Thompson Taking Serious Look At Challenging Gillibrand For Senate Seat

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is walking around with a huge bullseye on her back, attracting attention from possible opponents to her election plans next year.

A flurry of stories in recent weeks noted that ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, was lowering his sights and might drop his plans to run for governor in 2010 in order to run against Gillibrand. Now, a major new threat to Gillibrand in the person of outgoing city Comptroller William Thompson Jr.

Several reports have appeared in local newspapers that Thompson, fresh from his five-point narrow defeat by Mayor Michael Bloomberg a month ago, is now weighing a possible challenge to Gillibrand in the Democratic primary. The stories cite Gillibrand’s inability to improve her poll numbers since being appointed to the U.S. Senate to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton following her failed presidential bid against Barack Obama in November 2008.

A recent Marist College poll showed Giuliani holding a comfortable 54 to 40 percent lead against Gillibrand. Although Giuliani has announced no plans to run against Gillibrand, and although Obama had erected a protective cloak around the upstate senator, warding off threats from several fellow Democrats, it now seems she may face serious primary threats next year. A recent Marist College poll showed Giuliani holding a comfortable 54 to 40 percent lead against Gillibrand. Although Giuliani has announced no plans to run against Gillibrand, and although Obama had erected a protective cloak around the upstate senator, warding off threats from several fellow Democrats, it now seems she may face serious primary threats next year.

Besides Thompson, who owes no loyalty to Obama since Obama gave him only a weak endorsement against Bloomberg, former Tennessee Congressmember Harold Ford Jr., is also reportedly considering a primary challenge to Gillibrand, as well as Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper.

Meanwhile, Gillibrand, who as an upstate congressmember was an avowed supporter of the National Rifle Association, left no doubt on where she stands now on the gun issue. She had started her move to the Democratic side of the issue after her Senate appointment and last week she joined with ardent gun-control Congressmember Carolyn McCarthy, a Long Island Democrat, in sponsoring legislation to combat gun trafficking. Also on hand for the occasion were Bloomberg, a leader in the anti-gun movement, and New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

McCarthy has been identified with the anti-gun forces since she was elected to Congress following her husband’s death in December 1993 at the hands of LIRR gunman Colin Ferguson. The Long Island lawmaker earlier this year threatened to run against Gillibrand before being dissuaded by Obama.

Getting back to Thompson’s alleged interest in possibly challenging Gillibrand, the stories say he’s taking a “serious” look at the situation. Besides his impressive showing against Bloomberg, a veritable money-machine candidate who at the latest accounting spent over $100 million, Thompson would also bring an impressive resume into the fray with him.

Another inducement for Thompson to seek the New York state U.S. Senate seat is that

U.S. Senator Roland W. Burris, who replaced Obama as the Illinois representative is the only African American in the upper house of Congress. The president surely could not continue his strong support of Gillibrand in the face of the historical significance of a Thompson candidacy.

An obstacle facing Thompson if he does challenge Gillibrand is the current favorable upstate/downstate balance represented by Gilliband and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, who is from Brooklyn. Continuing the status quo would be a strong argument Democratic Party leaders could make for supporting Gillibrand’s candidacy.

COMMUNITY ORIENTED KOO PLEDGES AID: In what could be an unprecedented move, City Councilmember-elect Peter Koo, who owns a chain of drugstores, has pledged to give his entire $112,500 council salary to community groups for community purposes.

The Flushing lawmaker, who won election a month ago and succeeds John Liu as Council District 20 representative, recently noted, “A lot of community groups have a hard time getting city money.” He won’t “use a penny” of his salary.

Koo knows from personal experience about community board needs—he has been a longtime member of Community Board 7 since coming here from his native Hong Kong.

Koo has said he plans to give special attention to four issues when he takes office next month: protecting the elderly, improving education, assisting small businesses and improving transportation, Liu’s main interest as Transportation Committee chairperson.

Koo will be part of a five-member Republican minority in the new 51-member council, including Minority Leader James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio, both of Staten Island. The other three GOPers, all from Queens are Eric A. Ulrich (Howard Beach/Ozone Park), newly elected Dan Halloran (Bayside) and Koo.

The 46-member Democratic majority, expected to be headed by incumbent Speaker Christine Quinn, will still be running the show, for all intents and purposes, but there will be times when the majority will be split, and Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg will go looking for votes among the five Republicans.

KEEP JOBS IN U.S. SCHUMER TELLS ADIDAS: Last weekend, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–New York) stood in front of the National Basketball Association (NBA) store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and held a press conference at which he urged the professional basketball league to intercede with sports goods giant Adidas and block the company plan to move production of NBA official uniforms from the U.S. to Thailand.

Schumer argued that basketball is an American sport, so producing the uniforms should continue to be made at an upstate factory which had the contract from Adidas before the company walked away from the agreement.

MALONEY PLEDGES TO WORK TO CREATE JOBS: As unemployment in New York state continued to climb last week, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan) pledged to work with Democratic House leaders and President Obama over the coming weeks as we examine other prudent ways to create jobs.

Maloney said that although the U.S. economy has shown signs of life in recent weeks and new unemployment claims are at their lowest point in nearly a year, the problem of joblessness is still pervasive and will not be solved overnight.

GIANARIS PRAISES FINES FOR AIRLINES: Assemblymember Michael Gianaris (D–Astoria) praised the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) for recently issuing fines against two airlines for stranding passengers for nearly six hours following a flight last August.

Gianaris stated, “I’m heartened that the federal government has taken an important step in acknowledging the rights of airline passengers. Now is the time for Congress to solidify this progress by passing a national airline Passenger Bill of Rights, so that Americans can rest assured that when they fly, they will be treated humanely and not like cargo.”

In 2007, Gianaris sponsored a law establishing for the first time in the U.S. an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. But the airline industry fought it vehemently and was eventually successful in getting Gianaris’ law struck down on the grounds that the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the issue.