Former Congressman Meehan decides against Senate run

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Former US Representative Martin T. Meehan, the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, said today he would not run for the US Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Martin T. Meehan

"After careful consideration … I've decided not to run for the US Senate at this time," he said in a telephone interview. "I'm fortunate to be leading a remarkable university that I love and I just don't want to walk away."

He said he was "fully engaged" at a university that was "on the move."

"I just feel as though while much has been accomplished, there's more work to be done to continue the transformation of UMass Lowell into a world-class institution," he said.

Meehan said he wasn't ruling out a run for public office at some time in the future, though.

Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last week that she is running for the seat, which was held for 47 years by Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate who died recently after battling brain cancer. Former US Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II announced Monday that he would not run, probably ending his family's dominance of politics in Massachusetts and opening up the race.

US Representative Michael Capuano stuck a big toe into the waters today, obtaining nomination papers and saying he would make a formal announcement next week.

US Representative Stephen Lynch is strongly considering a run. Another Democratic name that has been mentioned as a possible contender: US Representative Edward J. Markey.

On the Republican side, possible candidates include State Senator Scott Brown, former US attorney Michael Sullivan, and Andrew Card, a former Massachusetts legislator who was President George W. Bush's chief of staff.