Politics on the Hudson

A Long Island businessman and county lawmaker who hoped to become the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate instead endorsed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at a news conference Monday in Mineola, Long Island.

Jon Cooper, majority leader of the Suffolk County legislature, spent the summer and fall exploring the possibility of running in a September 2010 Democratic primary against Gillibrand.

“I thought Gillibrand was a flip flopper who had no core values,’’ Cooper said in a telephone interview this evening.

But three weeks ago, Cooper sat down for dinner at a Capitol Hill restaurant with the 43-year-old attorney and mother of two who was appointed to the Senate in January to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The dinner was suggested by a mutual friend involved in Democratic Party politics at the national level who had tried unsuccessfully for many weeks  to persuade Cooper not to run. Cooper declined to identify the person by name.

During the dinner Cooper said he quizzed Gillibrand on gun  control  first,  followed by tobacco, immigration, gay and lesbian rights and other issues.

“After I met with Kirsten for several hours, and had an opportunity to engage in in-depth discussions on a wide array of policy issues, I realized that my perceptions of her were primarily based on media reports and second-hand stories,” Cooper said in a news release.  “I now believe that she’s the real deal and I’m convinced she will vote the way I would, work as hard as I would, and strive for the same progressive goals as I would.”

Cooper was the last remaining elected official among a handful who considered a primary challenge to Gillibrand. Earlier this year, Rep. Steve Israel, also from Long Island, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan dropped plans for a challenge.

More recently, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer also dropped plans for a primary and, like Cooper, endorsed Gillibrand.

Still in the picture as a possible primary opponent is labor activist Jonathan Tasini, who received 16 percent of the vote in a 2006 primary against Clinton.

No Republican has formally announced plans to run against Gillibrand, although Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld has said she is considering it.

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