After his surprisingly competitive mayoral bid against Mayor Bloomberg, there have been various rumors about what City Comptroller Bill Thompson might do next. First there were murmurs of a Senate run, and then ones that Andrew Cuomo was eyeing him as a running mate during for his gubernatorial campaign. Now the NY Times says the Senate run is just one of three options that Thompson is mulling. more ›

The Daily News' Elizabeth Benjamin reports that City Comptroller Bill Thompson's name is "being floated" for various positions, including Senator. Rep. Jose Serrano says, "Billy Thompson obviously is the kind of public servant who not only who serves the public well but has proven he doesn't need a lot of money to do well in an election. He would be a formidable candidate statewide anytime." And even though President Obama personally asked other pols not to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a "senior New York Democrat" tells the News, "The presumption is that a White House that didn't really show strong support for Bill Thompson for mayor in this environment couldn't do that to him twice." more ›

Yesterday suspiciously perky cooking celebrity Rachael Ray, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, City Council speaker Christine C. Quinn and other government officials held a press event at P.S. 89/I.S. 289 in Tribeca to preview a new menu that Ray created for NYC public schools. On Thursday, 600,000 students, from kindergartners to 12th graders, will have the option to sample the menu Ray developed: whole-wheat flatbread with roasted chicken, a ratatouille-style stew with beans, and corn salad on top. (Plus a side of broccoli.) But yesterday there was also a side of cockroach! more ›

Both Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will formally endorse City Comptroller William Thompson for mayor today in Union Square. However, City Room wonders, "But will Chuck or Kirsten actually say anything bad about Mike?" more ›

Today, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand continued to bolster her support for 2010, announcing endorsements from Rep. Gregory Meeks as well as the Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton's statement begins, "In less than five months, Senator Gillibrand has demonstrated an ability to bring people together, listen to their challenges, and forge solutions to the problems they face. I was impressed that the day after being selected to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate, she came down to the House of Justice in Harlem to hear the real concerns of the voiceless." PolitickerNY reports, "The endorsements by Sharpton and Meeks are useful to Gillibrand, who has been trying to make inroads with a black community wary of her past conservative position on gun control," and an adviser said that Gillibrand worked for their support, "One of the first people she met with was Sharpton, she's talked to him regularly and reached out to him." So far, Reps. Steve Israel and Carolyn McCarthy have said they will not run against Gilibrand; Rep. Caroline Maloney is reportedly considering a primary challenge. more ›

The NY Post offers some speculation about former governor George Pataki's meeting with Senator John Cornyn. Because Cornyn is heading the GOP's Senate committee, it was plausible, if not a great idea, that Big Bad John might be courting Pataki to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010. The Post reports, "But many believe Pataki's subsequent drift to the left and failure to control spending weakened the state GOP and quashed any hopes he had of turning his 12-year Statehouse reign into a bid for the presidency. Likewise, national Republicans view the prospect of a Pataki run for Senate as remote. A longtime Pataki associate said the Senate talk was likely designed to draw business for his private law practice." more ›

A source tells the AP that national Republicans "have approached" former governor George Pataki "about running for the U.S. Senate in 2010." Apparently Senator ("Big Bad") John Cornyn, who heads the GOP's national senate committee, met with Pataki on Tuesday, apparently discussing Pataki as a challenger to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010. Pataki did not accept or reject the offer, but after 12 years of Pataki, does NY State want more? We suppose that would put his PAC money to better use. more ›

After Senator Kirsten Gillibrand told Newsday that she and her husband keep two rifles under their bed in their upstate home, the newly appointed Senator has decided to move the rifles. Her spokesman Matt Canter told Newsday, "Given that the location of the guns has been disclosed, they have been moved for security reasons." more ›

Oh, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. One moment, you're saying you need shooting lessons from Mayor Bloomberg. The next you're telling Newsday that you and your husband keep two rifles in your bed. Gillibrand said to Newsday, "If I want to protect my family, if I want to have a weapon in the home, that should be my right." more ›

New Senator Kirsten Gillibrand may be called a flip-flopper, but her command of the Chinese language is considered just fine. At least to NY Times reporter David W. Chen, who observed the upstater at the Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown two weeks ago. Gillibrand, an Asian studies major at Dartmouth, studied for six months in China and Taiwan: "Ms. Gillibrand’s Chinese is rusty now. But she tells her 5-year-old son, 'Man man yi diar,' or 'Slow down a little,' and calls chopsticks 'kuaizi,' out of habit." Yan Tai, a reporter for Chinese-language newspaper The World Journal who spoke to Gillibrand told the Times, "she definitely understood what I was saying, and she had good pronunciation. Actually, I was very impressed.” (Bonus: Gillibrand's Chinese name is "Lu Tian Na".) And Gillibrand, now on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the Times, "Our relationship with China is extraordinarily complicated, and when you do understand the culture better, having that appreciation means you can hopefully find compromises." more ›

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was in New York City yesterday, meeting different parts of her new downstate constituency: Business leaders and those who know gun violence first-hand. more ›

The balancing act for new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand continues to demonstrate that there is no way that she will be able to please all state Democrats. The latest group who feels slighted by her positions? Her old constituents. The Times spoke to folks from the 20th Congressional District who made Gillibrand the first Democrat they sent to Washington in over twenty years. Her former supporters had gripes about her "evolution" since her promotion with one saying, "If you have a position, and this is what you feel, why would you change it just because you got a new job?” Some NYC versus upstate resentment seems to be at play with one local saying, "As soon as Schumer and Silver got to her, I watched her change her tune." Today Gillibrand gave her first major speech in NYC as senator at a meeting of the business group Association for a Better New York where she quoted Eleanor Roosevelt saying, "A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." more ›

With Governor Paterson's appointment of Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to take Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, the critics are sounding off on her stance on gun control. Most notably, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a fellow Democrat, has been saying she will challenge Gillibrand in 2010 or find someone who can. more ›

Governor Paterson introduced his long-awaited pick to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand. Politicker NY reports Gillibrand said, "I realize that for many New Yorkers, this is the first time you've heard my name and you don't know much about me. But I assure you that over the next few years, you will get to know me, and I will get to know you." more ›