Rosie’s Gay Brother to the US Senate?

File this under "nice to be considered among such a fine group" — New York Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, out gay brother of lesbian entertainer Rosie O’Donnell, was interviewed by Governor David Paterson for the United States Senate seat to be vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton when she is confirmed as Barack Obama’s Secretary of State.

Enter the latest contender to sit down face to face with the governor: Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side. Mr. O’Donnell met with Mr. Paterson for about 45 minutes on Monday afternoon in the governor’s Midtown office for what Mr. O’Donnell said was his formal interview for the Senate seat.

To say Mr. O’Donnell, known for his active support of gay rights issues, including same-sex marriage, was overly optimistic about his chances would be a stretch. He put his odds of getting the seat at about one in 10, or “about the same as the population of gay people in the world.” But Mr. O’Donnell did offer that he believes the governor has yet to settle on a final choice.

“I didn’t get the impression that a decision was coming anytime soon,” Mr. O’Donnell said. “I have the sense that he was really weighing what people were saying. I can tell when people are listening to me and actually listening, and listening to me just because they’re supposed to listen. He seemed to be very intent on focusing on and absorbing what I think my strengths might be.”

With that assessment came a dose of realism from Mr. O’Donnell, who added: “I’m sure I’m not unique. I’m sure he does that with all the people he talks to.”

Sure sounds to me like no one has this sewn up. In addition to being Rosie’s brother, Daniel O’Donnell is another fan of Pam’s House Blend; Pam sez:

BTW, I met Assemblyman O’Donnell at the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference in 2007 and he said that visits the Blend whenever he has the chance (I’m sure he doesn’t exactly have a lot of time on his hands!). I don’t know what O’Donnell’s chances are, or what Gov. Paterson is weighing as critical for this seat since the occupant will have to run for the office once the Clinton term is up. Will he go for the historic pick? A sure-fire fundraiser (Kennedy)? It will be interesting to see what the governor chooses to do.

2007’s Best LGBT Blogger JoeMyGod agrees with WaPo’s Jonathan Capehart that Caroline’s chances appear to be weakening:

As Caroline Kennedy’s candidacy seems to wane, more press attention is being paid this week to other contenders for the seat, including my own Congresswoman, Carolyn Mahoney, who like O’Donnell is a strong supporter of marriage equality. Another interesting candidate is openly lesbian teachers union head Randi Weingarten.

RELATED: There has never been an openly gay U.S. Senator.

Except, of course, outgoing Senator Tap-Tap-Tap (GAY-ID).  Oh,  wait…

UPDATE from GayCityNews:

As recently as two weeks ago when he was chatting with Paterson about his search for an appointee, O’Donnell said he took that occasion to laud the governor for giving consideration to Randi Weingarten, the longtime city teachers’ union president who is openly lesbian. The assemblyman said he emphasized to Paterson the importance of having openly gay and lesbian officials at all levels of government.

The call from Paterson’s office came on Christmas Eve, asking O’Donnell if he were willing to sit down with the governor to discuss the appointment. Explaining that as a longtime Democratic activist and community board member in Morningside Heights, which Paterson represented in the State Senate, he has known the governor for many years, O’Donnell described the exchange between the two men as more "conversational" than a typical job interview might otherwise be.

Still, O’Donnell said, he highlighted aspects of his professional and personal résumé that might not be widely known — that he grew up on Long Island, where many from his large family still live; that he worked as a Legal Aid lawyer in Brooklyn; that his longtime partner grew up in upstate New York; and that the couple owns a weekend farmhouse, "not a home on Martha’s Vineyard."

{h/t Joe at AmericaBlog}