Paterson on What He Wants in a Senator

David Paterson hadn't even finished announcing an effort to crack down on the causes of asthma in the Bronx when Representative Jose Serrano joked to reporters at the press conference that, no, he wasn't lobbying the governor about a replacement for Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

"I did that last week," Serrano said. There was lots of laughter, including from Paterson.

Not surprisingly, the topic came up again during the Q&A.

When asked about the "most significant qualities" he wants in a new senator, Paterson said, "I'm looking for a person with a combination of skills, that can represent a state has a significant rural, suburban and urban communities, which has different types of people that live in the state."

I asked how important it is to have someone from a part of the state that is generally less represented statewide. (Paterson has been under some pressure to appoint someone from upstate.)

"Well, it's very important," Paterson said, "because the skill level can be the same among the individuals, but there is history and familiarity that people have who come from different parts of the state, or have unique backgrounds that we'd like to see in government."