Sep 23, 2009 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Source: Kirk To Be Named Interim Senator
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Paul Kirk is a Boston attorney and close friend of the Kennedys who serves as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
WBZ
Governor Deval Patrick will announce on Thursday that Paul G. Kirk, Jr. will be named as the temporary replacement to fill Ted Kennedy's vacant senate seat, WBZ has learned.
The reliable source confirmed to WBZ the governor will name Kirk during a news conference Thursday at 11am.
Earlier on Wednesday, the sons of the late Edward M. Kennedy urged the governor to pick Paul G. Kirk Jr., the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to temporarily replace their father in the U.S. Senate.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Ted Kennedy Jr. talked to Gov. Deval Patrick and pushed for Kirk to fill the interim Senate appointment.
WHO IS PAUL KIRK?
The 71-year-old Kirk is a Boston attorney and close friend of the senator's.
He and his wife, Gail, live on Cape Cod, and he was among the few people allowed to regularly visit Kennedy at his Hyannis Port home before he died there of brain cancer on Aug. 25.
Kirk also knows the senator's staff intimately and would likely be assured of their loyalty given his relationship with Kennedy.
As a senior statesman who has never served in political office, he would pose no threat to any of the candidates competing in the special election.
Kirk graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and served on Kennedy's staff between 1969 and 1977.
He ran the Democratic National Committee in the run-up to former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' unsuccessful run for president in 1988.
Kirk also co-founded the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has sponsored every presidential and vice presidential debate involving major candidates since 1988.
He now serves as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. He was in the national spotlight last month when he hosted a memorial service the evening before Kennedy's funeral.
Kirk also is exceptionally close to Caroline Kennedy, who serves as president of the library foundation honoring her late father. He stood on the stage with her and the late senator each year as they dispensed the library's annual "Profiles in Courage" awards.
Asked recently whether he would be interested in an interim appointment, Kirk told The Associated Press in an e-mail, "It would be much too presumptuous of me to even consider. Hope you will understand."
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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