received an 8% rating from the American Conservative Union, 70% from Americans for Democratic Action, and 90% from the American Civil Liberties Union. OnTheIssues.org rates Gillibrand as a "Populist-Leaning Liberal."

Gillibrand supports abortion rights, stem cell research, and the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act. She also opposes attempts to partially privatize Social Security.

Gun rights

Gillibrand is an outspoken advocate of gun rights. She has received a 100% positive rating from the National Rifle Association. In the House of Representatives, she sponsored an amendment to the 2008 Farm Bill that would expand public lands for hunting. Gillibrand has also worked to strengthen the NRA-endorsed National Instant Criminal Background Check System Improvement Act to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

While addressing a rally hosted by the Reverend Al Sharpton in Harlem the day after being named to fill Hillary Rodham Clinton's vacant Senate seat, Gillibrand admitted that "there might well be" differences between the NRA platform and perceived needs for gun control in inner-city neighborhoods and suggested that she would be flexible in addressing those discrepancies, putting her new constituents above allegiance to the gun lobby. She has continued to describe herself as an advocate of gun rights, saying two days later, "I very much believe in protecting hunters' rights, and I've always believed in protecting hunters' rights," but maintaining that "there's enormous space for common ground" between her advocacy of gun rights and liberal Democrats' desire to curb gun crime through controlling firearm sales and ownership.

Immigration

Gillibrand firmly opposes granting amnesty and non-emergency taxpayer benefits to illegal immigrants. She also opposes giving federal contracts to employers who have hired illegal immigrants and supports increasing the number of border patrol agents.

Breaking with former Governor Eliot Spitzer on the issue of illegal immigration, she opposed his plan to issue New York State drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. She has also criticized the H-2A Visa system, proposing that farmers be supplied with “legal workers when they cannot find Americans to fill their labor needs.”

Gillibrand believes in making English the official language of the United States.

Gillibrand now opposes deporting illegal immigrants and cutting off funds to sanctuary cities. She still, however, opposes giving driver's licences to illegal immigrants. She supports an earned path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. [1]

LGBT issues

Gillibrand was originally only in favor of legalizing civil unions across the country, once stating, “All [the] things that we give to married couples, committed gay couples should be eligible for. And then the question of whether you call it a marriage or not, what you label it, that can be left to the states to decide.” In 2007, Gillibrand received an 80 out of 100 rating from the LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign—the lowest score out of New York’s Democratic representatives. She declined to cosponsor legislation repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. She voted against legislation to grant same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents the same immigration status of married couples, and opposed legislation to permit state Medicaid programs to cover low-income, HIV-positive Americans before they develop AIDS. However, on the morning of her appointment to the Senate, she called the Empire State Pride Agenda to express her full support for same-sex marriage. According to the ESPA, as a member of the Senate, Gillibrand will also support a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Taxes

Gillibrand supports extending the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. She opposes the No Child Left Behind Act, because she believes it "places an unmanageable strain on country and school budgets." She supports doubling the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and eliminating or permanently fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Economic crisis measures

During the economic crisis in 2008, Gillibrand opposed the Bush administration's corporate rescue plans with her vote in the House of Representatives, calling them "fundamentally flawed". However, she did vote for the automobile industry bailout in December 2008, and voted for the $850 billion stimulus plan backed by the Obama administration, although political opponent Carolyn McCarthy, who represents New York's 4th congressional district in the House, claimed that Gillibrand opposed it, incorrectly stating that the senator-designate had already voted against the bill.

At a press conference on January 25, 2009, Gillibrand said that during her first week in the Senate, she would work to ensure that the stimulus bill included relief funds for New York state. However, Gillibrand was not among the group of centrist senators led by Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska that worked on revising and paring down the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in early February 2009, instead opting to urge the bill's swift passage.

Personal life

Gillibrand lives in Hudson, a small city 35 miles (56 km) south of Albany. She splits her time between Hudson and Washington, D.C., with her husband, British national and venture capital consultant Jonathan Gillibrand, and their two sons. Their older child, Theodore, was born in 2004. On May 15, 2008, Gillibrand gave birth to her second child, Henry Nelson Gillibrand, making her the sixth woman to have a child while serving as a member of Congress. Her House colleagues gave her a standing ovation for working until the day she gave birth.

External links

• United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Official U.S. Senate site
• Gillibrand for Senate official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Campaign contributions made by Kirsten Gillibrand
• Kirsten Gillibrand at Curlie

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