HLS Alum Joseph P. Kennedy III Considers Bid for Congress

Harvard Law School alumnus Joseph P. Kennedy III announced last week that he is considering a run for the Massachusetts congressional seat previously held by Barney Frank ’61-’62.

Kennedy, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and the son of former Congressman Joseph Kennedy, would be the first in his family to run for public office since the 2009 death of his great-uncle, Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56.

“My decision to look seriously at elected office is grounded in a deep commitment to public service and my experience—both my own and that of my family—in finding just, practical, and bipartisan solutions to difficult challenges,” Kennedy said in a statement last week announcing his intentions to form an Congressional exploratory committee.

Kennedy could reach a decision to run as early as the end of the month, according to former Boston City Councilor Lawrence S. DiCara ’71. Though the field for the Democratic nomination remains wide open, DiCara said a Kennedy bid would likely discourage a number of potential candidates and set up a battle with Boston City Councilor Michael P. Ross.

“I think both those guys are very strong candidates,” DiCara said. “It could be a doozy of [a] fight.”

Kennedy, who is 31 years old, announced he would leave his position as Assistant District Attorney for Middlesex County at the end of next week.

Frank announced he would not seek reelection in November after election forecasts predicted a difficult battle due to the redrawing of his district. The new district lines added 325,000 constituents—many of whom are Republican—and did not include New Bedford, an area that consistently voted for Frank.

“No one should think that because Barney occupied that district for so long that the next rep. will automatically fit (his) description,” DiCara said. “It’s not a district which automatically goes to the person who has the most degrees and is the farthest to the left.”

Though the political makeup of the district is significant, DiCara said that the packaging of the candidates—and the star power of the Kennedy name—will play an important factor in the race.

“It’s not all about who votes which way. It’s a lot about personality. Both Ross and Kennedy are very attractive, articulate, well spoken young men,” DiCara said.

In addition to resigning from the district attorney’s office, Kennedy has made plans to move from his mother’s home in Cambridge, where he currently resides, to an apartment in Newton later next month in order to reside within the district in which he will run, according to the Boston Globe.

Though Kennedy has never held elected office, this is not his first foray into politics. He served as the co-chairman of his Edward Kennedy’s final campaign in 2006 and considered running last year when Congressman William D. Delahunt retired.

“The lack of common sense and fairness in Washington is a byproduct of the partisan gridlock that has turned obstruction into victory. Americans are better than that,” Kennedy said in a statement last week.

Kennedy has emphasized his record of public service.

After graduating from Stanford, Kennedy served a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. While a student at Harvard Law School, Kennedy volunteered in the Law School’s legal aid office.

—Staff writer Nicholas P. Fandos can be reached at nicholasfandos@college.harvard.edu.