(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Caroline Kennedy may have a thinner résumé and, according to polls, less popularity with voters than her main Senate-seat rival, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, but her lack of public office could give her another edge. The problem is that after appointing Cuomo, Governor Paterson wouldn’t have the power to choose his replacement as A.G.; that resides with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. “The governor and the attorney general have a great relationship,” a source close to Paterson says. “It’s almost like Andrew is a victim of his own success. Any governor wants to have a good relationship with his attorney general.” Albany insiders say the worst-case scenario for Paterson is that Silver and lawmakers replace Cuomo with Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a feisty Westchester Democrat who has been a tough critic of the Paterson administration. “The guys on the second floor are squeamish about having to deal with Brodsky,” says one Albany insider.

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Jacob Gershman
• Table of Contents: Jan 19, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!