Today, January 23, 2009, New York Governor David Patterson appointed U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  In a very gracious speech, Gillibrand accept the honor.  Representative Gillibrand was a member of the Blue Dog Democrats while serving her single term in Congress.  The 42-year-old lawyer, wife and mother comes from a well-connected New York political family and was elected in 2006.

For more information:

 http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/23/gillibrand.profile/index.html

Campaign website:  http://kirstengillibrand.com/