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.
"I'm hoping that many of you will open your homes to me and invite others to come in," she said. In an interview after her speech at LaFontana Restaurant, Gillibrand said her campaign reported on Sept. 30 it had raised about $120,000. That is still a far cry from the level of Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. John Sweeney of Clifton Park, who had $712,933 in his campaign account as of Sept. 30, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Gillibrand, who worked under former federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo in the Clinton administration, has the charisma and concessions to run a credible campaign, said Washington County Democratic Chairman Sheila Comar. "We have someone who is going to keep people interested," she said. Comar said she first met Gillibrand about two years ago and was immediately impressed.
"I thought she reminded me of a younger version of our favorite senator -- Hillary Clinton," Comar said. Following Clinton's style, Gillibrand's speech included anecdotes about a neighbor who couldn't afford to buy gas for his snow plowing business, another neighbor who couldn't afford medications, and a married couple named Hansel and Gretel who operate a dairy farm.
"I'm not kidding," she said of the first names of the couple she met while campaigning. Hansel and Gretel complained that raw milk prices are too low, she said. "All of the profit is in the company that's marketing it, not for him. So he can't afford health insurance for his family," she said.
Gillibrand did not mention Sweeney by name, but referred to him several times as "our congressman." Gillibrand said 92 percent of Sweeney's votes in Congress have been in line with those of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay. DeLay was recently indicted on charges of felony conspiracy and money laundering. Sweeney, through his spokeswoman, Melissa Carlson, declined to comment for this report. "Right now, he is just very focused on taking care of the needs of New Yorkers," Carlson said.