Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
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Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
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 Kathleen Kennedy Townsend |
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| In office January 18, 1995 – January 15, 2003 |
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| Governor | Parris Glendening |
| Preceded by | Melvin Steinberg |
| Succeeded by | Michael S. Steele |
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| Born | July 4, 1951 Greenwich, Connecticut |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | David Lee Townsend |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Harvard University University of New Mexico |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | kathleenkennedytownsend.com |
Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, (born July 4, 1951) was lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Maryland in 2002. The eldest of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel's 11 children, she is part of the Kennedy family. She was named for her aunt Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, who died in a plane crash in 1948.
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[edit] Early life and career
Townsend was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her godparents are her aunt, Jean Kennedy Smith, and Danny Walsh, one of her mother's teachers at Manhattanville College.[1]
She spent most of her childhood in McLean, Virginia and attended Stone Ridge School in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. She graduated from The Putney School in Vermont and then cum laude from Harvard University, receiving her bachelor's degree in history and literature. She then studied at the University of New Mexico School of Law, receiving her Juris Doctor degree in 1978. For several years, she worked as an attorney in New Haven, Connecticut while her husband attended Yale Law School. She moved to Annapolis in 1984.
In 1986, Townsend ran for Congress in Maryland's second Congressional district, losing to Helen Delich Bentley 41% to 59%, thus becoming the first Kennedy to lose a general election.[2] She then went to work for the state government of Maryland, holding numerous government posts including assistant Attorney General. She also served on the State Board of Education, and as a presidential elector in 1992. Following this, she worked for two years in the Clinton administration, as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General.
Townsend married David Lee Townsend (born November 17, 1947),[3] a tutor (professor) at St. John's College in Annapolis, on November 17, 1973 in Washington, D.C.. He is the son of L. Raymond Townsend and Delores Fahey. The Townsends have four daughters:
- Meaghan Anne Kennedy Townsend (born November 7, 1977 in Santa Fe, New Mexico);
- Maeve Fahey Kennedy Townsend (born November 1, 1979 in New Haven, Connecticut);
- Rose Katherine Kennedy Townsend (born December 17, 1983 in Weston, Massachusetts);
- Kerry Sophia Kennedy Townsend (born November 30, 1991 in Bethesda, Maryland).
[edit] Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
In 1994, Parris Glendening was running for Governor in a highly contested primary against Lt. Governor Melvin A. Steinberg. Glendening's selection of Townsend to serve as his running mate was widely credited for giving his campaign national support, and Kennedy money, ultimately for winning the Democratic primary. In the General election, Glendening and Townsend beat Republican candidate Ellen Sauerbrey in one of Maryland's closest and most controversial gubernatorial elections. The election was in doubt as charges of voter fraud led to a lawsuit by the Sauerbrey campaign to overturn the election, which was ultimately unsuccessful. Sauerbrey challenged Glendening again in 1998, but this time Glendening and Townsend won with a wider margin of victory.
[edit] 2002 Maryland Gubernatorial election
In the Maryland gubernatorial election of 2002, Lt. Gov. Townsend ran as a Democrat, facing off against Republican Robert Ehrlich and Libertarian Spear Lancaster.
During the election, Townsend was criticized for her choice of running mate; she picked retired Admiral Charles R. Larson, a novice politician who had switched parties only a few weeks before. Larson was also a white male, unlikely to help minority turnout. In contrast, Ehrlich's running mate was Michael S. Steele, an African-American lawyer who had been chairman of the Republican Party of Maryland. The Townsend campaign was also hurt by the low approval ratings of outgoing Governor Parris Glendening, who had been involved in a marital scandal during the latter half of his second term as governor. Townsend's popularity continued to fall when it was reported that much of her campaign money was given by out-of-state donors; Ehrlich remained quiet while the Lt. Governor's poll numbers declined.
Even though Maryland traditionally votes Democratic and had not elected a Republican Governor in almost 40 years, Townsend lost the race, gaining 48% of the vote to Ehrlich's 51% and Lancaster's 1%. Ehrlich became only the seventh Republican governor in state history, resulting in heavy criticism directed at Townsend from many party activists. In the end, most observers agreed she ran a weak campaign; specifically, they cited a lack of planning, claiming that she hastily booked campaign stops in rural areas hostile to her and that she produced campaign literature of poor printing quality.
[edit] Current work
Since leaving office, Townsend has served on the board of directors for many organizations, and consultant to several corporations. She is chair of the Institute for Human Virology at the University of Maryland, and also serves on the boards of directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Points of Light Foundation, Center for American Progress, and National Catholic Reporter. Townsend is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Inter-American Dialogue, as well as adjunct Professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, Visiting Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and Senior Nitze Fellow at St. Mary's College of Maryland. She was a commencement speaker at the Roland Park Country School for Girls on June 10, 2008.
[edit] 2008 Presidential Election
In late 2007, Townsend, along with siblings Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy,[4] announced that they would be endorsing Hillary Clinton.
In response to subsequent endorsements by Caroline Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Patrick J. Kennedy for Barack Obama, Robert, Kathleen, and Kerry wrote in a January 29, 2008 editorial, "By now you may have read or heard that our cousin, Caroline Kennedy, and our uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, have come out in favor of Sen. Barack Obama. We, however, are supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton because we believe that she is the strongest candidate for our party and our country."[5]
[edit] Election history
| Year | Office | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | |||
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| 2002 | Governor | Kathleen Kennedy Townsend | Democrat | 813,422 | 47.68% | Robert Ehrlich | Republican | 879,592 | 51.55% | Spear Lancaster | Libertarian | 11,546 | 0.68% |
1998 Maryland Gubernatorial Election (Lieutenant Governor's seat)
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) (inc.) 55.17% |
| Richard D. Bennett (R) 44.83% |
1994 Maryland Gubernatorial Election (Lieutenant Governor's seat)
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) 50.21% |
| Paul Rappaport (R) 49.79% |
[edit] Bibliography
- Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way, Warner Books, 2007 (ISBN 0446577154)
[edit] References
- ^ Hostage to Fortune by Joseph P. Kennedy, edited by Amanda Smith
- ^ Nitkin, David (November 6, 2002). "Townsend never shook off lightweight label". The Baltimore Sun. http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/bal-te.md.defeat06nov06,0,5579696.story?page=2. Retrieved on 2009-02-14.
- ^ American Experience | The Kennedys | Kennedy Family Tree | PBS
- ^ Kennedy Family Split On Endorsements
- ^ Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy (2008-01-29). "Kennedys for Clinton". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-kennedy29jan29,0,1618955.story. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Hostage to Fortune by Joseph P. Kennedy, edited by Amanda Smith
- ^ Nitkin, David (November 6, 2002). "Townsend never shook off lightweight label". The Baltimore Sun. http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/bal-te.md.defeat06nov06,0,5579696.story?page=2. Retrieved on 2009-02-14.
- ^ American Experience | The Kennedys | Kennedy Family Tree | PBS
- ^ Kennedy Family Split On Endorsements
- ^ Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy (2008-01-29). "Kennedys for Clinton". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-kennedy29jan29,0,1618955.story. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at the Internet Movie Database
- Summary of Townsend's positions on the issues
- Audio/Video recordings of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on her book Failing America's Faithful, from the University of Chicago's World Beyond the Headlines series
- My Father's Stand on Cuba Travel by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, The Washington Post, April 23 2009
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Melvin A. Steinberg |
Lt. Governor of Maryland 1995–2003 |
Succeeded by Michael S. Steele |
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