User:MattWade/Gillibrand

Intro is not done, but it's a good start.  upstate NYer 

Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand (, ; born December 9, 1966) is the junior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to being appointed to the Senate by New York Governor David Paterson in 2009, she was elected twice to the House of Representatives, representing New York's 20th congressional district.

Gillibrand was born to a politically influential family in the Albany area. Both her parents are attorneys and her father is also a well-known lobbyist. Her maternal grandmother was a leader in the powerful Albany political machine that lasted from the 1940s to the 1980s. Gillibrand is a 1988 graduate of Dartmouth College, where she majored in Asian studies; there she became functionally fluent in Mandarin Chinese. She received her Juris Doctor from UCLA Law School in 1991 and passed the bar the same year. She was an associate in the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell in Manhattan before serving as special counsel in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Following that, she became a partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner.

Gillibrand won an upset congressional election in November 2006 against incumbent John E. Sweeney; her reelection campaign in 2008 against Sandy Treadwell was significantly easier. In December 2008, President Barack Obama nominated Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State, leaving an empty seat in the New York senate delegation. After significant deliberation, Governor David Paterson appointed Gillibrand to fill the seat. Gillibrand was required to run in a special election in 2010, which she won by a safe margin. Her term ends in 2013 and she is currently running for reelection in 2012.

Originally known in the House for conservative and centrist liberal views, since her appointment to the Senate, Gillibrand has been seen more as a progressive Democrat. In both cases, her viewpoints were significantly defined by her constituency (a heavily Republican congressional district versus a largely liberal US state). In the House, Gillibrand was an opponent of strict gun control, against amnesty for illegal immigrants, and she voted twice against the 2008 bailout of the US financial system. In the Senate she focused on support of gay rights, scaled back her former support of gun rights, and expanded her views on immigration through support of the DREAM Act; she is best known for championing both the repeal of Don't ask, don't tell and the adoption of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

Gillibrand recently moved to Brunswick, where she lives with her husband, Jonathan Gillibrand, a venture capitalist and British national, and their two sons, Theodore and Henry.

Early years and education
✅ — I think.  upstate NYer  02:18, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

A member of a politically active family, Kirsten Rutnik was born on December 9, 1966 to Douglas Rutnik and Polly Noonan Rutnik. Her father is an attorney and lobbyist and is known for his close ties to Republicans Alfonse D'Amato (former United States senator) and George Pataki (former governor), although he himself is a registered Democrat. Gillibrand's mother is a retired attorney; the couple opened a law firm and practiced together until they divorced when Gillibrand was 22. Gillibrand has an older brother, Doug Rutnik, and a younger sister, Erin Rutnik Tschantret. Her maternal grandmother was Dorothea "Polly" Noonan, founder of the Albany Democratic Women's Club and a leader in Albany Mayor Erastus Corning's powerful political machine, which lasted for more than 40 years.

Gillibrand grew up in Albany and was known by the nickname Tina, a name adopted by her brother when he couldn't pronounce "Kirsten". In 1984 she graduated from Emma Willard School in Troy and went on to Dartmouth College. As an Asian Studies major, she became functionally fluent in Mandarin Chinese; she studied in both Beijing and Taiwan and adopted a Chinese name, Lu Tian Na (陸天娜). She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1988. While at Dartmouth, Gillibrand was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. During college, she interned at Senator D'Amato's Albany office, presumably using her father's contacts to gain the position.

Following Dartmouth, Gillibrand attended UCLA Law School and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1991. She passed the bar the same year.

Legal career and introduction to politics
 upstate NYer 

In 1991, Gillibrand joined the Manhattan office of Davis Polk & Wardwell as an associate. In 1992 she took a leave from Davis Polk to serve as a law clerk to Judge Roger Miner on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Albany. It was at this time she dropped the childhood nickname Tina; Judge Miner refused to call her by a nickname, and Kirsten stuck.

Gillibrand's tenure at Davis Polk is best known for her work as a defense attorney for tobacco giant Philip Morris during major litigation, including both civil lawsuits and U.S. Justice Department criminal and civil racketeering probes. According to The New York Times, "Gillibrand was involved in some of the most sensitive matters related to the defense of the tobacco giant as it confronted pivotal legal battles beginning in the mid-1990s." Gillibrand rarely comments on her work for Philip Morris, citing attorney-client privilege. She states that she had no control over cases and clients she received, though The New York Times claims otherwise. While working on the Philip Morris case, Gillibrand was promoted to senior associate. Gillibrand indicates her work for Philip Morris allowed her to take on multiple pro bono cases defending abused women and their children, as well as defending tenants seeking safe housing after lead paint and unsafe conditions were found in their homes.

While working for Davis Polk, Gillibrand became involved in—and later the leader of—the Women's Leadership Forum, a program of the Democratic National Committee. Gillibrand states that a speech to the group by Senator Hillary Clinton left an impressionable mark on her: "[Clinton] was trying to encourage us to become more active in politics and she said, 'If you leave all the decision-making to others, you might not like what they do, and you will have no one but yourself to blame.' It was such a challenge to the women in the room. And it really hit me: She’s talking to me."

Following her time at Davis Polk, Gillibrand served as Special Counsel to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Andrew Cuomo during the last year of the Clinton administration. She worked on HUD's Labor Initiative and its New Markets Initiative as well as on TAP's Young Leaders Of The American Democracy, on strengthening Davis-Bacon Act enforcement, and on drafting new markets legislation for public and private investment in building infrastructure in lower income areas.

In 1999, Gillibrand began working on Hillary Clinton's 2000 US Senate campaign. There, she focused on campaigning to young women and encourage them to join the campaign. Many of those women would end up working on Gillibrand's future campaigns. Gillibrand and Clinton became close during the election, with Clinton becoming something of a mentor to the young lawyer. Gillibrand's fondness for Clinton has seen her donate more than $12,000 to Clinton's senate campaigns.

In 2001, Gillibrand became a partner at the Manhattan office of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, where one of her clients was the Altria Group, Philip Morris' parent company. In 2002 she informed Boies of interest in running for office and was allowed to transfer to the firm's Albany office. She left Boies in 2005 to begin her 2006 campaign for congress.

2006 campaign
✅ — I think.  upstate NYer  20:24, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Gillibrand's first run for office was in the 2006 race in New York's 20th congressional district against four-term Republican incumbent John E. Sweeney. The 20th district encompasses all or part of Columbia, Dutchess, Delaware, Essex, Greene, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties. Traditionally conservative, it had been considered a safe seat for Republicans to such an extent that after redistricting in 2002, then-Congressman Sweeney was quoted as saying that “no Republican can ever lose” the district. In November 2006, the Republican Party held an enrollment advantage over Democrats of 82,737 voters (197,473 to 114,736).

Engaging New York's electoral fusion election laws, Gillibrand ran on both the Democratic and Working Families lines. In addition to having the Republican nomination, Sweeney was endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties. During the campaign, Gillibrand was a popular candidate with Democrats. Mike McNulty, Democratic Congressman from the neighboring 21st congressional district, campaigned for her, as did both Hillary and Bill Clinton; the former president appeared twice at campaign events.

The election was noted as being vital to returning control of the House to Democrats. As such, both parties poured millions of dollars into the respective campaigns. Both campaigns spent a portion of those dollars on heated campaign ads; each campaign accused the other of "fighting dirty with negative campaign advertising and of dragging the opponent's family into the campaign." Gillibrand was seen as a moderate by many conservatives. The American Conservative described her eventual win by saying, "Gillibrand won her upstate New York district by running to the right: she campaigned against amnesty for illegal immigrants, promised to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, and pledged to protect gun rights."

The probable turning point of the election was the November 1 release of a December 2005 police report of a 911 call made by Sweeney's wife, in which she claimed Sweeney was "knocking her around the house". The Sweeney campaign claimed it was a lie and promised to have the official report released by State Police, but never came through on that promise. In response, the Sweeney campaign released an ad during which Sweeney's wife described Gillibrand's campaign as "a disgrace." By November 5, a Siena College Research Poll showed Gillibrand ahead of Sweeney by three points (46% to 43%, although that was still within the 3.9% margin of error).

Gillibrand ended up winning with 53.10 percent of the vote (a 6-point lead). She began her first term on January 3, 2007 in the 110th Congress. Following her win, Republicans quickly began speculating about who would run against her in 2008. Len Cutler, director of the Center for the Study of Government and Politics at Siena College indicated that the seat would be difficult for Gillibrand to hold in 2008, noting the substantial Republican enrollment advantage.

110th Congress
 upstate NYer 

Upon the start of her tenure, Gillibrand began publishing her daily calendar, listing everyone she met with on a given day, as well as earmark requests and her personal financial statement. This "Sunlight Report", as her office termed it, was praised by a New York Times editorial in December 2006 as being a "quiet touch of revolution" in a non-transparent system. She joined the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democrats. She was noted for voting against 2007's Immigration Reform Act and George W. Bush's Wall Street bailout.

During her first year, Gillibrand opened the earmarking process up to The New York Times. New rules requiring Representatives to tag their names to requests was seen as an increase in transparancy, as was the invitation from the Congresswoman. Gillibrand stated she wanted what was best for her district "by requiring every project to pass a 'greatest-need, greatest-good' test."

Gillibrand was noted as being an agressive legislator and someone that sometimes stirs up minor controversy within the House; members of the New York congressional delegation were known to refer to her as Tracy Flick.

2008 campaign
✅ — I think.  upstate NYer  02:35, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Gillibrand won her bid for re-election in 2008, enjoying a sophomore surge. Her challenger was former New York Secretary of State Sandy Treadwell. Despite significantly outspending Gillibrand, and promising to never vote to raise taxes, not accept a federal salary, and limit himself to three terms in office, Treadwell lost the election by a 24-point margin, which, for Gillibrand, was a four-fold increase in the differential from the 2006 election. Gillibrand scored 62.13% of the vote with Treadwell getting 37.87%. Democrats generally saw major successes during the 2008 congressional election, credited in part to a coattail effect from Barack Obama's election.

Once again, Gillibrand ran on both the Democratic and Working Families party lines; Treadwell ran on the Republican, Independence, and Conservative lines. Gillibrand's campaign ended up spending $3.5 million while Treadwell's spent $5.5 million. Like 2006, this election was also considered to be largely negative. Gillibrand emphasized bettering Wall Street regulation, pulling out of Iraq, and increasing local jobs by utilizing colleges and high tech companies.

Old version

 * This section will be deleted; it is currently being kept so its content and sources can be used as the rewrite progresses.

In 2006, Gillibrand defeated four-term Republican incumbent John E. Sweeney in New York's 20th congressional district election by a margin of 53%–47%. She co-founded the Congressional High Tech Caucus with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) at the beginning of the 110th Congress. She was also a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during her tenure in the House.

Gillibrand won her bid for re-election in 2008 and enjoyed a sophomore surge, defeating challenger Alexander "Sandy" Treadwell 62%–38%. During the campaign, she was criticized for hosting fundraisers in London, England, and Paris, France. While the fundraisers were legal and contributions only came from American citizens living abroad, some critics claimed that her actions were hypocritical since during her first campaign, she had criticized Sweeney for hosting an out-of-state fundraiser for the 2006 election.

Media reports of her relationship with colleagues in the New York congressional delegation have been contradictory. During the spectacle surrounding Gillibrand's eventual appointment to the United States Senate in January 2009, commentators like Politico's Glenn Thrush and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd claimed that Gillibrand was "unpopular" and was known within her delegation by the unflattering nickname "Tracy Flick", after the Reese Witherspoon character from the movie Election. Recently, 11 members of the NY Congressional Delegation, including 5 from the NYC area, endorsed her 2010 Senate campaign.

During her tenure in the House, she would travel the Washington Metro with her son Theodore and drop him off at the congressional day care center before proceeding to work. She has also posted her daily schedules, earmark requests and financial disclosure forms on her website.

In a May 2008 New York Times article, Gillibrand was mentioned along with fellow Representative Gabrielle Giffords as a "young Democratic dragon slayer who won in [a] Republican district" in the context of possibly becoming the first woman to be elected President.


 * The following two subsections were taken from a Dec 6, 2008 version of this article.

Issues and positions

 * This section will be deleted; it is currently being kept so its content and sources can be used as the rewrite progresses.

Gillibrand is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. She strongly opposes gun control. She is a strong advocate of 2nd Amendment rights. She supports extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts; stem cell research; and the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act. Gillibrand opposes attempts to partially privatize Social Security. She strongly supported passage of the 2008 Farm Bill. Gillibrand broke with former Governor Eliot Spitzer on the issue of illegal immigration, opposing his plan to issue New York State drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.

Committee assignments
✅  upstate NYer 

While in the House of Representatives, Gillibrand served on the following committees:
 * Committee on Agriculture
 * Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research (now known as Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry)
 * Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture
 * Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
 * Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats

Appointment
✅ — I think.  upstate NYer  01:32, 31 January 2011 (UTC) On December 1, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced his choice of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the junior U.S. Senator from New York, as Secretary of State. This began a two-month search process to fill the seat. Upon a senate vacancy in New York, the governor appoints a replacement. In this case, Governor David Paterson was obliged to chose the new senator; Clinton's replacement would face a special election in 2010, with the term ending in January 2013.

The selection process began with a number of prominent names and high-ranking New York Democrats vying for the spot. Gillibrand quietly campaigned to Paterson for the position, meeting secretly with the governor on at least one occasion; she says she made an effort to underscore her successful House elections in a largely conservative district, adding that she could be a good compliment to Chuck Schumer. Gillibrand was presumed a likely choice the days before the official announcement; Paterson held a press conference at noon on January 23 announcing Gillibrand as his choice.

Gillibrand herself has expressed the belief that her ability to keep their interaction secret was vital to the outcome: while other candidates were discussing the process with reporters, Gillibrand was on a holiday vacation in London, far away from the excitement surrounding the selection. A July 2009 Elle magazine exposé stated, "Competing against an A-list cast that included [Caroline Kennedy and Andrew Cuomo], along with virtually every big-name Democrat in New York, Gillibrand succeeded in her stealth campaign to persuade Governor David Paterson to ­appoint her as Clinton’s successor."

The response to the appointment was mixed. The upstate media was generally optimistic about an upstate Senator, which had not been seen since Charles Goodell left office in 1971; downstaters focused on disappointment with a non-Kennedy selection, with some media outlets stating that the selection ignored the democratic influence New York City and downstate have on state politics (due to the area's population). One explicitly asked whether Paterson's administration was aware of "[where] statewide elections are won and lost". The relative unfamiliarity with Gillibrand statewide was undeniable, though, with many finding the choice surprising. One source states, "With every Democrat in New York...angling for the appointment, there was a sense of bafflement, belittlement, and bruised egos when Paterson tapped the junior legislator unknown outside of Albany."

Gillibrand was sworn in on January 26, 2009; at 42, she entered the chamber as the youngest senator in the 111th Congress.

111th Congress
❌  upstate NYer 

Soon after her appointment, Gillibrand's viewpoints on many political issues saw at least some change. Transitioning from representing a heavily Republican congressional district to a largely Democratic state is the given reason, though many in the 20th congressional district saw it as flip-flopping.

Gillibrand, in association with Senator Schumer, were instrumental in Sonya Sotomayor's nomination to the US Supreme Court. On April 9, 2009, a combined Schumer-Gillibrand press release stated strong support of a Latino being nominated to the Surpreme Court at the time of the next vacancy. Sotomayor was their first choice. The two senators introduced Sotomayor at the Senate confirmation hearing in July.

During the lame duck session of the 111th Congress, Senator Gillibrand scored two substantial legislative victories: the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Both were issues she had championed during that session. In the aftermath of these victories, many commentators opined that these victories marked her emergence on the national stage.

In 2011 Gillibrand visited her friend Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who had been shot in the head during the shooting in Tucson, and Giffords opened her eyes for the first time and squeezed Gillibrand's hand.

The National Journal declared Gillibrand to be the tenth most liberal member of the senate in 2010 (she tied Chuck Schumer).

2010 election
 upstate NYer 



Gillibrand faced a Democratic primary election on September 14, 2010. Challengers surfaced as early as the time of her appointment, most notably, Long Island Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who was unhappy with Gillibrand's stance on gun control. McCarthy ultimately decided not to run. By March 2009, Harold Ford, Jr., former Congressman from Tennessee, considered a run but ultimately decided against it after pressure from Chuck Schumer and other high-ranking Democrats. Congressman Steve Israel was was also a contender but was talked out of it by President Obama. Concerned about a possible schism in the party that could lead to a heated primary, split electorate, and weakened stance, high-ranking members of the party backed Gillibrand and requested major opponents to back off. In the end, Gillibrand faced Gail Goode, a lawyer from New York City, and handily won the election with 76% of the vote.

Gillibrand won the November 2010 Special Election to formally retain her seat. Her Republican challenger was Joseph DioGuardi, former U.S. Congressman.

112th Congress
❌  upstate NYer 

2012 Election
✅ Not much more can really be said I guess.  upstate NYer 

Gillibrand is currently running for reelection. After winning the 2010 special election, Gillibrand serves the rest of Clinton's unfinished term, which ends in January 2013. The next election is in November 2012.

Committee assignments
 upstate NYer 

While in the Senate, Gillibrand served on the following committees:


 * Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
 * Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health (Chair)
 * Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
 * Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms
 * Committee on Armed Services (112th Congress)
 * Subcommittee on Airland
 * Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
 * Committee on Environment and Public Works
 * Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy
 * Subcommittee on Oversight
 * Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health
 * Committee on Foreign Relations (111th Congress)
 * Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
 * Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection
 * Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues
 * Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs
 * Special Committee on Aging

Political views
❌  upstate NYer  During her tenure in the House of Representatives, Gillibrand was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and was considered a centrist,  Gillibrand has received an 8% rating from the American Conservative Union, 70% from Americans for Democratic Action, and 90% from the American Civil Liberties Union. OnTheIssues.org rates Gillibrand as a "Populist-Leaning Liberal."

Abortion and reproductive rights
Already live

✅ (all citations confirmed so far)  upstate NYer 

Gillibrand espouses a pro-choice position, stating on her Senate website, "I will always protect a woman's right to choose—no matter what." She has voted in favor of federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, contraception and United Nations Population Fund programs. She voted against Senator Ben Nelson's proposed amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (part of the health care reform legislation of 2010), which would have prohibited the government from allowing insurance plans that cover abortion in a national healthcare exchange. She expressed strong opposition to House Republicans' No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act in early 2011, stating, in her opinion, that the act "disregards women’s rights and restricts the ability of women to access affordable health care."

Economic crisis measures
During the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, Gillibrand, then a member of the House of Representatives, voted twice against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, calling it "fundamentally flawed". However, she did vote for the automobile industry bailout in December 2008.

In 2009, as Senator, Gillibrand voted for the $787 billion stimulus plan backed by the Obama administration. At a press conference on January 25, 2009, Gillibrand said that during her first week in the Senate, she would work to ensure that the stimulus bill included relief funds for New York State. She supported the President's recovery plan and budget, and voted for cram down to allow judges to write down mortgages of struggling homeowners.

Government transparency
Already live

(newly added, as it is very applicable)  upstate NYer 

Gillibrand's office has published a "Sunlight Report" since she began her tenure as a member of the House. This document compiles her financial report as well as all meetings and earmark requests. She also pledged as a House member to accept no lobbyist gifts. In May 2010 she cosponsored the Earmark Transparency Act of 2010, which would require hosting of earmark requests online and limit discussion on those requests until they were posted.

Gun control
Already live  upstate NYer 

Gillibrand's position on gun rights has changed from being against strict gun control in the House to being more "flexible" on the issue since she joined the Senate. While in the House, she had received a 100% positive rating from the National Rifle Association, and sponsored an amendment to the 2008 Farm Bill that would have allowed expanded hunting on public lands. On the other hand, Gillibrand worked to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System Improvement Act.

Gillibrand's pro-gun rights positions received scrutiny after her appointment to the Senate and were the object of criticism by some of her fellow New York Democrats, particularly those in the New York City area. Within days of her being named to the Senate, Gillibrand indicated that her pro-gun rights position was "flexible". By late 2010, the NRA had regraded Gillibrand to an F rating, citing her votes against NRA-backed bills.

In one of her first votes as a senator, Gillibrand voted to reject a measure that would have expanded gun rights in the District of Columbia. While Gillibrand's spokesman characterized the vote as consistent with her previous view that local governments have the right to determine gun restrictions, the Albany Times Union noted that her position was counter to her vote just five months earlier on an almost identical House bill. She authored the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2009 with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, a longtime advocate of gun control. Gillibrand also opposed federal legislation that would have allowed American citizens to carry concealed firearms across state lines even if they were legally allowed to carry the weapons in their home states.

Gillibrand's support of gun rights has been characterized more specifically as support of hunters' rights. Despite her mother being an avid hunter, Gillibrand has never hunted before, though she has shot skeet.

Health care reform legislation
Gillibrand voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Senate's version of health care reform legislation, although it did not contain provisions for a public option for health insurance, for which she had previously expressed support. The Senate bill was heavily criticized by New York Governor David Paterson and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who claimed that it would force New York City to close 100 health clinics, would create a $1 billion hole in New York State's budget, and threaten the existence of struggling hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities. Bloomberg, who called the bill a "disgrace," subsequently telephoned Gillibrand personally to express his extreme dissatisfication with the bill.

When confronted with these criticisms, Gillibrand responded, "What the mayor and the governor are talking about is the Medicare reimbursement rates... I've been fighting on this issue for over six months. What it is, Erroll, is when it comes to funding formulas in the Senate, there are more small states than big states, and so the funding formulas tend to help small states. And that's something Senator Schumer and I have to push back on every single time, because the fact of the matter is, for every dollar New York sends to Washington, we only get 79 cents back, and that's largely due to these formulas. We win on the formula debate on the House. So what I've been trying to do is fight for the House version of the bill when we are in conference... If we are successful we can close the $1 billion gap."

Gillibrand also claimed that the bill would be a net benefit for New York because it would bring in $40 billion to the state, insure 2.7 million New Yorkers, increase the use of preventative care by requiring that it is covered, and give tax credits to 250,000 small businesses to help them afford health care coverage.

Illegal immigration
Already live  upstate NYer 

Gillibrand's views on illegal immigration have shifted since she joined the Senate. Noted for having relatively conservative viewpoints while in the House, she quickly switched some opinions upon entering the upper house.

As a Representative, Gillibrand opposed granting any sort of amnesty to illegal immigrants and supported empowering local police to enforce federal immigration laws. She also opposed giving federal contracts to employers that hire illegal immigrants and supported increasing the number of border patrol agents. She was a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act, which aimed to increase the number of border guards, increase surveillance, and hasten deportations. Breaking with former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, Gillibrand opposed his plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. She also voted in favor of legislation targeting and withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities. Americans for Better Immigration, an immigration reduction lobby, graded Gillibrand at a B.

Following her appointment to the Senate, Gillibrand's positions were criticized by immigration advocates and Democratic elected officials, especially in New York. She subsequently changed some of her positions, explaining that "it’s a case of learning more and expanding my view." She now opposes deporting illegal immigrants and cutting off funds to sanctuary cities. She also supports an earned path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. In 2010 she was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would have provided amnesty to any undocumented immigrants that met certain time and educational requirements; the proposal was subsequently filibustered in the Senate in December 2010. She also supports a moratorium on home raids until comprehensive immigration reform is passed.

Labor
Gillibrand is a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act commonly referred to by its opponents as card check. The legislation would allow the formation of a union without an election by secret ballot when 50% or more of workers sign authorization cards.

LGBT issues
Gillibrand favors legalizing civil unions across the country and leaving the issue of same-sex marriage up to the States, once stating, “All [the] things that we give to married couples, committed gay couples should be eligible for. And then the question of whether you call it a marriage or not, what you label it, that can be left to the states to decide.” In 2007, Gillibrand received an 80 out of 100 rating from the LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign—the lowest score out of New York’s Democratic representatives.

In an interview with the editorial board of the New York Times following her appointment to the Senate, Gillibrand insisted that she had supported same-sex marriage since shortly before her re-election to the House in 2008. On the morning of her appointment to the Senate, she called the Empire State Pride Agenda to reiterate her full support for same-sex marriage. According to the ESPA, as a member of the Senate, Gillibrand will also support a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. On April 16, 2009, Gillibrand endorsed Governor Paterson's proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York.

In July, 2009, Senator Gillibrand announced she was considering introducing an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would impose an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays serving in the military. She ultimately decided against introducing the amendment, as she could not amass the 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster, but told the blog The Daily Beast that she was able to secure the commitment of the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold hearings on "don't ask, don't tell" in the fall of 2009. However, the hearings were postponed and began on February 2, 2010. The repeal ultimately passed both Houses of Congress and was signed by President Obama on December 22, 2010.

In December, 2009, the LGBT publication The Advocate, citing Senator Gillibrand's position on gay marriage and her work toward repealing "don't ask don't tell", declared her one of its five "People of the Year".

Taxes
She opposes the No Child Left Behind Act, because she believes it "places an unmanageable strain on county and school budgets". She supports doubling the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and eliminating or permanently fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Personal life
Already live

 upstate NYer  Gillibrand lives in Brunswick with her husband and two sons. She is married to Jonathan Gillibrand, a venture capitalist and British national. The two met on a blind date; Jonathan was only meant to be in the United States for a year while studying for his MBA at Columbia University, however he stayed in the country because of his relationship with Kirsten. The two were married in a Catholic church in Manhattan in 2001. Due to the requirements of the office, the family spends most of its time in Washington; in 2011, the Gillibrand family sold their house in Hudson and purchased a home in Brunswick to be closer to Kirsten's family in Albany.

The Gillibrands welcomed their first child, Theodore, in 2003. Their second son, Henry, was born in 2008. Gillibrand is the sixth woman to have a child while serving as a member of congress. She continued to work until the day of Henry's delivery, for which she received a standing ovation from her colleagues in the House the next day.

During the financial crisis in 2008, Gillibrand's husband made substantial investments in stock options that would rise in value if the stock market declined.