By DEVLIN BARRET, Associated Press Writer,

January 17, 2006

A would-be challenger to Rep. John Sweeney took aim Tuesday at the Republican congressman over a ski-weekend fundraiser in Park City, Utah with a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist.

"Skiing with Sweeney" was billed as a $2,000 contribution-per-person event last weekend at a ski resort, where according to the invite, the Sweeney room rate was $349 a night.

Kirsten Gillibrand also champions fiscal restraint

Published on 12/23/2005, By MAURY THOMPSON , Post Star

Democratic congressional candidate Kirsten Gillibrand said Thursday her campaign will focus on tax cuts for the middle class, fiscal restraint and the need to develop alternative energy.

"I'm also a different kind of Democrat," she said in a telephone interview with The Post-Star. 

Gillibrand, a lawyer from Hudson, said she will announce a campaign platform early next month that will include a plan to provide tax incentives for companies that develop alternative energy technologies.

The local chapter of Democracy for America has endorsed Kirsten Gillibrand to run against John Sweeney in November's general election.

"We are excited to endorse Kirsten Gillibrand for Congress," said Kinderhook's Jo Anna Giltner, who coordinates the group with her husband, Phil Giltner. "In Democracy for America, we are concerned about the lack of fiscal responsibility and accountability in Washington. Twice in the last year we made appointments to meet John Sweeney and express our concern about Social Security and the War in Iraq. Each time we went to his office with over a dozen people from three counties, and each time he did not respond to our visit or to our petitions. We were very disappointed in this lack of interest in the concerns of his constituents. Kirsten, on the other hand, has taken the time to visit with our group, and showed us that she would be the kind of responsive member of Congress we deserve in the twentieth congressional district."

by Laura Litvan, Bloomberg.com When Republican U.S. Representative John Sweeney ran for re-election in 2004, President George W. Bush was on his way to winning a second term and Sweeney enjoyed a huge money edge over his Democratic opponent, raising $1.39 million to her $22,823. As he looks to 2006, the New York lawmaker can't breathe so easily. Bush's record-low approval ratings, along with mounting questions about the war in Iraq, have bolstered the Democrats' hopes of regaining control of the House next November. Sweeney faces a challenger, attorney Kirsten Gillibrand, who has raised $120,000 so far, more than the combined total of his three previous opponents.

Saratoga County Democrats put support behind granddaughter of Albany political icon

By KENNETH C. CROWE II , Staff writer First published: Wednesday, November 16, 2005

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The Saratoga County Democratic Committee unanimously endorsed a granddaughter of Albany Democratic icon Dorothea "Polly" Noonan Tuesday night as its candidate in the 20th Congressional District.

Kirsten Gillibrand, 38, of Greenport, is the committee's choice to take on U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, in the sprawling 10-county district.

"As a 10-year-old girl, I would listen to my grandmother discuss issues and she made a lasting impression on me," Gillibrand said of Noonan, founder of the Albany County Democratic Women's Club and confidante of legendary Albany Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd. Noonan died in 2003.

2006 candidate already has more in bank than previous challengers By MAURY THOMPSON Local News, THE POST-STAR HUDSON FALLS -- Photo: Derek Pruitt, Post Star.

Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic candidate for Congress in 2006, has already raised nearly as much money in about two months as the previous three Democratic contenders combined raised for their entire campaigns.

Speaking to a luncheon meeting of the Washington County Democratic Club on Friday, Gillibrand said she is prepared to wage an "incredibly strong" campaign to capture a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that has been held by Republicans for years. "I plan to raise the sum of money that it takes to win this seat," she said at a luncheon meeting of the Washington County Democratic Club in Hudson Falls. Gillibrand, a lawyer from Hudson, south of Albany, said she would be visiting the area frequently over the next 13 months.