Kennedy looks to set stage for successor [View All]

Source: Boston.com (Boston Globe)

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff



Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in a poignant acknowledgment of his mortality amid a critical time in the national health care debate, has privately asked the governor and legislative leaders to change the succession law to guarantee that Massachusetts will not lack a Senate vote in the event of his death.

In a personal, sometimes wistful letter sent Tuesday to Governor Deval L. Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Kennedy asks that Patrick be given the authority to appoint someone to the seat temporarily while voters choose a new senator in a special election.

While Kennedy, who is battling cancer, does not specifically mention his illness or the health reform debate raging in Washington, the implication from his letter is clear: He is trying to make sure that the leading cause of his life -- better health coverage for all -- advances in the event of his death.

Kennedy said in his letter, which was obtained by the Globe, that he supports the current law, which gives voters the power to fill a Senate vacancy. But he said the state and country need two Massachusetts senators.

"I strongly support that law and the principle that the people should elect their senator,” Kennedy wrote. ''I also believe it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.''

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Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/08/kennedy_headlin.html

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Darn, looks like he knows his time is soon :(

:cry: