Kirsten Gillibrand

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Kirsten Gillibrand

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 20th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2007 –
Preceded by	John E. Sweeney
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	December 09, 1966 (age 40) Lima, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jonathan Gillibrand
Religion	Roman Catholic

Kirsten Rutnik Gillibrand (b. December 9, 1966, Lima, Ohio) is a Democratic politician, elected on November 7, 2006, to represent New York's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. She is the first Democrat to represent the district since Edward W. Pattison in 1978 and the first woman to represent the district.

1 Early years
2 Career
3 Personal
4 2006 campaign for the U.S. House
5 Committees
6 Issues and Positions
7 External links

[edit] Early years

Born into a politically-connected family, Kirsten Rutnik was raised in Albany, New York by Doug Rutnik, a public defender's office attorney and Polly Noonan, also an attorney ([1]).

After attending Albany's Academy of Holy Names, she graduated in 1984 from Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, the first all women's high school in the United States.

A magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College in 1988, Gillibrand went on to receive her law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1991 and served as a law clerk on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

[edit] Career

During the Clinton Administration, Gillibrand served as Special Counsel to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Andrew Cuomo. She worked on HUD's Labor Initiative and its New Markets Initiative, on strengthening Davis-Bacon Act enforcement and on drafting new markets legislation for public and private investment in building infrastructure in lower income areas.

As a partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner, Gillibrand worked on a wide range of legal and policy-related issues. She represented many pro-bono cases, including abused women and their children, and tenants seeking safe housing after lead paint and unsafe conditions were found in their homes.

She is the Chair of the Women's Leadership Forum Network and is on the Boards of the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee and the Commission on Greenway Heritage Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Brennan Center for Justice.

In addition, she is a strong advocate of 2nd Amendment rights, and works to protect "responsible" gun owners, coming as she does from a family of "hunters and fishers."

[edit] Personal

She splits her time between Greenport, New York and Washington D.C. with her husband, Jonathan Gillibrand, and their son, Theodore (b. 2004).

[edit] 2006 campaign for the U.S. House

Main article: New York 20th congressional district election, 2006

Gillibrand ran in New York's 20th Congressional District against four-term Republican incumbent John E. Sweeney. The rural and suburban district was among the more Republican in the Northeast. Sweeney had a politically conservative/libertarian stance, and had not faced a serious challenge for election in any of his previous House races.

Gillibrand eventually won the election by a 6% margin over Sweeney. Gillibrand's was the 15th seat won on election day 2006, officially shifting majority power of the House of Representatives to the Democrats.

[edit] Committees

Congresswoman Gillibrand is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Democratic Steering Committee and the Agriculture Committee. She serves on the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities subcommittee and the Army and Air Force Programs subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee.

[edit] Issues and Positions

Gillibrand is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.[2]. Unlike most Democrats, she strongly opposes gun control [3]. This stance is not unusual given the nature of her district; many Hudson Valley residents are hunters and trappers. However Gillibrand does support progressive stances on some issues such as reproductive rights, environmental protections, and fair trade.

[edit] External links

U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand official House site
Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Federal Election Commission - Mrs. Kirsten E Gillibrand campaign finance reports and data
On the Issues - Kirsten Gillibrand issue positions and quotes
OpenSecrets.org - Kirsten E. Gillibrand campaign contributions
Project Vote Smart - Representative Kirsten E. Gillibrand (NY) profile
SourceWatch Congresspedia - Kirsten Gillibrand profile
Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Kirsten Gillibrand voting record
Gillibrand for Congress official campaign site

"Social Security a key issue for Gillibrand", September 25, 2006 (with link to short video of Gillibrand opposing Social Security privatization)

Preceded by John E. Sweeney	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 20th congressional district 2007–present	Succeeded by Incumbent