Chris Churchill
Gillibrand’s headquarters mean big things for Troy.
For just a moment, let’s put our bitter political divisions aside. If you worship at the feet of Donald Trump, ignore for now that Kirsten Gillibrand has branded herself a key member of the resistance and that she is almost certainly going to be one of the candidates trying to unseat him in 2020.
If you’re a lefty who wears a “Feel the Bern” tee to bed, ignore that Gillibrand was once a tobacco-industry lawyer and a conservative Democrat who bragged about the guns under her bed.
And if you’re somewhere in the middle, forget, just for now, that New York’s junior senator vowed before the November election that she would serve out her six-year term and already seems ready to abandon that promise.
Left and right, progressive and conservative, we all agree that Gillibrand’s decision to locate her presidential campaign headquar-
ters in Troy is great for the city and its ever-evolving downtown. It’s good for the region.
“It brings national attention,” said former Troy mayor Harry Tutunjian. “It brings media and workers here. It fills hotel rooms and restaurants.”
Tutunjian, I should mention, is a Republican, and yet is nevertheless willing to welcome Team Gillibrand to his city. Isn’t that nice? See, we really can all get along. Anybody remember how the first verse of “Kumbaya” goes?
“It will help her deliver things to Troy,” Tutunjian added, “that she wasn’t able to deliver as a congresswoman and a senator.” Well, it was nice while it lasted. Gillibrand has yet to formally announce that she’s running, but she is hiring aides for her presidential campaign, according to the New York Times, and is planning a visit to Iowa. Sources tell the Times Union that Gillibrand has leased 5,000 square feet of office space in the Frear building at River and Fulton streets.
The prominent downtown landmark, a former department store, is about three miles from Gillibrand’s home in Brunswick. More importantly, perhaps, it’s about a half block from The Bradley, which the senator has described on Twitter as “one of the best dive bars in all of Troy.”
Gillibrand, of course, is originally from Albany, with deep family ties to the city’s political history. So why not put her presidential campaign headquarters there?
The answer is obvious. Albany, through no fault of its own, is a bad political brand, given the Legislature’s proclivity toward sleaziness and corruption. Plus, there’s the Andrew Cuomo factor. You don’t want a potential rival popping in or peeking through windows.
Security! Andy is here again!
No, the hometown of Uncle Sam will do just fine. And for anyone who loves the city, it’s hard not to daydream about where this all could go. What if Gillibrand, hardly considered a front-runner, actually wins the nomination? What if she ... BECOMES THE PRESIDENT?
“If a Democrat has to rise to the presidency, it would be nice to have it be a Democrat from Rensselaer County,” Tutunjian said.
Gillibrand’s Brunswick home could become the Winter White House, the Mar-a-lago of the North. The Bradley could become a presidential hangout; it might someday sport a plaque noting that “President Gillibrand drank here.” In 2030, the Gillibrand Presidential Library could finally fill that big ugly hole at One Monument Square. The possibilities are endless.
Sure, there would be downsides. Presidential motorcades would block traffic. Tourist hordes might ruin the farmers market. You might bump into Jim Acosta at Dinosaur Bar-b-que.
Hey, nobody said entering the big time would be easy.
Our we getting ahead of ourselves? A recent CNN poll had Gillibrand with just 1 percent of the vote, way behind Joe Biden (30 percent) and Bernie Sanders (13 percent). She’s tied with Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who could walk naked through Times Square without being recognized.
Gillibrand also faces lingering and inexplicable anger from some Democrats over her call for Al Franken to resign, which is beyond ridiculous. Eight women accuse the former Minnesota senator of sexual impropriety and Gillibrand is responsible for his downfall? C’mon.
Gillibrand’s obviously calculated policy flops are a more valid reason for skepticism. (She has blamed formerly conservative positions on guns and immigration on her having an “upstate lens.”) But President Obama “evolved” on gay marriage, among other issues, and nobody seemed to care. Trump changes his mind every other minute.
This much is true: Anybody who underestimates Kirsten Gillibrand is making a mistake. She has proven herself far more politically skilled and adept than most of us would have imagined when she announced her candidacy against John Sweeney back in 2006.
Is Gillibrand a 2020 long shot? Sure. Could she win? Yes.
Now, about that presidential library.