David Malpass For Senate: Republican Economist To Challenge Gillibrand

NEW YORK — Economist David Malpass, who has never held public office, announced Wednesday he would seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, saying she was an "unelected occupant" of the seat who had failed to protect the state's taxpayers.

"She's chosen at every step to spend to spend New Yorkers' hard-earned taxes without setting any limits or boundaries," Malpass said, referring to Gillibrand's vote in favor of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and the $787 billion stimulus plan enacted last year.

Malpass, a former treasury official under President Ronald Reagan, made the announcement on the steps of City Hall with Steve Forbes, the multimillionaire publisher and former GOP presidential candidate, at his side. Forbes said Malpass was well versed in areas of economic policy that most Washington politicians consider boring.

"If he had been in charge, we wouldn't have had this financial crisis," Forbes said.

In a statement, the Gillibrand campaign noted that Malpass had been chief economist at the Bear Stearns investment bank from 2001 until it collapsed in 2008.

"David Malpass not only helped cause the financial collapse, he made millions and left taxpayers holding the bill," Gillibrand spokesman Glen Caplin said.

Gillibrand, a former U.S. House member from upstate New York, was appointed by Gov. David Paterson to fill Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat last year after Obama named Clinton to be secretary of state. Since then, Gillibrand has run an aggressive campaign to win the seat in a special election this fall despite polling showing she is not well known to voters and could be vulnerable to a challenge.

So far, the collection of Republicans vying to compete against her is fairly thin. Malpass, a political newcomer largely unknown to the state's voters, joins former Rep. Joe DioGuardi and former Long Island lawmaker Bruce Blakeman in the field. The primary is Sept. 14.

Several better-known Republicans have decided to skip the race, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Gov. George Pataki, who announced this week he would not be a candidate.

Gillibrand also escaped a potential primary challenge when former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford, now a New York City investment executive, actively explored a bid but ultimately decided not to get in the race.

Malpass advised Giuliani during his 2008 presidential campaign. He told reporters he has about $1 million in the bank and would have sufficient resources to compete against Gillibrand, a tenacious fundraiser.

Gillibrand's campaign announced Wednesday it had raised $8.75 million so far, and aides said the campaign had about $6 million on hand.

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Associated Press writer Michael Hill in Albany contributed to this story.

Comments

[rhodapenmark]

06:28 PM on 04/15/2010

It's a bit of a stretch to call David Malpass a "top economist." Anybody whose resume includes the now defunct (because of the Enron Scandal), unethical Arthur Andersen accounting firm, AND the recently collapsed Bear Stearns Co. (ethics and greed), shouldn't be counted as a "top" anything.

I think Malpass is a person who needs to be kept as far away from government as possible.

[hewerk]

08:49 PM on 04/29/2010

That is such an ignorant comment. Its like saying anyone who ever worked for any firm that went down was directly responsible and hence tainted. He was an economist, he didn't run the firm. Maybe you should spend a little time reading his various articles and thinking, just a little, rather than reacting in such a stupid partisan fashion - or is that simply too much work for a simpleton like you to manage? Moron- please do us all a favor, don't vote, collect your food stamps and free health care, comfortable in knowing you wont foot the bill-but you will you just don't know it yet comrade!!

[leyvadaniel]

06:09 PM on 04/14/2010

No republican will ever defend the right of the people, they all care about tax breaks for corporations at the expense of the people. Plus, they H8 people that are not white.

[hewerk]

08:58 PM on 04/29/2010

Corporations DO NOT PAY TAXES- you may think they do, but they don't, get a clue, its a pass through, its an expense- YOU pay the tax. Take any company and look at their returns over history and you will see what I'm saying is a fact. The Democrats like to make companies out as being evil and bad, but look at this country over history vs any other nation in the world- none match up, and its because we are capitalist- why do you think China, Russia and India all moved in our direction??? Read a little about economics and other nations and you will realize this is actually the best system!

This is also true for increased regulations- you want less pollution- your car will cost more, your electricity will cost more- regulation is a form of Tax and you pay it. It may sound bad, but its simple economics- and frankly its not bad.

While we may have high unemployment currently, other nations have high unemployment permanently- look at France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal- you pick........

[ThankGodFor111148]

03:05 PM on 04/14/2010

All the right wing partisan hacks will fail miserably this November.

Thank you, Senator Gillibrand, for helping pass Public Law 111-148, and for keeping the public option out of it. The public option would have hurt families. And I love my family too much for that.

[Jonathan Gallo]

02:59 PM on 04/14/2010

Gillibrand will win in a landslide.

[wmholt]

01:47 PM on 04/14/2010

"Malpass advised Giuliani during his 2008 presidential campaign."

That's all you need to know. Giuliani spent what, 50 million on his campaign, and only got one delegate?