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Mass. Governor Deval L. Patrick ’78 announced yesterday that Paul G.
Kirk Jr. ’60, a former aide to Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56, will fill the
late U.S. senator’s seat until a special election is held in January.
Kirk, a longtime family friend who served as a special
assistant to Kennedy for eight years, is scheduled to take the oath of
office today. Kennedy’s successor will serve until a permanent
replacement is selected in an election on Jan. 19—a race in which Kirk,
71, said he will not participate.
“He shares the sense of service that so distinguished Senator
Kennedy,” Patrick said yesterday during a news conference in Boston.
“The interests of the commonwealth have never been more vital or at
stake in the Congress today.”
Kirk’s appointment closes the door on far-flung speculation
regarding Patrick’s choice for a successor to Kennedy, who died of
brain cancer last month. News of the impending appointment gained
widespread attention—especially among some Congressional Democrats—as
the move to speedily fill Kennedy’s seat was seen as a concerted effort
to ensure the passage of a health-care reform package.
In a statement released after the announcement of Kirk’s
appointment, President Barack Obama said he was “pleased” that the
Mass. Senate contingent will be complete in a time when issues such as
health care, financial reform, and energy are undergoing heated debate.
Kirk was rumored to be the favored candidate, with the Boston
Globe reporting Wednesday that Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Kennedy, and
his two sons, U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy and Edward M.
Kennedy Jr., had informed the governor that Kirk—a former chairman of
the Democratic National Committee—was their first choice.
Before the announcement yesterday morning, Patrick’s staff
circulated a list of talking points that called Kirk a “faithful
steward” of the Senate seat with a “strong reputation as a person of
character, high integrity and honesty.”
Law School Professor Laurence H. Tribe said Kirk, a 1964
graduate of the Law School, will be a “tremendous” Senator whose close
affiliation with Kennedy and his political vision will enable Kirk to
assume his new responsibilities “without missing a beat.”
“[Kirk] has a very good sense of policy, he has a terrific
sense of humor, he’s very adept at political negotiation, and he’s a
very affable person,” Tribe said. “I think he will do very well in
building coalitions to the extent that it’s possible in that brief a
time.”
The Massachusetts Senate approved a bill Wednesday to
authorize Patrick to appoint a temporary replacement, in accordance
with Kennedy’s request that
the legislature change the law to permit Patrick to select an interim
Senator in the event of his death, until a special election could be
held.
In addition to Kirk, names that had been circulated in the
press included former Mass. Governor and 1988 presidential nominee
Michael Dukakis, former Mass. Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, and
Harvard Law Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr.
—Staff writer Esther I. Yi can be reached at estheryi@fas.harvard.edu.
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