US News

STEINEM TOUTS KENNEDY FOR NY SEAT – IN HOUSE

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem yesterday said Gov. Paterson should appoint Rep. Carolyn Maloney to the Senate – and ask Caroline Kennedy to run for Maloney’s House seat instead of the Senate.

Maloney, 60, who represents Manhattan’s East Side and part of Queens, has been quietly pushing her case for the seat being vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton even as Kennedy, 51, has received more attention.

Steinem put forth her idea, unsolicited, as Maloney was honored in Midtown by a coalition that fights human trafficking.

“I am only a voter and a constituent with no power here, but if I were the governor here, I would appoint Carolyn Maloney to the US Senate and ask Caroline Kennedy to run for [Maloney’s] seat,” Steinem said.

“I think it’s logical. In my own terms, it’s logical in terms of the two records and a need for both of these women in Congress.”

Steinem spoke as The Associated Press reported that the daughter of JFK is on the verge of being picked for the Senate.

Asked if Kennedy is qualified for the job, Steinem replied, “She has a different set of qualifications. She can do different things. But I know that Carolyn Maloney is a champion of the issues that are the most important, and I know she has experience doing that.”

Maloney herself dodged a question about Kennedy’s credentials, saying, “There are a number of people . . . mentioned who have worked hard for this state, who have great records of distinction, several from the New York delegation.

“There are many people being considered and this decision is being made by our governor.”

Maloney, who is slated to head upstate this weekend to meet with officials and residents in Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo – the same cities that Kennedy visited two weeks ago on her own “listening tour” – also said she had met with Paterson about the job, but wouldn’t discuss it.

Paterson, meanwhile, brushed aside an AP report that he’s about to name Kennedy. He said he hasn’t interviewed her yet or even set up an appointment to do so.

“I’ve got to tell you, we’ve got a new rumor every day now, it’s unbelievable,” he said.

“I know one thing – I’m not going to appoint anyone I haven’t interviewed,” he said in the Albany suburb of Latham, where he announced new food-bank funding.

The Democratic governor has repeatedly said he won’t appoint a Senate successor until Clinton is confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state, which is not expected for another few weeks.

Paterson also said the topic of the open Senate seat may have come up in passing with his former top aide, Charles O’Byrne – but insisted the one-time secretary to the governor hasn’t been advising him on the appointment.

O’Byrne, an old Kennedy family friend, has been helping Caroline in her push for the seat, The Post has reported. He left his government post last year after it was revealed he hadn’t paid income taxes for five years this decade.

“He isn’t [advising the governor],” Paterson said.

But when pressed on whether he’d spoken with O’Byrne about the open Senate seat, or about Kennedy, Paterson said, “I can’t say that I haven’t spoken to him about the fact that it exists, but I would say that he obviously is not craving any more attention, not wanting to be the limelight. I believe he is in Florida and would just rather stay out of the process.”

maggie.haberman@nypost.com