Who will voters choose to replace Gillibrand?

HARLEM VALLEY — Now that the shock wave of Gov. David Paterson’s appointment of Congresswoman Kristen Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate had died down, a new question has arisen: Who will  replace Gillibrand?

It won’t be solved with a simple appointment. Unlike the empty Senate seat, special elections are required by law to appoint a new seat for the 20th Congressional District. That district covers parts of Dutchess, Columbia, Essex, Warren, Otsego, Saratoga, Washington, Greene, Delaware and Rensselaer counties.

Paterson will choose the date of the special election and has said he is holding off to give candidates a proper opportunity to introduce themselves to the public. Elections are normally held 30 to 40 days after the governor’s proclamation. By law, Paterson isn’t required to act on the empty seat until July 2010, but the general consensus is that elections will occur sometime in March.

In lieu of party primaries, the heads of the Democratic and Republican committees in each county have voted for a candidate. The votes were weighted based on the county’s population. Using this system, Saratoga County’s vote counts the most in the 10-county district.

With Gillibrand having officially resigned her seat on Jan. 26, the Republican party is looking to take back the seat that had been traditionally conservative, until Gillibrand defeated incumbent John Sweeney in 2006.

On Jan. 27, State Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco won the GOP nomination.

By Monday, Feb. 2, Scott Murphy had been chosen as the Democratic candidate. Murphy is currently president of the Upstate Venture Association of New York, and the New York managing director of Advantage Capital Partners in Glens Falls.

Murphy will face off against Tedisco in the election, the date of which has yet to be set by the governor.