Gov. Paterson yesterday named upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to be the state’s new US senator – but the press conference took a bizarre turn when Republican mega-lobbyist Alfonse D’Amato moved front and center.
Democrats statewide were aghast to see the former senator and GOP power broker standing close to Gillibrand on stage throughout the nationally telecast news conference that Paterson called to unveil his surprise replacement for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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“I couldn’t believe it,” said one participant at the Albany news conference.
D’Amato, who recently held a fund-raiser for Paterson, said he came at the governor’s invitation. Paterson’s staff placed him on stage in front of some two dozen Democrats who gathered to support the controversial Senate choice.
At times, D’Amato – the former senior New York senator and an influential Washington lobbyist with a lengthy list of clients – was standing closer to Gillibrand than were Paterson or Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
“Twenty-two years ago, [Gillibrand] was an intern in my office,” D’Amato told reporters before being rushed off stage by Paterson aides after the news conference.
Gillibrand’s father, Doug Rutnik, a well-known GOP lobbyist, is a longtime D’Amato friend.
But the ex-senator’s presence could prove damaging for Gillibrand, whose nomination had already come under attack from liberal Democrats.
The liberals are suspicious of her for bucking party leaders and taking right-leaning positions on gay marriage, immigration and gun rights.
“It’s the wrong message that she’s sending out by having Alfonse D’Amato there,” said Assemblyman Peter Rivera (D-Bronx), who called Gillibrand “anti-immigrant.”
“The message is that she’s still to the right and is going to continue to stay to the right.”
Already, at least one Democrat – Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of Nassau County – has vowed to challenge Gillibrand in a primary if no other challenger steps forward. McCarthy is known as a gun-control advocate whose husband was killed in the 1993 LIRR massacre.
Aside from D’Amato, Paterson and Gillibrand were joined onstage by about two dozen Democratic officials, including a handful of members of Congress and two contenders for the Senate seat, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi.
There were, however, some conspicuous no-shows. Among them: Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Reps. Steve Israel of Long Island, Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan and Brian Higgins of Buffalo, all of whom had been considered for the seat.
Sources told The Post that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Paterson Thursday night to express displeasure with his choice, multiple sources said. Her spokesman strongly denied the claim and insisted they talked about politics.
Mayor Bloomberg blasted Gillibrand for opposing “common-sense measures to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals.”
Gillibrand, 42, in her first remarks as senator-designate, said she wanted to unify the state.
“I will look for ways to find common ground between upstate and downstate,” Gillibrand said. “This is the kind of work I pledge to do, to bring upstate and downstate together, to work on behalf of all New Yorkers.”
Although Clinton kept out of the process of choosing her successor, several of her loyalists were believed to be pulling behind the scenes for Gillibrand.
The press conference was interrupted twice when President Obama placed calls to congratulate Gillibrand.