BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Wednesday that he would support changing state law to allow him to appoint an interim successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat while a special election is held.
Unlike most states, a successor to a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts is chosen by special election, not appointed by the governor.
In a recent letter to lawmakers, Kennedy, who died Tuesday night, said the law should be changed to allow the governor to appoint someone to serve in the Senate during the course of the election - provided that person pledge not to run for the seat.
"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," Kennedy said in a letter to Patrick, a fellow Democrat.
In radio interviews Wednesday morning, Patrick called theidea "entirely reasonable" and told WBUR-FM that he would sign the bill if it reached his desk.
Senate President Therese Murray and House SpeakerRobert DeLeo, both Democrats, issued statements of condolence early Wednesday, but neither has expressed support for giving the governor the power to name an interim successor. Republicans in both chambers, who hold about 10 percent of legislative seats in Massachusetts, oppose the idea.
Any change in state law is not likely to happen immediately. Lawmakers are not expected to return to formal sessions until after Labor Day.
State law requires a special election for the seat no sooner than 145 days and no later than 160 days after a vacancy occurs. The law bans an interim appointee, and it's up to the governor to pick the exact date of the election.
The succession law was changed in 2004, when Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., became his party's presidential nominee and Republican Mitt Romney was the state's governor. Before the change, the governor would have appointed a replacement to serve until the next general election. That would have created the opportunity for Romney to install a fellow Republican, a move that Democrats who control the state Legislature sought to prevent.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 08/27/2009