PATRICK CIRCULATES KIRK TALKING POINTS

By Jim O’Sullivan

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, SEPT. 24, 2009……Gov. Deval Patrick’s political operation has circulated talking points to support his appointment of Paul Kirk as U.S. senator this morning at 11 a.m., describing Kirk as a “faithful steward” of the seat, according to an email obtained by the News Service.

Sent shortly before 10 a.m. by Patrick campaign spokesman Steve Crawford, the document describes Kirk as “a person of character, high integrity and honesty.” Kirk arrived at the capitol Thursday morning.

Patrick is expected to tap former Democratic National Committee chairman Kirk as the interim successor to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy during an 11 a.m. press conference at the State House.

Sen. John Kerry will attend, his office said. Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo will not attend, aides said, instead addressing an AFL-CIO meeting in Newton.

Kirk, a former Kennedy aide who has remained close to the senator and his family, was reportedly the preference of Kennedy’s widow and two sons.  The governor’s decision, enabled Wednesday when the Legislature changed a 2004 state election law to permit him to name a temporary senator, has been closely watched locally and nationally.

Patrick has said he would appoint a Democrat. President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress may rely on the interim to give the Democrats a filibuster-proof margin in the Senate for a big-ticket health care reform bill.

Kirk, 71, lives on Cape Cod and has extensive corporate ties. He worked for Kennedy from 1969 until 1977, then joined the Sullivan and Worcester law firm.

In 1983, he was named treasurer of the DNC. He chaired the national party from 1985 until 1989.

Currently, he chairs the board of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Kirk presided over the celebratory memorial service held at the library on the eve of Kennedy’s burial, and in recent days had been broadly mentioned as a favorite for the seat, along with former Gov. Michael Dukakis.

Kirk would serve until the Jan. 19 special election decides who will fill out the remainder of Kennedy’s term, when Massachusetts voters are scheduled to choose a winner from a currently crowded field.

The full text of the email is printed below:

Later this morning Governor Patrick will announce that Paul Kirk is his choice to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy.

Paul Kirk is an excellent choice, among other excellent choices the Governor considered, for the interim U.S. Senate seat for Massachusetts.

Paul Kirk will be a faithful steward of the Senate seat until the voters choose a permanent replacement

Our process was broad and far-reaching with the final decision made yesterday; in the end, the Governor had a number of people who would have been excellent choices as well

The Governor talked to and listened to an extensive and broad range of people during his process which spanned several weeks

Paul  has a strong reputation as a person of character, high integrity and honesty

 He knows the legislative and issue priorities of the late Sen. Kennedy

Paul understands deeply the strong commitment to constituent service that Sen. Kennedy displayed and has indicated this will be a top priority for him over the next few months

Paul knows the Senate having worked in the body for several years and will be able to get important work done for the state alongside Sen. John Kerry

He is thoughtful, smart and well-liked by Massachusetts community and civic leaders as well as national leaders

He has worked with leaders of both parties in Washington to get important work done