Deval Patrick to Arrange Interim Kennedy Replacement
 Printer-friendly
|
 Email article |
Related subjects: Energy Supply, Healthcare Policy, In the Loop, U.S. Elections, U.S. news, U.S. Politics, Vote 2010 Comments Off
The governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, has announced he will work with lawmakers to arrange for an interim appointment to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, until the special election, now scheduled for 19 January 2010, allows voters to choose a senator to complete the last three years of his current 6-year term. The announcement paves the way for negotiations with state lawmakers about how to appoint a “caretaker”, and who should get the appointment.
Patrick announced that the special election would be held in January, but said “the only way to make sure Massachusetts is fully represented until the voters of the state elect our next senator in January”. Some Republicans have been critical of Democratic efforts to replace Kennedy with a Democrat in order to gain voting power on key legislation, and to use Sen. Kennedy’s memory to raise support for healthcare reform.
Allies say the only way to ensure the voters of Massachusetts enjoy full Constitutional representation in the Senate and that Sen. Kennedy’s stance on key issues —endorsed by the state’s voters in every Senate election since 1962— be upheld, is to appoint an interim replacement who will serve as “caretaker” and not run in the special election.
Governor Patrick did not specify any names under consideration to fill Kennedy’s seat, though some observers say the provision that whoever it is not run in January may be problematic, as voters may want to keep that individual in place. Among the names some have put up is Sen. Kennedy’s widow, Vicki Kennedy, but sources close to the family say she is not interested.
According to the Washington Post:
With speculation swirling around the Kennedy family’s interest in keeping the seat in the family’s hands, Patrick said that the senator’s widow, Vicki Kennedy, has told him she is not interested in the interim appointment.
A close family friend, who requested anonymity to speak freely about internal Kennedy issues, reaffirmed that position Monday afternoon, adding that nor will Vicki Kennedy run in the special election.
“She’s not interested, and that’s not going to change,” the friend said.
Party primaries will be held on 8 December 2009, just over a month before the special election. The parties are said to be looking seriously at candidates with cash already in reserve, one of whom might be Joseph Kennedy, II, a nephew of the late senator and a former member of the House of Representatives who still has $1.8 million in a federal campaign finance account.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), an important member of the House of Representatives might be a serious contender for the seat, though he is expected not to comment on his intentions until Joe Kennedy announces whether he will seek to hold “the Kennedy seat” —between John and Edward, the seat was held by a Kennedy every year except two since 1952— by running in the January election.
Joe Kennedy runs the non-profit Citizens Energy, which helps deliver low-cost and free heating oil and other energy resources to low-income families in Massachusetts. He is said to be well-known across Massachusetts due to his public relations work for Citizens Energy, but Republicans have already begun to criticize him for working with Citgo, a Texas-based subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-run oil firm managing Venezuelan oil.
The relationship between Citizens Energy and Citgo is designed to provide low-cost or free heating oil to poor families who might not otherwise be able to heat their homes in winter. Kennedy and his backers say the deal is a necessary and just solution to an unconscionable human problem, while his critics say it paints Venezuela’s government in too favorable a light.
| Printer-friendly
|
Email article |
CafeSentido Partner Sites: