Albany – D’Amato Takes (Near) Center Stage at Gillibrand Announcement

Albany – Forgotten but not gone, Alfonse M. D’Amato performed a Herculean feat in a photo-op Friday in Albany: as a lone Republican, he upstaged his Senate successor, Charles E. Schumer, at a Democratic love fest.

Mr. D’Amato, who was defeated by Mr. Schumer in 1998 and is now a thriving consultant and lobbyist, managed to position himself closest to Kirsten E. Gillibrand, the woman Gov. David A. Paterson chose to inherit Hillary Rodham Clinton’s seat in the United States Senate, as she introduced herself to the public. Mr. Schumer, though he was in his assigned place, found himself out of the frame.

During college, Ms. Gillibrand was a summer intern in Mr. D’Amato’s Albany office. Her father, Douglas P. Rutnik, is a politically connected Albany lawyer who is close to Mr. D’Amato and to former members of the Pataki administration.

Dana Weisberg, a spokeswoman for Mr. D’Amato, said the governor’s office invited him to Friday’s announcement because of his position as a senator emeritus, adding that he played no role in Ms. Gillibrand’s selection. “He was just as surprised as anyone else,” she said.

Asked whether he realized he was blocking Mr. Schumer from the best camera angle, Mr. D’Amato replied: “No one ever blocks Chuck out for long.”

While Mr. D’Amato was literally in the picture, Mr. Schumer eventually got a turn at the microphone. He praised Mr. Paterson for the “courage” to name an upstater who, if she seeks a full term and survives a possible Democratic primary, could provide needed geographic balance to the Democratic ticket in 2010, when Mr. Schumer is expected to seek re-election.

He did not mention a more personal potential benefit: Unlike Caroline Kennedy, who was widely considered the front-runner to succeed Mrs. Clinton until she withdrew her name early Thursday, Ms. Gillibrand appears unlikely to upstage Mr. Schumer immediately in the Senate.

Also evading all but the most generous cropping in Friday’s photo-op was Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker. While Mr. D’Amato stood smack in the middle, just over Ms. Gillibrand’s right shoulder, Mr. Silver took a more old-fashioned stance at the side, but in the front row — perhaps thinking that if a photo caption read left to right, his name might come first.