Paterson Holds Follow-Up Talks With Senate Candidates

By: Josh Robin

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Governor David Paterson will probably not announce who will replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate until after Barack Obama's inauguration, but a new twist on the decision emerged Friday. NY1’s Josh Robin filed the following report.

As Governor David Paterson’s announcement of his replacement for Senator Hillary Clinton draws near, he is reassessing his decision.

"I'm having new thinking about who I'm intending to appoint, and am having a few follow-up conversations with some of those people who've put themselves forward as potential candidates," said Paterson.

Potential candidates include poll-favorites Andrew Cuomo and Caroline Kennedy.

Another likely candidate is Upper East Side Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who touted her blue-collar credentials in Albany Friday.

"I'd say that Cuomo and Kennedy are very recognizable names, because of the service of their fathers and others. Maloney is not a well-known name,” said Maloney. “My father was not a rich and famous person. I am a hard working woman who got elected to Congress and continues to work hard for New York State."

Paterson is working hard on his selection, and admits to no regrets on waiting.

"I thought that I would wait until the time that the senator was known to be confirmed and make a decision,” he said. “This wound up to be right on the heels of the inauguration, which will give me a little extra time."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Clinton’s nomination as secretary of state Thursday, as the junior senator said goodbye to her home of eight years.

"I may not have always been a New Yorker, but I know I always will be one," she said.

Inauguration Day could also be Clinton's first day as secretary of state, with full Senate confirmation and a ceremonial swearing-in.

For now, Paterson gets questioned at every appearance about whether he has made up his mind, and the governor usually makes a joke about the fact that he hasn't.

At a press conference in Lower Manhattan Friday, 89-year-old Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau aided Paterson’s ongoing joke.

"I'm not a candidate," deadpanned Morgenthau.

"The district attorney has just withdrawn as the candidate," responded Paterson.

Now, Paterson has more than 20 others to consider.