ALBANY, N.Y. -- "He's a very powerful congressman in Washington, moving up hopefully," said Albany Common Councilman Corey Ellis hinting at what could be Long Island Congressman Steve Israel's next job.

Israel interviewed with Governor Paterson last month and is on a short list of replacements for outgoing Senator Hillary Clinton.

"I told him I was honored to be on that list," said Israel, who took in services at Albany's Macedonia Baptist Church. He said the trip was planned before the Senate seat opened up.

Israel also met with Town of Colonie leaders, including Supervisor Paula Mahan, who had never met Israel until Sunday.

"You should get to know what the territory is and let people know what you can offer," said Mahan.

The downstate congressman has been getting more familiar with upstate recently. He visited Syracuse and Utica on the 5th, and Watertown the following weekend.

Israel said, "If the governor chose me, it would be, in my view, a positive for Long Island, but it would also be a positive for Watertown, it would be a positive for Buffalo, it would be a positive for the North Country, for the Southern Tier."

Public opinion polls put Israel behind Caroline Kennedy and Andrew Cuomo, but he said only one man's opinion really matters.

"The only poll that counts in this decision is Governor Paterson's," Israel said.

The governor said his decision is coming after Barack Obama's inauguration.

And if raising money is a criteria, Israel might have an edge. He brought in $2.1 million last year, with almost $500,000 of that in December alone.