Little doesn’t plan to run for Congress (update)
Sen. related to Scott Murphy by marriage, says she will try to stay in state SenateBy NATHAN BROWN, Enterprise Staff Writer
State Sen. Betty Little does not plan to try to run again for the congressional seat that Democrat Scott Murphy won on Friday when Republican Jim Tedisco conceded.
"She anticipates running for New York state Senate in 2010," her spokesman, Dan Mac Entee, said Monday afternoon. "She enjoys being senator. It's a tremendous honor. She would like to continue having the privilege of representing the voters of the 45th District."
New York's 20th District seat opened up after Gov. David Paterson appointed Kirsten Gillibrand to the U.S. Senate in late January, triggering a special election. Mac Entee said Little viewed the open seat as "a unique opportunity to run for Congress and do something different. Since that hasn't worked out, she has refocused on the Senate."
Little is related to Murphy by marriage.
"Betty's daughter's husband's sister is married to Scott," Mac Entee said, referring to Murphy's wife, Jenn Hogan. In other words, Little's daughter is married to Hogan's brother, making her son-in-law Murphy's brother-in-law.
During the campaign, Murphy often spoke in interviews and commercials of his 57 family members who gather for Sunday dinners at his wife's family farm in Washington County. Mac Entee said he doesn't know whether Little's daughter and son-in-law are among the 57.
Murphy will be sworn in Wednesday. He has said he expects to sit on the Agriculture and Financial Services committees once in the House.
A general election for the seat will be held in November 2010, back on regular schedule, and primaries are possible.
Little, a Queensbury Republican, announced her interest in running for the seat the day Paterson appointed Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton, whom President Barack Obama had named as his secretary of state. Former gubernatorial candidate John Faso also expressed interest, but the Republican chairs of the district's 10 counties chose state Assemblyman Tedisco, of Glenville, within a week, without letting the candidates address the chairs. Tedisco was Assembly minority leader at the time; he stepped down earlier this month, and the minority leader is now Brian Kolb of Canandaigua.
The vote was too close to call for weeks after the March 31 election, but the absentee ballot count did not go as well for Tedisco as he had hoped, and he conceded Friday. Little told the New York Observer last Wednesday, two days before Tedisco conceded, that Tedisco should "do a good analysis of where he stands" and consider conceding due to Murphy's 273-vote lead at that point in the count.
Little's state Senate district includes six North Country counties. Warren and Washington counties are entirely within the 20th Congressional District, and several Essex County towns, including North Elba and Keene, are in it as well. She made a public appearance with Tedisco in Queensbury about a week-and-a-half before the election, her first during the campaign, and donated $1,000 to his campaign.
Murphy donated $600 to Friends of Betty Little, her campaign fund, in 2008.
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Contact Nathan Brown 891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
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Crugill
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04-29-09 3:06 PM
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According to the NYS Board of Elections, Sen. Little received 84,482 votes out of 132,215 cast in November 08. 47,678 votes were for “blank,” + 50 or so votes were scattered or voided. If Sen. Little were to vote for same-sex marriage would the NYS Conservative Party run a candidate against her next year? Would that candidate siphon enough votes to allow a potential Democratic Party candidate to win? Who knows --- For years, I’ve seen the same-sex marriage issue as being one of civil rights, and that seems to be the current trend.
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tarddersauce
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04-29-09 11:34 AM
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I hope Mrs. Little reads these comments and realizes that she lost at least one vote due to her position on gay marriage. It isnt an issue of sexuality, it is an equal rights issue. God forbid us straight people let gay and lesbian people have the same rights as us. The world would just come to an end if that were to happen.
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veritas
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04-28-09 11:55 PM
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Betty Little will be 70 years old in 2010 ... does this district really NEED a 70 year old FRESHMAN congressman? Perhaps it is time for Betty to consider retirement, allowing younger folks a chance at getting New York State back from the disaster it has become.
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Crugill
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04-28-09 6:17 PM
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The Gov. wanted an immediate Senate vote on the same-sex marriage bill - bur the Senate Majority leader “went rogue,” and won’t put it up for a vote until he knows he has the votes necessary for passage. A few Democrats are against the bill, so some Republican votes will indeed be needed. In an interview last week, Sen. Little didn’t mention her prior contention that “most New Yorkers are against it.” If it does hit the Senate floor for a vote, which Republican is going to cast the tie breaker? Someone from a district that will evict him/her next year? It might be like the abortion vote in 1970 - an Assemblyman broke the tie at the buzzer, knowing that he would effectively end his political career. A friend who was a law student at the time told me that “George M. Michaels will go down in history.” He did, but my friend had been predicting “fame.”
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YouKnowImRight
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04-28-09 4:42 PM
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Betty needs to loosen up on the Gay marraige issue-who's she fooling?
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Crugill
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04-28-09 3:43 PM
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I think that the “family ties” between Sen. Little and soon to be Rep. Murphy are newsworthy. Mr. Murphy had probably contemplated a new career in the public sector prior to January. A special election to replace Rep. Gillibrand was on nobody’s radar screen last fall.. Sen. Little ran unopposed last Nov., and he could have run in that race. Did he not run because of his familial relationship? On the other hand, was it because he might have lost? That speculation is none of my business. But had he run for NYS Senate last fall, I don't think he would have won.
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NativeTransplant
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04-28-09 11:55 AM
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Kevin Bacon, that's who.
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iliveinlp
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04-28-09 11:17 AM
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"Little is related to Murphy by marriage. "Betty's daughter's husband's sister is married to Scott," Mac Entee said, referring to Murphy's wife, Jenn Hogan. In other words, Little's daughter is married to Hogan's brother, making her son-in-law Murphy's brother-in-law." Seriously, who cares??
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