Governor Seeks To Tap Temporary Replacement For Kennedy

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) announced Monday that while there will be a special election in mid January for recently deceased Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) vacant seat, he will urge his state’s legislature to take action that would allow Patrick to appoint an interim replacement.

Under former Governor Mitt Romney’s (R) tenure in 2004, the left leaning state legislature voted against allowing the Republican Governor to name an interim successor in the case of a Senate vacancy. Patrick acknowledged the legislature’s political move, but noted that it was before his term and that he did not know all of the details behind it.

Kennedy, who died last week following a lengthy bout with brain cancer, had two years left in his term.

Patrick did not say Monday who he intended to appoint.

Michelle Obama sympathizes with women and families

The National Partnership for Women and Families held its annual luncheon to celebrate its accomplishments over the past year and address the issues it still faces. Michelle Obama and Deval Patrick spoke at the luncheon. Debra Ness, president of the Partnership, said that the Partnership helped to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act this year. She is very optimistic for more progress, despite so many more challenges. She said that women can still be fired over pregnancies and that nearly half of all private sector workers do not get paid sick leave.

Michelle Obama said that she understands the plights of women and families today. She has met with women who are scared of not being able to pay for food, scared to take time off for sickness, and scared of being fired for pregnancies. She said that the National Partnership for Women and Families has been an advocate and a leader when it comes to these issues.

At the luncheon, the Partnership honored Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts. Patrick listed his grievances with the policies of the current Presidential administration. With the success of Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), he said that he believes people once again believe in their abilities to make change.