It's Queens Magazine
The meeting was supposed to be confidential but was leaked by an Albany official, according to City Councilwoman Letitia James. James, who was reported to have been present at the meeting, said she would give no further comment.
The city and state officials who were present at the meeting and who spoke of it afterwards said they were impressed with Kennedy, who is vying for Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be vacant Senate seat.
"The meeting went well," New York State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who attended the meeting, said in an interview the following day. “We were able to have a pretty impressive discussion with Caroline Kennedy about some of the issues that impact the central Brooklyn neighborhoods we represent.”
Kennedy looked to strengthen her connections to the borough's black community at the sit down, which was held in an office near Restoration Plaza. Kennedy's late uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, who briefly held the Senate seat Kennedy now hopes to fill, helped build the development in the 1960's.
Jeffries said many African-American New Yorkers embraced Kennedy after her early endorsement of President-Elect Barack Obama in last year’s Democratic primaries. Kennedy’s surprise endorsement came in January of 2008, when the primary contest between Obama and Clinton was far from decided.
“Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama when the entire Democratic political establishment was running in the opposite direction,” said Jeffries. “Her endorsement certainly allowed for the bridge to be built with the black community that would permit the establishment of a close-knit working relationship.”
The potential for this was clear at the January 11th meeting, where Jeffries said the conversation with Kennedy ranged over many subjects- from strengthening public school education to the problem of black male unemployment in central Brooklyn. Kennedy told the elected officials funding from the federal bailout could be used to stimulate job growth in the area. “I was generally impressed with both her familiarity with the issues that affect our community as well as her willingness to get involved in an active way if she were appointed Senator,” said Jeffries.
State Assemblyman Karim Camara, who was also present at the meeting, said Kennedy appeared “relaxed and authentic” in the private, informal setting.
Kennedy has had trouble in recent weeks adjusting to the burst of publicity that has surrounded her bid for the storied Senate seat. A round of damaging, late-December interviews exposed Kennedy as an inexperienced public speaker and drew heavy criticism that she is not ready to become a Senator. Camara said after her performance in Bed-Stuy he is confident she could hit the ground running if appointed. “I think she’d make a great U.S. Senator,” Camara said.
Governor David Paterson, who has sole authority to make the appointment, has said he will wait until Clinton is confirmed as Secretary of State before announcing her replacement. On Saturday, January 10, Kennedy met with Paterson for the first time to discuss the seat. Details of their conversation were not made public.
If Clinton, whose confirmation hearings began on Tuesday, is confirmed this week, said Camara, state lawmakers have been told the Governor’s decision could come as early as next week.
Though the Sunday meeting went well, the group of elected officials who met with Kennedy stopped short of issuing a formal endorsement. Jeffries said the group had never planned to issue one after the meeting.
“I think Caroline Kennedy would be an excellent representative for the state and central Brooklyn,” said Jeffries, “but there are also other qualified candidates who understand urban issues and would also be vigorous advocates for our community.” Jeffries said these include Andrew Cuomo, the State Attorney General, and Byron Brown, the mayor of Buffalo. “The Governor has an impressive array of choices,” Jeffries said. “I don’t envy being in his position.”
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