Gears move on possibly naming Kennedy replacement

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By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer Steve Leblanc, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 31, 5:42 pm ET

BOSTON – The push to name a successor to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy gained momentum Monday, with state lawmakers scheduling a hearing on whether to allow an appointee to serve until a special election in January.

Gov. Deval Patrick also said Monday that Kennedy's widow, Vicki Kennedy, told him she does not want to be appointed as an interim replacement.

"Mrs. Kennedy is not interested in the position," Patrick said referring to the interim post.

Before he died last week, Kennedy had asked Massachusetts lawmakers to change state law to let the governor name an interim appointee to serve until voters can choose a permanent replacement. Current Massachusetts law does not allow an interim appointee.

"This is the only way to ensure that Massachusetts is fully represented," Patrick said, but cautioned that "I don't think by any means it is a certainty it will happen."

Patrick said he agreed with Kennedy that the state needs two voices in the Senate during the intervening five months. State law requires a special election between 145 and 160 days after a vacancy; the special election was set for Jan. 19.

Patrick said he has heard from top Democrats in Washington, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., both of whom support the change allowing an appointee. Senate Democrats say they need as many votes as they can during the debate on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Patrick, a Democrat and friend of Obama's, had previously expressed support for the change. He declined to say whom he might name as interim senator.

Lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House and Senate announced Monday they would hold a hearing Sept. 9 on a bill that would allow the interim appointment.

The speedy scheduling of the hearing was the clearest sign yet that lawmakers might change the law.

Democrats are facing charges of hypocrisy from critics who point out that just five years ago, Democrats changed the law to block then-Gov. Mitt Romney from naming a fellow Republican to fill the seat if Kerry, the Democrats' presidential nominee, won his White House campaign.

Before that change, the governor was allowed to appoint a nominee until the next general election. As part of the change, Democratic lawmakers also blocked the possibility of Romney naming an interim senator.

"Changing the rules in the middle of the game is fundamentally wrong," said Rep. Brad Jones, the Republican leader in the Massachusetts House.

The race to fill Kennedy's seat is expected to be crowded.

The biggest question is whether another Kennedy will jump into the race. While family aides to Vicki Kennedy have said she is not interested in replacing her husband, she has not publicly taken herself out of the running.

Kennedy's nephew and former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II has also been suggested as a possible candidate but has not said whether he is interested in running for the seat held, also held by another uncle, former President John F. Kennedy.

Other possible contenders for the seat were also keeping mum on Monday.

On the Democratic side, those include state Attorney General Martha Coakley, who would be the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts. Although Coakley has won statewide election, she would also need to raise money quickly.

Several members of Massachusetts' all-Democratic congressional delegation have also been mentioned, including Reps. Stephen Lynch, Michael Capuano and Edward Markey.

Lynch, a former steelworker first elected to Congress during a special election to succeed the late Rep. Joseph Moakley of South Boston in 2001, is considered more socially conservative than Capuano, the former mayor of Somerville, who holds the same seat in Congress once held by House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr.

Markey, chairman of the House Select Committee on Global Warming, is the longest-serving member of the Massachusetts delegation.

All three have sizable federal campaign war chests, including $1.3 million for Lynch, $1.2 million for Capuano and $2.8 million for Markey as of June 30.

One former Democratic member of Congress, Martin Meehan, has also been suggested as a potential candidate. Now chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Meehan has nearly $5 million in his federal account.

Potential Republican candidates include former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, state Sen. Scott Brown, Cape Cod businessman Jeff Beatty and Chris Egan, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Cooperation and Development.

____

Associated Press writer Andrew Miga in Washington contributed to this report.


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Mass. AG apparently first to seek Kennedy's seat

By GLEN JOHNSON, AP Political Writer Glen Johnson, Ap Political Writer – 1 hr 33 mins ago

BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley appears to be the first candidate in a special election for the Senate seat left open by the death of Edward Kennedy.

A woman who said she was representing Coakley picked up nomination papers from the Secretary of State on Tuesday. Coakley aides did not immediately return calls or e-mails seeking confirmation of her candidacy.

Other Democrats said to be weighing a race include a Kennedy nephew, former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II; plus U.S. Reps. Stephen Lynch and Michael Capuano. Republicans include former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and state Sen. Scott Brown.

The primary is Dec. 8 and the special election Jan. 19.

Kennedy died last week of brain cancer at age 77.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090901/ap_on_el_se/us_kennedy_successor

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Schilling expresses some interest in Kennedy seat
By GLEN JOHNSON, AP Political Writer Glen Johnson, Ap Political Writer – 34 mins ago

BOSTON – Curt Schilling, the former major league pitcher who won the allegiance of Bostonians by leading the Red Sox to the 2004 World Series, said Wednesday that he has "some interest" in running for the seat held for nearly 50 years by Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Schilling, a registered independent and longtime Republican supporter, wrote on his blog that while his family and video game company, 38 Studios, are high priorities, "I do have some interest in the possibility."

"That being said, to get to there, from where I am today, many, many things would have to align themselves for that to truly happen," he added.

Any other comment "would be speculation on top of speculation," Schilling said, adding, "My hope is that whatever happens, and whomever it happens to, this state makes the decision and chooses the best person — regardless of sex, race, religion or political affiliation — to help get this state back to the place it deserves to be."

Schilling told New England Cable News that he has been contacted "by people whose opinion I give credence to," but he did not elaborate. He declined to comment when The Associated Press called his office.

The 42-year-old lives in suburban Medfield and campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2004 and Sen. John McCain in 2008.

As a player, he won three World Series, in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2004 and 2007 with the Red Sox. He became a Sox legend when he won Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series while blood from an injured ankle seeped through his sock. He retired in March.

He and his wife, Shonda, have four children ages 7 to 14.

Reaction among the Red Sox was decidedly jovial Wednesday.

"If he runs, good luck," said first baseman Kevin Youkilis. "I don't know if I'd want to do that job."

Team manager Terry Francona said Schilling should do whatever makes him happy but noted, "I don't think he'd want me as his campaign manager."

So far, no major Republicans have taken out nomination papers to be a candidate in the Jan. 19 special election. Former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and state Sen. Scott Brown are among those considering campaigns.

Democrats said to be considering a campaign include U.S. Reps. Stephen Lynch of Boston, Michael Capuano of Somerville and John Tierney of Salem, as well as Kennedy's nephew, former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II.

So far, only state Attorney General Martha Coakley has taken out papers for a Democratic campaign, though she has refused to make any follow-up comment.

Kennedy died last week at age 77 from a brain tumor. A special election to replace him is scheduled for Jan. 19, although the Massachusetts Legislature is considering a bill that would allow Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint someone to the seat on an interim basis during the campaign.

That bill is the subject of a hearing next week.

___

AP freelance writer Mark Didtler in St. Petersburg, Fla., contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090903/ap_on_re_us/us_kennedy_successor_schilling

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Kerry positions self as Kennedy's political heir
By STEVE LEBLANC, Associated Press Writer Steve Leblanc, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 10 mins ago

BOSTON – Sen. John Kerry positioned himself as the political heir to Edward Kennedy, pledging to the thousands who attended his town hall meeting Wednesday that he would fight for the health care overhaul championed by his longtime Democratic colleague.

More than 2,000 people turned up for Kerry's first public meeting since Kennedy's Aug. 25 death from brain cancer at age 77. A line of supporters and opponents of health care reforms snaked out of the Somerville high school and down two blocks.

Kerry moved quickly to invoke the memory of Kennedy and promised to carry on the fight for health care reform.

"That means taking on these battles in the way that Teddy would and I pledge to you that I will," he said.

Kennedy had repeatedly called the expansion of health care to uninsured Americans the signature issue of his 47-year tenure in the U.S. Senate. Supporters have said his absence in Washington over much of the past year has made the job of hammering out compromise legislation more difficult.

Kerry, also a strong supporter of overhauling the health care system, has vowed to push through the measure in Kennedy's name.

On Wednesday night, Kerry said he would follow Kennedy's example of fighting hard for his principles and seeking political compromises that serve national interest.

"It's very important for us to fight the fight, push as hard as we can for the things that we believe in, stand up for our principles, and if we can't find the votes based on that battle, then we have to find a way to get done the best we can do for the American people," Kerry said.

He was joined by Rep. Michael Capuano of Somerville, one of the Democrats said to be considering a campaign to succeed Kennedy in the Senate.

"Every person in Massachusetts wants to do everything we can to make sure every single American has a decent, affordable health care plan," Capuano told an estimated 400 people gathered in the school auditorium for the meeting and an additional 2,000 in overflow rooms.

The crowd appeared largely in favor of health care reforms, giving Kerry loud cheers whenever he discussed the issue. Those booing appeared to be in the minority.

Anger at the overhaul plan has erupted at recent town hall meetings hosted by members of Congress across the country, including one two weeks ago hosted by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. The congressman chided one critic who held up an image of President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090903/ap_on_re_us/us_kerry_health_care

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Confidant: Kennedys want ex-DNC chairman in Senate
By GLEN JOHNSON, AP Political Writer Glen Johnson, Ap Political Writer – 2 mins ago

BOSTON – The sons of the late Edward M. Kennedy have urged the governor to pick Paul G. Kirk Jr., the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to temporarily replace their father in the U.S. Senate.

A family confidant said Wednesday both Edward Kennedy Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., had endorsed Kirk in separate phone calls.

A top aide to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick confirmed the contacts but added, "No decision has been made yet." A spokeswoman in Patrick Kennedy's congressional office declined to comment.

Massachusetts lawmakers are expected Wednesday to give final approval to a change in the Senate succession law so the governor can temporarily fill Senate vacancies. The interim senator would serve until the seat is filled permanently through a special election on Jan. 19.

Patrick could announce his pick as early as Thursday.

The 71-year-old Kirk, a Boston attorney, was close friends with the senator. He and his wife, Gail, live on Cape Cod, and he was among the few people allowed to regularly visit Kennedy at his Hyannis Port home before he died there of brain cancer on Aug. 25.

Kirk also knows the senator's staff intimately and would likely be assured of their loyalty given his relationship with Kennedy.

As a senior statesmen who has never served in political office, he would pose no threat to any of the candidates competing in the special election. The Democratic field includes Attorney General Martha Coakley, vying to be the state's first female senator, and U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, the lone member of the state's congressional delegation in the race.

The family confidant, who like the Patrick aide demanded anonymity to speak about private conversations, refused to reveal whether the senator's widow, Vicki, had also endorsed Kirk. Vicki Kennedy has granted no interviews since her husband's death, but Patrick revealed recently that she had told him she did not want to be considered for the interim appointment.

Kirk graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and served on Kennedy's staff between 1969 and 1977. He ran the Democratic National Committee in the run-up to former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' unsuccessful run for president in 1988.

Kirk also co-founded the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has sponsored every presidential and vice presidential debate involving major candidates since 1988.

He now serves as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. He was in the national spotlight last month when he hosted a memorial service the evening before Kennedy's funeral.

Kirk also is exceptionally close to Caroline Kennedy, who serves as president of the library foundation honoring her late father. He stood on the stage with her and the late senator each year as they dispensed the library's annual "Profiles in Courage" awards.

Asked recently whether he would be interested in an interim appointment, Kirk told The Associated Press in an e-mail, "It would be much too presumptuous of me to even consider. Hope you will understand."

Dukakis is among those who is said to be under consideration. He, too, has declined to comment on the question.

___

Associated Press Writer Jay Lindsay contributed to this report.


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