Gillibrand's political star rises

ALBANY – After Gov. David Paterson's surprise appointment of second-term U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat on Jan. 23, 2009, the New York Times helpfullyphoneticized her name for its readers: "JILL-uh-brand."In her remarks, Gillibrand, who had learned at 2 a.m. that morning that she had been selected over several more prominent contenders, acknowledged that she was unknown to much of the state. But she vowed to "bring upstate and downstate together, to