Kennedy was widely considered the front-runner for the nomination. After Kennedy removed herself from consideration, some reports indicated that Paterson "never intended" to pick Kennedy, having come to consider her "unready" for the seat after a series of media misfires. Some sources and analysts doubted the reports' veracity, calling the Paterson camp's denials of any interest in appointing Kennedy "misdirection". On January 23, 2009, Paterson chose Gillibrand—a moderate upstate representative from a largely conservative district—to fill Clinton's vacated seat. The Kennedy family criticized Paterson's handling of the appointment. Although Gillibrand's appointment was praised by some (including Schumer, New York's senior senator; President Obama; and Clinton herself,) others criticized Paterson's choice, calling Gillibrand "sharp-elbowed", "too conservative", and "unliked". Others, including liberal New York Times editorialist Maureen Dowd and New York Magazine writer Chris Smith, criticized Paterson's "peculiar" and "dithering" handling of the Senate appointment and suggested it was a cynical way of rallying upstate support for re-election. Paterson later admitted that he personally ordered his staff to contest Caroline Kennedy's version of events in the hours after she withdrew from consideration to be United States senator. Appointment of new lieutenant governor Due to the ongoing leadership crisis in the New York State Senate, in which the Senate tied with 31 Democratic votes and 31 Republican votes, with no presiding officer to break the tie, Paterson announced on July 8, 2009, that he would appoint Richard Ravitch, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to be lieutenant governor. On August 20, 2009, however, a four-judge panel of the New York State Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department ruled that Paterson had no legal authority to name a lieutenant governor, and that the lieutenant governor position could not be filled in any way other than via an election. On September 23, 2009, the New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division's decision, holding Paterson's appointment of Ravitch to be constitutional. Aqueduct Race Track In January 2010, Paterson awarded a contract to operate a 4,500 slot machine racino at the Aqueduct Race Track to Aqueduct Race Track Entertainment Group (AEG) in Queens. The selection AEG led to accusations of favoritism. The New York State inspector general, Joseph Fisch, said the state government showed "militant indifference" to the public's best interest. Fisch criticized Paterson for delegating the process to his aides, who Fisch said did not keep him properly informed. On March 9, 2010,