Geraldine Ferraro gave a thumbs down to Caroline Kennedy’s bid for the Senate yesterday – even as the Camelot daughter won her biggest endorsement for the job, The Post has learned.
Ferraro, the first woman nominee for vice president, sent a letter to Gov. Paterson urging him to instead appoint one of New York’s six sitting female Congress members to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Senate.
At the same time, Brooklyn Democratic Party head Vito Lopez, who leads the biggest county party in the city, issued the first formal endorsement for Kennedy.
Ferraro said it’s not time for on-the-job training while New York faces a fiscal crisis.
“You can’t send someone down there who doesn’t know the issues,” Ferraro told The Post. “If you send someone down there who doesn’t know the legislative process, they’ll get chewed up alive.”
“Our senator should be ready on Day 1,” added Ferraro. “Just knowing people down there [in Washington, DC]? It’s just not enough.”
But Kennedy, a strong Barack Obama backer during the primaries, scored a victory when Lopez came out for her.
“Caroline is by far the best candidate to win the election in 2010. She has a broader political base,” said Lopez.
Meanwhile, a top adviser to a Kennedy rival seized on news that Kennedy didn’t vote in a string of elections, mostly primary races.
“Not voting is an issue. She comes from a family that prides itself as part of the leadership of the Democratic Party,” said Bill Lynch, an adviser for Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who’s angling for Clinton’s seat.