Kerry presses for temporary Kennedy replacement, says Massachusetts needs two voices in Senate

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) – A proposal to let Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick name an interim replacement to the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s vacant Senate seat drew hundreds to the State House today. Legislators opened a public hearing Wednesday on the bill, which would require a change in Massachusetts elections law. Before he died last month at age 77 of brain cancer, Kennedy had asked lawmakers to allow Patrick, a Democrat, to name a temporary replacement until a special election, set for Jan. 19. Democrats, including Senator John Kerry, support the change. Republicans accuse Democrats of making a political power grab. “In his dying days, he put to you a choice about how to best protect the interests of our state,” said Senator John Kerry. “It is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate, until a new Senator is elected,” Kerry quoted Kennedy as saying. Kerry said the history of America has often changed by just one vote.