Gillibrand's path to victory: The People Have the Power

SARATOGA SPRINGS - In the banquet room filled with glimmering smiles and the glaring white beams of TV lights, the biggest and brightest smile was etched on the face of her husband, Jonathan Gillibrand, exalted, exhausted, and filled with complete joy.

Kirsten Gillibrand's path to Washington, D.C., began quietly, taking a leave from her day job as a partner in a law firm to try to fill what she saw as a void in Congress.

'We need a voice in Washington that puts families first,' said Gillibrand, the Democratic political novice who on Tuesday unseated four-term U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, a Republican.

Early in the race, polls placed her well behind the incumbent for the seat in the 20th Congressional District, but Tuesday night, she stood on the podium in the banquet room of the hotel where the sweet smell of victory was hanging in the air.

Just four months ago and a few yards away from the Gideon Putnam, Mr. Gillibrand - a huge Bruce Springsteen fan - and his wife attended a concert by 'The Boss' at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

'At that time, did I think we would win? I don't know. But she always did,' he said pointing to the podium where his wife spoke to the crowd, framed by red, white and blue balloons strung with a banner reading 'Gillibrand for Congress.'

She began Election Day in the voting booth with her husband and young son at her side, then visited a high school in Hudson, where she spoke to a civics class.

Many hours later, well-wishers awaited her arrival at the Gideon Putnam, the pumped up volume of Aerosmith, Blue Man Group and the theme from Star Wars rocking the grand ballroom in the state park on grounds inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was governor of the state.

'I'm so thankful to Kirsten for putting her personal life on hold to make all our lives better,' offered Saratoga Springs Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, awaiting Gillibrand's arrival. 'Kirsten puts the people first. Power does not come from elected officials, power comes from the people.'

A day earlier, as she stood side-by-side with Bill Clinton in Queensbury, the former president recognized her political beginnings, by saying, 'No one thought when she first stuck her neck out that she had a shadow of a chance.'

Now here she was, poised to take the seat out from under incumbent Sweeney.

Much of the energy in the early days of her campaign was expended on raising funds for the race. It wasn't until much later in the season, well into the summer, when this region began to see her in person - at Democratic headquarters on Broadway, where she met with volunteers and well-wishers, at a 'debate' sponsored by the League of Women Voters at the Maple Avenue Middle School when the incumbent congressman claimed he had other commitments, at a Beekman Street art gallery on the city's West Side, where she told the gathering of the importance of the arts in rejuvenating communities.

'When we do win, each one of you can say you helped change the direction of America,' Gillibrand told them.

Addressing the crowd from the podium just before 11 Tuesday night, she said she was grateful to all the women in the campaign - 'the sisters, the mothers, the daughters' - and to her husband for his support and to her grandmother, who inspired her at a young age in the political world of her upbringing in Albany.

'My grandmother, up in heaven, is watching us now,' she said. "This campaign was base on the idea that We The People should have a voice."

Then, at precisely 11:05 p.m., spokeswoman Allison Price came onto the stage and whispered into Gillibrand's ear.
The candidate took a deep breath and glanced over at her husband.
Then she moved back to the microphone.

'AP has just called this race,' said Gillibrand, the clapping in the room turning into a roar. 'I am here to represent you.'

Mrs. Gillibrand is going to Washington.

words and pictures by Thomas Dimopoulos
published in The Saratogian, Nov. 8-9, 2006.