Kirsten Gillibrand '89 announced in January that she will leave behind her private lifestyle as a partner in a law firm in order to run against incumbent Republican John Sweeney for New York state's 20th Congressional District seat.
Gillibrand, who has never held political office, has drawn press coverage since the beginning of her campaign by openly targeting Sweeney for his weekend ski trips to Utah with pharmaceutical lobbyists, asserting that he votes for legislations based on his own interests and the interests of the companies to which he is "beholden."
"It was a lavish vacation for him, and what that does is undermine people's confidence in the system," she said. "There is an appearance of impropriety. It doesn't mean that meeting with lobbyists is a bad thing, but it doesn't need to happen at a luxury resort skiing. What we need to have is disclosure."
If elected, Gillibrand plans to host monthly forums open to the press and the people of the district to increase disclosure.
She has also publicized her "ethics I.O.U.," essentially the focus of her campaign. The proposal includes vows that she would not take a trip with or accept gifts from lobbyists and that she would call for an independent ethics council to investigate allegations of corruption in Congress.
"It's very troubling to me that our country is being undermined by a system where the people in power have too much power. The congressmen are being too compliant and being run by these large industries rather than listening to the constituents back home," Gillibrand said. "The largest challenge in Washington will be to change the culture. As a congresswoman, my priorities will be to bring ethics, accountability and leadership back to Washington."
Gillibrand added that she attributes her independent thinking to her Dartmouth experience.
"I think Dartmouth really instilled in me an independent streak and a will to think critically. I think both of those instincts have served me well in law and will serve me well in Congress," she said. "Dartmouth also instills in its students the belief that you can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do."
But despite Gillibrand's enthusiasm and strong funding -- she raised $370,000 for her campaign last year -- many believe it will be difficult for her to wrest the seat from Sweeney in this largely rural and suburban district that includes Poughkeepsie and Lake Placid. Although Republicans regularly take approximately 65 percent of the vote in this district, Gillibrand remains confident, asserting that "the Republicans in this district do vote for Democrats when they like them."
"I think its a winnable seat because I think that the Republicans in our district are very independent-minded," she said. "They are fiscally conservative but socially progressive. This administration has lacked fiscal discipline. I think the Republicans in this area will want an administration that will believe in fiscal conservatism, which I do."
The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan publication that analyzes campaigns and elections, lists the race as "Likely Republican," which means that the seat is not currently considered competitive, but that it may become more "engaged" before November.
