Before marching in yesterday's Chinatown parade, new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stopped by the Brooklyn offices of El Diario, the newspaper that recently featured her picture on the cover along with the headline "ANTI INMIGRANTE." The new senator has been trying to find common ground with state Democrats who are taking issue with some of her more conservative votes as a first term congresswoman in a district that previously had elected Republicans for the 25 years prior. After the meeting at El Diario with Hispanic lawmakers, Gillibrand told the press, "I think on some issues my positions will change. ... Others will become simply broader."
She revealed yesterday that part of her "evolution" (dubbed by colleague Chuck Schumer) will involve helping to repeal a federal bill that discourages states from allowing illegal aliens to pay low in-state tuition fees. She also no longer supported cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities like New York that fail to enforce all immigration laws. She did however reaffirm her stance on an official language for the US saying, "English can be such a unifying language."
The officials who met with Gillibrand seemed to give a tepid response to the meeting. City Councilman Joel Rivera, who last week publicly called Gillibrand a "xenophobe" said, "We cannot afford to stand with someone who will make no commitment [to us]. We have been given a lot of rhetoric over the years. We need action."
Elsewhere over the weekend, Gillibrand posted her responses to the 28-page form Governor Paterson gave to all potential Senate candidates. The Times-Union points out that she "filled the form out longhand—which in general is a no-no for a job applicant in these digital days." And in case Paterson needed any more enemies as a result of his selection process, the News reports that he may have stepped into hot water with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, now that Gillibrand's House seat may flip to the GOP with Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco throwing his hat into the ring for it.
