Caroline Kennedy may be attracting all the national attention in the quest to replace Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, Governor (and CC alumnus) David Paterson has not limited himself to famous last names. Yesterday, according to City Room, Paterson interviewed local Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, adding O’Donnell’s name to a list that includes Kennedy, attorney general Andrew Cuomo, and various members of New York’s congressional delegation.

O’Donnell was elected in 2002 to represent the 69th district, which includes almost all of Morningside Heights. Perhaps more significantly, he was the first openly gay man elected to the State Assembly, and led the 2007 fight to legalize gay marriage in New York (though it passed the Assembly and was supported by then-governor Spitzer, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider the bill). Oh, and his sister is Rosie O’Donnell. Yes, that Rosie O’Donnell.

Up against such names as Cuomo and Kennedy, O’Donnell’s realistic about his chances – according to City Room, “he put his odds of getting the seat at about one in 10, or ‘about the same as the population of gay people in the world.'” Still, he’s representing the area better than some other politicians Bwog could name.