Kennedy friend and advisor Kirk appointed as interim senator

    Gov. Deval Patrick announced his appointment yesterday of Paul Kirk as Massachusetts' interim senator, filling the recently vacated seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
    Kirk, a close advisor to Kennedy and longtime family friend, is set to take office today and serve until the Jan. 19 special election for a permanent senator.
    "This is a profound honor which I accept with most sincere humility," Kirk said in a statement. "Senator Kennedy often said that representing the citizens of Massachusetts in the Senate was the highest honor he could ever achieve, and it certainly will be mine."
    Kirk pledged that he would be a "vote and a voice for [Kennedy's] causes and his constituencies."
    Kirk currently chairs the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, a non-profit organization that supports democracy worldwide. Kirk served as chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1985 to 1989.
    At a press conference yesterday, Patrick said that the temporary senator will not seek the open seat in January, but will work to carry on the Kennedy legacy. The late Sen. Kennedy held the seat for 47 years.
    "For the next few months, he will carry on the work and the focus of Sen. Kennedy, mindful of his mission and his values and his love of Massachusetts," Patrick said.
    The Massachusetts legislature on Wednesday approved a bill allowing the governor to appoint a temporary senator. The Massachusetts House and Senate passed resolutions in line with the bill urging that Patrick's appointee would not contend for the seat in the general election.
    Many began speculating on Wednesday that Kirk would be named to the seat after members of the Kennedy family informed the governor that Kirk was their first choice. Others considered for the position included former governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis and Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree.
    "Paul Kirk is the epitome of a citizen-patriot," Caroline Kennedy said in a statement. "He is a wonderful friend, and I am thrilled that the citizens of Massachusetts will benefit from the same extraordinary leadership that he has brought to the Kennedy Library and Foundation."
    Political Science Professor Jeffrey Berry called the appointment unsurprising. "His name was always in the mix because he was close with Senator Kennedy," Berry said. "It was kind of a sentimental pull." Kirk was master of ceremonies at Kennedy's funeral last month.
    Kirk's appointment could possibly give the Senate the 60th vote needed for the Democratic caucus to pass legislation on health-care reform and avoid a Republican filibuster.
    Berry, however, said the temporary addition to the Senate would not address a more immediate issue in the health-care debate: negotiations.
    "[The appointment] will have no effect, other than that he's one vote, in terms of negotiation of finding a solution to what seems like an impasse," the professor said.
    The Democratic contenders in the upcoming special election include State Attorney General Martha Coakley and U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, whose district includes Somerville. State Senator Scott Brown (LA '81) is the front-runner among Republicans.
    Democrat Alan Khazei, co-founder of the service-oriented City Year program, announced his candidacy for the January election yesterday.
    Coakley declined to comment yesterday on Kirk's appointment, and Capuano's office did not return a request for comment by press time.
    Brown issued a statement on the appointment: "My hope is Paul Kirk goes to Washington with the view that he represents the people of Massachusetts and not the interests of the White House or Deval Patrick," he said.