Senator Gillibrand Delivers Keynote at New-York Historical Society Strawberry Festival

Senator Gillibrand introduced herself to patrons of the New-York Historical Society Monday at the museum and library's annual Strawberry Festival Luncheon.

In the past few years, the luncheon has become an important stop for women on the campaign trail: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke in 2006 when she was a senator; First Lady Michelle Obama spoke in 2007 when she was campaigning for her husband's candidacy for president (by coincidence, Mrs. Obama was in town Monday too, making visits to the Metropolitan Museum and American Ballet Theatre's opening night).

Despite its quaint name, the Strawberry Festival Luncheon presents an opportunity to build support among well-heeled and well-connected women and to align with one of the nation's most important respositories of historical materials. The event is a fund-raiser for the society, not the candidates, and politicians have spoken there in the context of receiving an award from the society.

Ms. Gillibrand took full advantage of the moment as she gears up for the election for her Senate seat in 2010. In a 20-minute speech she covered everything from her upbringing to her decision to go into politics to what she's thinking about the economy, education, and gun control. And then, poof, she was off to her next event.

Ms. Gillibrand's most powerful personal anecdote concerned her mother. She told of how her mother, while in law school, took a criminal law exam the day after she gave birth to her son. What did Ms. Gillibrand learn from this story? She worked a full day in the House of Representatives the day before giving birth to her second son.

Ms. Gillibrand spoke of her work as a lawyer at the firm Davis Polk, where her favorite assignments were the pro bono ones -- helping a group of women who wanted to hold a prayer summit at Madison Square Garden, for example. It was this work that made her decide to go into public service.

She addressed the perception that she is "bad on violence," silently acknowledging her support of the right to bear arms. "I'm going to write the state of the art anti-trafficking bill," she said, to limit guns moving across state lines. "I will be your partner in making sure our communities are safe."

On the economy, she said she and her friend Bernard Schwartz (a trustee of the society) about a year ago determined that the most important investment to help the economy is infrastructure. "And not just fixing bridges and roads, but high-speed rail, rural broadband, and healthcare IT," Ms. Gillibrand said.

"She's a powerhouse," Mr. Schwartz said in an interview after Ms. Gillibrand's remarks. "She's also a sleeper. She surrounds her opponents and the issues and her friends and before you know it, she's made progress. She's very effective."

"She's real, intelligent, and passionate, so that's promising," said Diana DiMenna, who with her husband Joseph DiMenna is helping the museum build a new children's gallery. "If we could keep her, Kate Levin, and Joel Klein, then we might be able to get good things to happen. These are my three heroes of public service."

Ms. Gillibrand received a Tiffany & Co. apple as her award.

	Louise Mirrer, president of the New-York Historical Society, presents Senator Gillibrand with a Tiffany & Co. apple. Photo: Don Pollard