Caroline Kennedy tells Daily News: I wouldn't be beholden to anybody
BY KENNETH LOVETT
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF
Updated Saturday, December 27th 2008, 5:14 PM
Warga/News
Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy speaks to the Daily News Saturday morning.
A defiant Caroline Kennedy says she "wouldn't be beholden to anybody" - including Mayor Bloomberg - if she's picked to become New York's next U.S. senator.
"I'm really coming into this as somebody who isn't, you know, part of the system, who obviously, you know, stands for the values of, you know, the Democratic Party," Kennedy told the Daily News Saturday during a wide-ranging interview.
"I know how important it is to, you know, to be my own person. And, you know, and that would be obviously true with my relationship with the mayor."
Kennedy, sipping on peppermint tea at an upper East Side diner, was responding to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who said she could be more beholden to Bloomberg than Gov. Paterson, who will make the Senate appointment.
JFK's daughter has been helped behind the scenes by the mayor's top aide, Kevin Sheekey. She has also hired a political consulting firm with ties to Bloomberg.
Despite her closeness with the mayor, Kennedy said she has never voted for him, or any Republican for that matter, and insisted she will support the Democratic candidate for mayor next year.
Kennedy, 51, is one of a number of New Yorkers looking to replace Sen. Hillary Clinton, who will give up the seat to become secretary of state.
Criticized for ignoring reporters after her name surfaced as a possible Clinton replacement, Kennedy sat down with the media this weekend. Displaying her notorious shyness during the 30-minute chat, the mother of three, author and public education advocate was pleasant, but spoke softly and rarely made eye contact. Her speech was often punctuated with extra "you knows" and "ums."
Kennedy said she is excited and up to the challenge of not only serving in the Senate but mounting a run for the seat in 2010 and 2012.
"I'm not as shy as everybody makes me out to be," she said.
Kennedy revealed she has had several recent discussions with her former cousin-in-law, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is also considered a serious candidate for the Senate seat.
"Andrew is, you know, highly qualified for this job," she said. "He's doing a, you know, a great job as attorney general, and we've spoken throughout this process."
Despite his bitter divorce from Kerry Kennedy, in which her family accused Cuomo of spilling about his wife's extramarital affair, Caroline Kennedy said the recent conversations have been amicable.
"You know, I think, you know, we're sort of, uh, sharing some of this experience. And um, as I've said, he was a friend, a family member, and um so, and uh obviously, he's, you know, he's also had an impressive career in public office."
Although Cuomo has said he is fond of Kennedy, he has refused to say whether he believes she is qualified to be senator.
Bashed as a political novice, Kennedy argued that her ties in Washington, particularly to President-elect Barack Obama, can help her deliver for New York. She denied that her interest in the seat is driven by a desire to ensure the family continues its decades-long presence in the Senate.
"It's really, you know, it's not about just the Kennedy name," she said. "It's about my own work and what I've done with those values."
She refused to discuss details of her personal wealth and again said she would file all legal disclosures publicly only if she is selected for the seat.
Kennedy also said as a senator she would help New York Democrats raise money. The News reported last week that she has done little in the way of donating money to New York politicians over the years.
She also says she realizes campaigning means making sure not to offend locals, by things like rejecting a sausage sandwich at a state fair, the way Republican Rick Lazio, who lost to Clinton in 2000, famously did.
When asked if she would eat the sausage sandwich, she laughed, smiled and said, "I'm starving."
klovett@nydailynews.com
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF
Updated Saturday, December 27th 2008, 5:14 PM
Warga/News
Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy speaks to the Daily News Saturday morning.
A defiant Caroline Kennedy says she "wouldn't be beholden to anybody" - including Mayor Bloomberg - if she's picked to become New York's next U.S. senator.
"I'm really coming into this as somebody who isn't, you know, part of the system, who obviously, you know, stands for the values of, you know, the Democratic Party," Kennedy told the Daily News Saturday during a wide-ranging interview.
"I know how important it is to, you know, to be my own person. And, you know, and that would be obviously true with my relationship with the mayor."
Kennedy, sipping on peppermint tea at an upper East Side diner, was responding to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who said she could be more beholden to Bloomberg than Gov. Paterson, who will make the Senate appointment.
JFK's daughter has been helped behind the scenes by the mayor's top aide, Kevin Sheekey. She has also hired a political consulting firm with ties to Bloomberg.
Despite her closeness with the mayor, Kennedy said she has never voted for him, or any Republican for that matter, and insisted she will support the Democratic candidate for mayor next year.
Kennedy, 51, is one of a number of New Yorkers looking to replace Sen. Hillary Clinton, who will give up the seat to become secretary of state.
Criticized for ignoring reporters after her name surfaced as a possible Clinton replacement, Kennedy sat down with the media this weekend. Displaying her notorious shyness during the 30-minute chat, the mother of three, author and public education advocate was pleasant, but spoke softly and rarely made eye contact. Her speech was often punctuated with extra "you knows" and "ums."
Kennedy said she is excited and up to the challenge of not only serving in the Senate but mounting a run for the seat in 2010 and 2012.
"I'm not as shy as everybody makes me out to be," she said.
Kennedy revealed she has had several recent discussions with her former cousin-in-law, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is also considered a serious candidate for the Senate seat.
"Andrew is, you know, highly qualified for this job," she said. "He's doing a, you know, a great job as attorney general, and we've spoken throughout this process."
Despite his bitter divorce from Kerry Kennedy, in which her family accused Cuomo of spilling about his wife's extramarital affair, Caroline Kennedy said the recent conversations have been amicable.
"You know, I think, you know, we're sort of, uh, sharing some of this experience. And um, as I've said, he was a friend, a family member, and um so, and uh obviously, he's, you know, he's also had an impressive career in public office."
Although Cuomo has said he is fond of Kennedy, he has refused to say whether he believes she is qualified to be senator.
Bashed as a political novice, Kennedy argued that her ties in Washington, particularly to President-elect Barack Obama, can help her deliver for New York. She denied that her interest in the seat is driven by a desire to ensure the family continues its decades-long presence in the Senate.
"It's really, you know, it's not about just the Kennedy name," she said. "It's about my own work and what I've done with those values."
She refused to discuss details of her personal wealth and again said she would file all legal disclosures publicly only if she is selected for the seat.
Kennedy also said as a senator she would help New York Democrats raise money. The News reported last week that she has done little in the way of donating money to New York politicians over the years.
She also says she realizes campaigning means making sure not to offend locals, by things like rejecting a sausage sandwich at a state fair, the way Republican Rick Lazio, who lost to Clinton in 2000, famously did.
When asked if she would eat the sausage sandwich, she laughed, smiled and said, "I'm starving."
klovett@nydailynews.com
P.S. Highlights used to emphasize the you know repetitions. arsenio