Bill on Kennedy Seat Advances

By ABBY GOODNOUGH
NYT

BOSTON — By the end of this week, there is likely to be a new senator from Massachusetts.

The State Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would let Gov. Deval Patrick appoint an interim replacement for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. The measure won passage in the House of Representatives last week and is expected to land on Mr. Patrick’s desk Wednesday.

The appointee would serve in the United States Senate only until a special election takes place on Jan. 19, but could play a crucial role in the fate of health care legislation making its way through Congress. With Mr. Kennedy’s seat empty, Senate Democrats are not assured the 60 votes required to break Republican filibusters.

Mr. Patrick has refused to discuss potential appointees, but Michael S. Dukakis, the former governor and 1988 presidential nominee, is said to be under consideration. Other possibilities include Paul G. Kirk Jr., a former aide to Mr. Kennedy and chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston; Evelyn Murphy, a former lieutenant governor; and Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard Law School.

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