NEW YORK - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Thursday announced his selection of Paul G. Kirk Jr. to serve as the state’s interim U.S. Senator, filling the Congressional seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, until a special election is held in January.
Kirk stressed that he would not run in the special election. He is expected to be sworn into office tomorrow.
“This appointment is a profound honor and I accept it with sincere humility,” Kirk said during a press conference. “I want to express my thanks as well to the leadership and members of the [state legislature] who enabled Sen. Kennedy’s last public wish to become a reality. As the governor said and just so you hear it from me, consistent with Sen. Kennedy’s wishes and the expectations of the legislators, I shall not be a candidate for the special elections for U.S. Senate.”
Kirk, an attorney, is a former Democratic National Party chairman. He is the current board chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and is chairman and chief executive officer at Kirk & Associates, Inc, a business consulting firm. Kirk served as special assistant to Kennedy from 1969 through 1977.
