laws such as the "Wicks Law" and the Taylor Law. Upstate politicians have sometimes taken the leading role in the moves that give the state its liberal reputation. It was George Michaels, an assemblyman from the Finger Lakes, who in 1970 asked that his vote of "no" on the bill to legalize abortion in New York be changed to "yes," causing the bill to pass by one vote. Nearly three decades later, voters in Plattsburgh elected Daniel L. Stewart, the state's first openly-gay mayor, a Republican. Another upstate mayor, Jason West of New Paltz, drew national attention in early 2004 when he officiated at the state's first gay weddings. Upstate Democrats have traditionally leaned further to the right than downstate Democrats, particularly in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Jack Quinn, a Republican, was elected from a district that was 57 percent Democratic. Similarly, leading Democrats in the area, including Dennis Gorski, Anthony Masiello and James D. Griffin, were noted for their fiscal and social conservatism and were often cross-endorsed by the Conservative Party of New York. Other examples of moderate to conservative leaning Democrats include Michael McNulty, John LaFalce, Scott Murphy, and Brian Higgins. One example of the ideological divide between upstate and downstate Democrats was the reaction to Governor David Paterson's appointment of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand, who represented the New York's 20th District in the Adirondacks, to the US Senate. Downstate Democrats were skeptical of Gillibrand's positions on gun control and immigration, which while mainstream in Upstate New York, were to the right of positions of downstate Democratic activists like Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy. Paterson's appointment of Gillibrand was believed to be an effort to enhance his own chances in a general election by presenting a balanced ticket, which would appeal to moderates and upstate voters. The last time that New York has had a senator of either party from upstate was the Republican Charles E. Goodell in 1971; he was forced out by a more conservative downstate candidate (James Buckley) on a third-party challenge. Proponents of the 2008 presidential run by Senator Hillary Clinton have pointed to her relative success upstate (she lost the region by less than 10 percent of the vote in 2000) as an argument that she could succeed as a candidate in red states. Skeptics of such a bid have responded that upstate is not as conservative as what is now the leadership of the Republican