Edward J. Kennedy Jr. (born March 24, 1951) is an American politician, and member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 1st Middlesex district. He has previously served as the 90th Mayor of Lowell (2016–2018).

Education and early life

Kennedy holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Framingham State University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. Prior to being elected to the Senate, he worked as a commercial real estate appraiser. He is a long-time member of the

Massachusetts Democratic State Committee The Massachusetts Democratic Party (MassDems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is chaired by Gus Bickford. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all nine of Massachusetts' U.S ...

, the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

and the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Political career

Kennedy served on the city council for

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, from 1978 through 1985, and on the

county commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

for Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from 1992 through 1996. After his time on the Lowell City Council and Middlesex Commission, he decided to run for Middlesex County

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

in 1996. Kennedy lost the Democratic nomination to Sheriff James DiPaola. He tried another run in 1998, but lost the nomination to DiPaola, once more. He was again elected to the Lowell City Council in 2011, after a 27-year hiatus from it, and a 13-year hiatus from politics. Then he was re-elected again in 2014, 2016, and 2018. But, during his third-straight term in 2016, he was elected to be Lowell's 90th mayor after the City Council's 9–0 vote. After his stint as Mayor, and with 20 years of government experience in his back pocket, Kennedy decided to run for higher office. After a close fought Democratic Primary, then a swift general election night win, he was elected to the Massachusetts Senate. Kennedy was sworn in on January 2, 2019.

Current committee membership

Kennedy currently serves on seven legislative committees in the Massachusetts Legislature: * Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development (Chair) * Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses (Vice Chair) * Joint Committee on Elder Affairs * Joint Committee on Election Laws * Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture * Joint Committee on Higher Education * Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Personal life

In his free time, Kennedy hikes, spends time with his three grandsons, and enjoys the variety of dining and cultural options available throughout Greater Lowell. He is married to Susan Kennedy.

Electoral history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Edward Living people Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Mayors of Lowell, Massachusetts Massachusetts city council members County commissioners in Massachusetts 1951 births 21st-century American legislators 21st-century Massachusetts politicians