Sen. Edward Kennedy, a fourth-term Democrat from Lowell, has died, Senate President Karen Spilka informed senators early Thursday afternoon. He was 74.
A longtime member of the Lowell City Council before he was elected in 2018 to the Massachusetts Senate, Kennedy had been serving this session as Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets and Senate vice chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education.
“He was a valued member of the Senate and a passionate advocate for the people of the First Middlesex district. Ed was a champion for education, environmental sustainability, cultural development and, of course, his beloved hometown of Lowell. He will be deeply missed by all those fortunate enough to know him,” Spilka said in an email to senators and staff.
Spilka told senators her office will share details of services for Kennedy as soon as they are available. Spilka’s notice did not mention a cause or date of death.
Kennedy was a Lowell city councilor from 1978 to 1985 and then again from 2011 to 2019, and he held the title of mayor during the 2016-2017 term. He was also a Middlesex County commissioner from 1992 to 1996, according to his profile in the Massachusetts Political Almanac. He worked as a public information officer and legislative liaison for the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services from 1981 to 1987, and then as a commercial real estate appraiser for Madison Copp Appraisals until 2019.
Kennedy’s First Middlesex District along the New Hampshire border includes Lowell, Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell, and Tyngsborough.
U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, who represents Lowell in Congress, reflected Thursday on Kennedy as a “son of Lowell.”
“Ed’s legacy is written into the very fabric of our community – in the neighborhoods he worked tirelessly to strengthen, the cultural and educational investments he championed, and the countless people he touched with his steady commitment to public service,” she said. “He carried Lowell with him in every role he held, never losing sight of the city that shaped him and that he, in turn, helped to shape for the better.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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