MALONEY MAKES HER CASE

Most New York elected officials have balked at publicly discussing their chances of being picked to succeed Hillary Clinton in the Senate. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, however, has unequivocally expressed her interest in that seat. Though candidness may seem unusual for a seasoned politician like Maloney, all an inquiring mind had to do was ask. â??I"ve always been honored when someone asked me a question, so I try to answer it, Maloney said. â??They asked if I was interested, and I said â??yes." Since Clinton announced her run for president, Maloney has been on the list of people the governor could appoint should Clinton leave her Senate seat. Clinton"s Oval Office dreams were dashed, but the scramble for her Senate seat was revived when president-elect Barack Obama tapped her as Secretary of State. When Clinton resigns to head the State Department, Gov. David Paterson must appoint someone to finish her term, which is over in 2010. The National Organization for Women (NOW) urged Paterson to appoint a woman, specifically Maloney. The group pointed to her legislation and advocacy on women"s issues, including the reauthorization of a law that processes DNA from rape kits and efforts to protect victims of human trafficking. â??She"s got a real track record of supporting women issues, said Sonia Ossorio, NOW-New York president. â??Fortunately for the women of New York, those are issues that directly relate to our quality of life, quality of status in the community and the opportunities that we have. A recent newspaper editorial board in Queens endorsed her Senate bid, and in a blog post, actor Alec Baldwin's one of Maloney"s favorites, she said's said Paterson should appoint Maloney. The Feminist Majority"s Political Action Committee initially threw support to Maloney but is rethinking the endorsement in light of the announcement that the other woman from the Upper East Side is interested in Clinton"s Senate seat: Caroline Kennedy. Maloney said her senior position on the Joint Economic Committee and her role as chair of a subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit make her uniquely qualified to continue Clinton"s advocacy for job creation, economic development and allocating funds for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. â??Many people voted for Hillary not so much as a woman, but for the agenda she brought forward, Maloney said. â??I would work hard for that agenda. Not one to rest on her legislative laurels, Maloney is rounding up support and working to expand her influence and name recognition beyond her district. She took a Dec. 15 trip to Staten Island to support the opening of a publicly funded health center. She is also building up political support, hiring Bill Lynch Associates, a lobbying group with ties to Paterson. At press time, Maloney was scheduled to host a Dec. 17 union breakfast featuring six labor leaders. With union support, a 16-year career in Congress, and prodigious bill writing, Maloney is positioning herself as a candidate qualified to make a transition to the Senate. If Republican Rep. Peter King of Long Island follows through on his intentions to run for the Senate in 2010, Maloney said she is the person to hold on to the seat. â??I"ve never lost an election, Maloney said.