‘Brilliant’ Kennedy Widow Would Be Good Appointee, Hatch Says

Jeff Plungis

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The widow of the late U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy should be considered as an interim appointee to represent Massachusetts in his place, two U.S. senators said.

Senators Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, and Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said yesterday on CNN’s “State of the Union” they could support Kennedy’s widow Victoria Reggie Kennedy as an interim senator if Massachusetts allows a temporary appointment before a special election.

“Vicki ought to be considered,” Hatch said. “She’s a very brilliant lawyer. She’s a very solid individual. I have nothing but great respect for her.”

Massachusetts law requires a special election be held within five months to fill a seat that comes open before the end of a term. The issue has taken on urgency for Democrats in the U.S. Congress, who are struggling to pass health-care legislation before the end of the year.

Victoria Kennedy, 55, has said she's reluctant to serve, but she may change her mind after talking with her children and others, Dodd said. The people of Massachusetts would welcome filling the seat, he said.

“If she did, I’m for it,” Dodd said. “I think she’d be great. We could certainly use her in the Senate. Whatever she thinks is best, I’m for.”

‘Soul of Democratic Party’

Kennedy was buried Aug. 29 at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington. At a funeral Mass earlier in the day in Kennedy’s hometown of Boston, President Barack Obama described him as “a champion for those who had none, the soul of the Democratic Party, the lion of the United States Senate.”

Kennedy married Victoria Reggie, the daughter of a family active in Louisiana politics, in 1992. She was recently divorced and had two small children from her previous marriage.

The soonest Massachusetts law could be changed and an interim senator picked is Sept. 24, state Representative Michael Moran, a Boston Democrat and co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, said Aug. 27. He added that there wasn’t yet an agreement to do so.

The week before his death, Kennedy sent a letter to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, and top lawmakers in the state urging them to change the law so that someone could fill in before the special election. Kennedy argued in the letter that Massachusetts should have a mechanism to allow for the full complement of two senators as soon as possible after a resignation or death. The late senator was not up for re-election until 2012.

Democrats Dominate

Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Massachusetts House 114 to 16, and 35 to 5 in the Senate. Democrats changed the law during the 2004 election cycle to prevent then-Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, from replacing U.S. Senator John Kerry in the event he was elected president. Kerry lost to President George W. Bush and remained in the Senate.

Possible candidates in the special election include Democratic U.S. Representatives Stephen Lynch, Michael Capuano, Edward Markey, James McGovern and William Delahunt.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley and former Representative Martin Meehan, both Democrats, may also contend as well as former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, a Republican.

Dodd, who is serving as acting chairman of Kennedy’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the Massachusetts senator would expect lawmakers to continue to fight for their priorities on issues like health care.

Kennedy’s death should remind senators that civility is an important part of the process, Dodd said in a separate interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The best way to honor Kennedy’s legacy is “to start acting like senators,” he said.

“You respect each other. There are differences, you bring partisanship to the table,” Dodd said. “But you work out your differences. That’s what we were elected to do."