Democrats eye plan to protect Kerry Senate seat

Massachusetts Democrats are devising a plan to keep John F. Kerry's US Senate seat in their party's hands by blocking Governor Mitt Romney from naming an interim replacement if Kerry wins the White House.

Beacon Hill lawmakers want to pass legislation that would leave Kerry's seat vacant for two months or more, until a special election is held to fill it. That would prevent the Republican governor from naming an interim senator, as is currently required by state law.

The initiator of the proposal -- Representative William M. Straus, Democrat of Mattapoisett -- insisted he is not being partisan. But Republicans say the Democrats are being premature.

"John Kerry and his supporters are doing everything but measuring for drapes at the White House," said Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney's communications director. "We have a long campaign in front of us."

Drawing on some Massachusetts political history, Fehrnstrom recalled that a Democratic governor named an interim senator when John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960.

"The last time a temporary appointment was done, it was by a Democratic governor, and I don't remember the Democrats having a problem with that," he said. "Why suddenly now do they have a problem?"

Straus, the House chairman of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, said he wants to make sure that voters choose who will represent them in the US Senate. He said that Kerry's campaign success has brought an immediacy to the issue of filling Senate vacancies, but that it is not the driving force behind the concept.

"It's always preferable to allow voters to fill these important positions," Straus said. "I would think the governor who is publicly very much against patronage appointments, would be in favor of this."

Kerry has held the US Senate seat for nearly 20 years, and an opening would set off a scramble in both parties. The GOP hasn't held a US Senate seat in Massachusetts since 1978. With the US Senate closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, any advantage in choosing Kerry's successor could be crucial in determining which party controls the chamber.

Under state law, Romney would appoint an interim senator, most probably a Republican, who would have nearly two years to use all the advantages of incumbency, including building a strong public image and raising a campaign war chest for a special election in 2006.

Under the Straus proposal, the Senate seat would remain vacant until the state holds a special election to fill it, 60 to 180 days after the vacancy.

Straus said such a system would also avoid having two Senate contests taking place in the same year. Senator Edward M. Kennedy will face reelection in 2006. With a gubernatorial election taking place that year, Straus argued, voters would face a lot of confusion.

Straus's plan is still in development. He has directed the Election Laws Committee staff to research and develop the legislation. It would have to pass the Democrat-controlled Legislature and would probably face a veto by Romney.

But Democratic legislators were intrigued by the idea yesterday.

"It's certainly has piqued interest," said Senator Brian Joyce, Democrat of Milton and Senate chairman of the Elections Laws Committee. "This is worth looking at."

Straus said his conversations with colleagues indicate his proposal will get support from Democratic lawmakers. "I assume it would be well received among the membership, as I did receive positive feedback from members I have already mentioned it to," he said.

But the state's chief election officer, Secretary of State William F. Galvin, advised caution to his fellow Democrats, saying that a special election would cost well over $1 million. He also expressed concern that the state would be deprived of representation in the US Senate for a significant period of time.

"I have cautioned people to think it through thoroughly," said Galvin, who said Straus has consulted him and his staff about the issue.

"Under any plan the Legislature could concoct, there should be a provision to have an interim appointment," Galvin said. He said that the US Senate is a continuously operating body and that Massachusetts should always be fully represented in its deliberations.

Under Article 17 of the US Constitution, governors derive the power of filling a Senate vacancy from their legislatures. Most states now give a governor that power, but several don't. Oregon law calls for a special election "as soon as practicable" with no interim appointment. Washington allows the governor to temporarily fill the vacancy, but also calls for a special election in 90 days, with a primary no less then 30 days before the final runoff.

Straus said he would like to adopt a version of the Oregon system. But Galvin raised doubts that elections, both primary and general, could be completed by late spring.

Romney says he plans to run for reelection in 2006 and has no interest in serving in the Senate. But he could face heavy pressure from the national Republican Party to seek the seat. With his high name recognition, general popularity, and his ability to tap into his own fortune for campaign funds, the governor would be a formidable candidate against a Democrat emerging from a tough primary fight in a hastily run special election. Only twice in recent history has a governor appointed a US Senator. In 1985, just days before Kerry was scheduled to be sworn in to the Senate, Governor Michael S. Dukakis appointed Kerry to the seat to give him a leg up in seniority.

When John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, he resigned from his seat in late December, and Governor Foster Furcolo, a Democrat who was defeated by Republican John Volpe, appointed a Kennedy family friend, Benjamin A. Smith, to temporarily hold the seat. Two years later, Edward M. Kennedy ran and won the seat.