Overview

• Senate President Karen Spilka informed colleagues Thursday that Kennedy had died, and a spokesperson for his office said he passed away Wednesday night.
• Officials have not disclosed a cause of death, and details on services have not yet been released.
• First elected to the Senate in 2018, he represented the First Middlesex District along the New Hampshire border, including Lowell, Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell and Tyngsborough.
• This session he chaired the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets and served as vice chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education.
• His public service included Lowell City Council stints from 1978 to 1985 and 2011 to 2019, a 2016–2017 term as mayor, and service as a Middlesex County commissioner from 1992 to 1996; he is survived by his wife, Susan, and two children.