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January 23, 2009
Why did Paterson wait?
I've read a lot of people commenting about why the replacement for Hilary Clinton took so long. I think that Gov. Paterson was waiting to see if Clinton was actually confirmed as Secretary of State. I don't think he was wrong to wonder whether or not she'd go through with the appointment, if WJC would actually submit his financial information, and whether she would make it past the Senate. He was being cautious, and I don't blame him a bit.
Finally he appoints Kirsten Gillibrand and people are asking "why not Andrew Cuomo?" Well, maybe two things are going on. First, he might not be as worried about Cuomo competing with him for governor as some people think. Second, he may not be worried about Gilliland and Cuomo - according to her wikipedia entry she worked for Cuomo back in the HUD days. SHE might have enough on him to keep him from running against her.
I've only lived up there for 9 years and don't really understand New York politics; I'll just watch and see.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at January 23, 2009 5:22 PM
Comments
An interesting observation about waiting for Clinton to be confirmed. I think you are right. She only resigned her Senate seat after she was confirmed, and so there was really no vacancy to fill until then.
I think that this appointment does several things for Patterson. It provides upstate representation on the state Democratic ticket. It fills the seat with a moderate who is more likely to withstand a Republican challenger. It keeps the popular Cuomo in the Attorney General's office and therefore minimizes the likelihood of the Republicans winning that position in the near future.
In retrospect, it seems obvious. It smacks of political expediency, and pure genius.
Posted by: Sebastian at January 23, 2009 10:04 PM