BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers fulfilled Sen. Edward Kennedy’s dying wish Wednesday, granting the governor the power to appoint an interim replacement for him so President Barack Obama can regain a critical 60th U.S. Senate vote he needs to pass a health care overhaul this year.
The final House and Senate votes came after another vote in which House members refused to attach an emergency preamble to the bill. That left it up to Gov. Deval Patrick to decide whether he’ll force the measure into law immediately, instead of the normal 90 days required of all legislation.
He could do so as early as today, simply with a letter to the secretary of state declaring an emergency since a special election to replace Kennedy permanently won’t be held until Jan. 19. Wednesday, a family confidant said that Kennedy’s two sons, Edward Kennedy Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, had placed separate calls to the governor, urging him to appoint former Democratic National Committee chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. to replace their father.
Kirk, 71, a Boston attorney, was close friends with the senator. 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. He is chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
