Thomas Patrick Kennedy (August 15, 1951 – June 28, 2015) was an American politician.

Early life and education

Born in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Mas ...

, Kennedy graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in 1969. He studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood at Our Lady of Hope Seminary. While studying at the seminary, Kennedy was seriously injured that left him a quadriplegic. Kennedy received his associate degree from

Massasoit Community College Massasoit Community College is a public community college in Brockton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1966 and named for Massasoit, the Great Sachem of the Wampanoag. Massasoit Community College is accredited by the New England Commission of H ...

, his bachelor's degree from Stonehill College, and his master's degree from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Career

2003 Thomas P Kennedy Massachusetts House of Representatives

Kennedy began his political career as the City of Brockton's Ombudsman under Brockton Mayor David Crosby. Kennedy then entered elected office, serving on the Brockton City Council representing Ward 2 from 1978 to 1985. In addition to serving as Brockton City Councilor, from 1978 to 1983 Kennedy also served as an aide to Congressman Brian Donnelly. In 1983 Kennedy won a 9-way special Democratic primary for the 9th Plymouth District with 33% of the vote, after incumbent Democratic State Representative Mark Lawton stepped down. Kennedy served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

as the 9th Plymouth District State Representative from 1983 until 2009.Member Profile – Thomas P. Kennedy
"

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...

. In 2008, incumbent Democratic State Senator Robert S. Creedon decided not to run for re-election, and Kennedy ran for and won the now-vacant State Senate seat, facing no opposition in the Democratic primary. Kennedy served in the

Massachusetts State Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

representing the 2nd Plymouth and Bristol district, which includes his hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts and several surrounding towns, until his death in 2015.

Death

Kennedy died from pneumonia in 2015.Senator Thomas P. Kennedy-obituary
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References

1951 births 2015 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts Massachusetts city council members Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Brockton, Massachusetts Stonehill College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Massasoit Community College alumni People with tetraplegia {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub