Filling Ted Kennedy's Shoes Requires More Legislative Fine-Tuning

                 In a press conference held on Monday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced the special election for Sen. Edward Kennedy’s seat will be held on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, with the primary falling on December 8th.
        Shortly after the Massachusetts elected representatives reconvenes after Labor Day, however, a public hearing will be held on September 9th in which members of the legislature will hear from voters in order to gauge whether a bill should be passed; giving the governor the authority to fill Senator Kennedy’s seat until the special election is held.
        Under Massachusetts state law, an election must be held within 145 to 165 days.
        The governor’s office was stripped of naming a successor to a Senate vacancy in 2004, when the Democratic controlled legislature feared Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, would name someone from his own party to fill Sen. John Kerry’s office if he beat George Bush in the presidential election
        Normally, considering its past history, reversing this law would spark some heavy-handed backbiting.
        But since one of Sen Kennedy’s last dying wishes was to have the governor fill the vacancy immediately, and given Kennedy’s popularity in Massachusetts knows no bounds--out of respect for the last of the Kennedy brothers, and the rich legislative legacy he left behind in his home state-the change in law will more than likely take place without too much partisan bickering. 
        Besides, with health-care so near-and-dear to Mr. Kennedy’s heart, it’s hard to imagine an empty seat in the Senate when the bill picks up steam after Labor Day.
        During the press conference, Gov Patrick indicated it was much too early to speculate on a potential short list of names to fill the vacancy
         According to spokesperson from the Massachusetts state legislature, a bill has already been filed, which will give the governor the authority to appoint a successor. If the legislature meets with overwhelming approval from voters at the at the public hearing, the legislature’s next step will be to release the bill. The Senate and the House will then vote on the measure. The spokesperson gave no time frame on how quickly this act by would be passed.
        In addition to hearing how voters feel about changing the state law at the public hearing, it appears lawmakers will come armed with their own personal polling data. 
        An aide from Therese Murray’s office was jotting down phone responses from constituents Monday on whether they were in favor or opposed to Gov Patrick naming an immediate successor. Murray is the president of the Massachusetts senate
        According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 37 states have provisions that allow the governor to appoint a successor to a U.S. Senate vacancy until a general election is held. In the 13 other states, a special election must be called.
        In 2009 alone, 12 states that currently permit the governor to appoint a successor, took up legislation to deny the governor appointment powers in favor of holding a special election.
        Data compiled by NCLS, however, shows that only in Connecticut did the legislature remove the governor’s authority to appoint a successor. In Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, and Rhode Islands, the bills failed; while in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota the bills carried over into next year. Bills are still pending in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
        According the U.S. Senate Historical Office, prior to Sen Edward Kennedy’s death, four U.S. Senators from Massachusetts died while serving in the Senate: Isaac C. Bates (1845); Charles Sumner (1874); George F. Hoar (1904); and Henry C. Lodge (1924). Since 1790, 297 U.S. senators, including Sen Kennedy, died during their terms
        Dating back to 1913, when direct elections of Senators became effective, there have been three appointments to U.S. Senate seats representing Massachusetts. On November 13, 1924, William M. Butler was appointed by Governor Channing H. Cox to fill the vacancy after the death of Henry Cabot Lodge; Sinclair Weeks was appointed by Governor Leverett Saltonstall in 1944 when Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. resigned to join the Army during World War II; and Benjamin Smith, John F. Kennedy’s Harvard roommate was appointed on December 27, 1960 by Gov. Foster Furcolo, at the request of President-elect Kennedy himsel, to fill his seat after beating Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. Edward Kennedy succeeded Smith after winning a special election on November 6, 1962

-Bill Lucey
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Comments

[edwin forprogress.org]

The democracy is designed to allow the people to prevent a governor from selecting an interim senator as it is designed to restore it. This sort of thing should not be done to advance an evil, but I could hardly think the people of MA are outside of their rights in this case. I think they know what is at stake and are willing to leverage their constitutional rights accordingly.

So much of Senator Edward Kennedy's “The Dream Shall Never Die” speech is relevant now. It makes me sad that so many Americans do not know how much it was really he that advanced the dreams of his brothers into reality. So many of us who want now to pick up the "fallen standard" need the example his life offers of HOW liberal ideals can be transformed into something real that betters the lives of our neighbors.

I put together some of the audio of the speech, accompanied it with images and ideas that highlight some of his accomplishments, and put it into a video. The following page also has information on the 6 (of 13 or a minority) Democratic senators in the Senate Finance Committee who have yet to pledge their support for the public option in the Kennedy Health Care bill.

http://ipolity.com/wiki/index.php?page=TDP+Health+Care