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Kirsten Gillibrand

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Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator-elect
from New York
Assuming office
January 25, 2009
SucceedingHillary Rodham Clinton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2007
Preceded byJohn E. Sweeney
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJonathan Gillibrand
ChildrenTheodore Gillibrand
Henry Nelson Gillibrand
ResidenceGreenport, Columbia County, New York
Alma materDartmouth College B.A.
UCLA (J.D.)
OccupationPolitician, Attorney

Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand (born December 9, 1966) is an American politician and Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New York's 20th congressional district since 2007. She is the first female representative of the district and the first Democrat to represent the district since Edward W. Pattison left office in 1979. On January 23, 2009, Gillibrand was appointed by Governor David Paterson to fill the seat in the United States Senate vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who assumed the office of United States Secretary of State in the Obama administration. At 42, Gillibrand will be the youngest member of the U.S. Senate.

Early years

Born into a politically connected family, Kirsten Rutnik was born and raised in Albany, New York; her parents are Douglas P. Rutnik, an attorney with the public defender's office, and Polly Noonan Rutnik, also an attorney.[1]

After attending Albany's Academy of the Holy Names, she graduated in 1984 from Emma Willard School in Troy, New York,[2] the first all-women's high school in the United States.

Majoring in Asian studies, she graduated from Dartmouth College magna cum laude.[2] She received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the UCLA School of Law in 1991.[2] She served as a law clerk on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Personal

She splits her time between the Columbia County town of Greenport, and Washington, D.C., with her husband, Jonathan Gillibrand, and their two children.[2] Their son, 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.[3] She worked until the day she gave birth.[2]

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 represented 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.

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

Committee assignments

Gillibrand also co-founded the Congressional High Tech Caucus with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) at the beginning of the 110th Congress.

Overseas fundraising

Gillibrand was criticized for hosting campaign fundraisers in London, England and Paris, France.[4] While the fundraisers were legal, and no foreign money was raised (contributions came from American citizens living abroad), critics said her actions were hypocritical since she criticized her 2006 opponent, then U.S. Representative John E. Sweeney, for hosting an out-of-state fundraiser.

U.S. Senate

Appointment

On December 1, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced his impending nomination of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the junior U.S. Senator from New York, for United States Secretary of State. Clinton's confirmation created a vacancy in the Senate to be filled by appointment by Governor David Paterson. Gillibrand was rumored by the media as one of several people, including Caroline Kennedy and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (Gillibrand's former boss at HUD), to be under consideration as Clinton's replacement. This person would hold the office until a special election in 2010 would decide who would hold the balance of Clinton's term, ending in 2012[5]. Clinton was confirmed as Secretary of State and resigned her Senate seat on January 21, 2009. On January 23, Paterson announced his selection of Gillibrand as the junior Senator from New York[6]; she will be sworn in on January 25.

Committee assignments

Gillibrand has asked to serve on the following committes in the Senate[7]:

Issues and positions

Gillibrand was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during her tenure in the House of Representatives.[8] She is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and has a 100% positive rating from the NRA, but has also worked to strengthen legislation to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.[9] She supports extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for middle class families; stem cell research; and the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act.[10] Gillibrand opposes attempts to partially privatize Social Security.[11] She strongly supported passage of the 2008 Farm Bill.[12] Gillibrand broke with former Governor Eliot Spitzer on the issue of illegal immigration, opposing his plan to issue New York State drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.[13] She supports same-sex marriage.[14][15]

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.[16]

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.[16]

Results table

New York has a system that 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[16][17]
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%).

References

  1. ^ "Race between roots and new blood". Troy Record. May 7, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e Powell, Michael; Hernandez, Raymond (January 23, 2009). "Gillibrand Sticks to Center, Tenaciously". The New York Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "NY congresswoman gives birth". Associated Press. Google News.
  4. ^ Gillibrand Does Pari$, Too, May 10, 2007.
  5. ^ The Daily Beast. The Woman Who Might Take Hillary's Senate Seat November 26, 2008
  6. ^ Silverleib, Alan (2009-01-23). "N.Y. governor names Clinton successor". CNN. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  7. ^ Beeton, Todd (2009-01-23). "NY-Sen: Gov. Patterson Appoints Kirsten Gillibrand To Senate". MyDD. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  8. ^ "About Kirsten". Gillibrand for Congress. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ [2]
  11. ^ [3]
  12. ^ [4]
  13. ^ Spitzer Meets Opposition, September 29, 2007 Post Star article.
  14. ^ Gillibrand
  15. ^ NY Daily News. Gillibrand's Gay Marriage Evolution January 23, 2009
  16. ^ a b c "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  17. ^ New York State Board of Elections 2008 Election Results Page
U.S. House of Representatives

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  1. ^ [5], November 18th 2008, nydailynews.com
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