Month: September 2023

State Senator Ed Kennedy attended the opening ceremony and celebration of the “One City, Many Cultures” exhibit at the Mogan Cultural Center on Saturday, September 23. The Mogan Cultural Center is part of the Lowell National Historical Park. In addition to Senator Kennedy, U.S. Representative Lori Trahan, State Representative Vanna Howard and Lowell City Councilor Erik Gitschier also spoke at the opening ceremony. The celebration included performances by the Greater Lowell Indian Cultural Association, the Angkor Dance Troupe, the McGonagle School of Irish Dance and Saint Michael’s Catholic Choir.

“One City, Many Cultures” was co-created by members of the Greater Lowell community and the National Park Service. More than one hundred individuals contributed their stories, objects, photographs and other materials to convey the many cultures in the city of Lowell. 

State Senator Ed Kennedy joined with U.S. Representative Lori Trahan and Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chou in welcoming delegates from across the Commonwealth to Lowell for the 2023 Democratic State Convention on Saturday, September 23.

State Senator Ed Kennedy joined Middlesex Community College President Phil Sisson, Middlesex Community College Board of Trustees Chairman Jim Campbell, State Representative Vanna Howard, State Representative Rodney Elliott and others on a tour of the UMass-Lowell Inn & Conference Center on Friday, September 22. The tour included the hotel space and the student dorm space on the upper floors as well as the kitchen, dining and function room space on the lower floors.

In recent weeks Middlesex Community College has indicated that the college might be interested in acquiring the property from UMass-Lowell in order to develop a hospitality curriculum at the college that would allow the Inn & Conference Center to continue to function as a hotel. The Inn & Conference Center is located in the heart of the Lowell Central Business District and abuts the Middlesex Community College campus. 

On Friday, September 15, the Lowell Justice Center was formally dedicated to former Judge and State Representative Cornelius F. Kiernan.   

Judge Cornelius F. Kiernan was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 15, 1917. He was one of seven children born to William R. Kiernan and Anna G. Doyle. His father was a pharmacist who owned Kiernan’s drug store at the corner of Broadway and School streets in the Acre section of Lowell. The family lived at 22 Phillips Street, which was just a block away from the drug store.

Judge Kiernan graduated from St. Patrick’s School and then from Lowell High School in 1935. He then studied law at Northeastern University in Boston, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1941.

While still at Northeastern, Kiernan registered for the draft in Lowell on October 16, 1940. He was 23 years old and still living at 22 Phillips Street. In March 1944, Kiernan passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam and soon left for basic training in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in the Philippines during the war.

After his discharge from the Army, Kiernan returned to Lowell and opened a law office and was elected to the Lowell School Committee in 1947. One year later, on November 2, 1948, Cornelius Kiernan was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he would serve for thirteen terms. During his first year as a state representative, Kiernan also remained on the Lowell School Committee, holding both offices for a twelve-month period.

In 1958, Cornelius Kiernan became the Majority Leader, the second most powerful position in the House of Representatives. Kiernan served in that role for the next four years until in November 1962, Kiernan announced that he would run for Speaker. However, Speaker John Thompson had decided to forego running for a statewide office and instead seek another term as Speaker. Eventually Thompson prevailed.

Kiernan was named chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee in 1966, a position he held for the next eight years.

During his years in Legislature, Representative Kiernan was essential in obtaining state funding for the Merrimack River Boat Ramp and the Lowell Connector. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Solomon Mental Health Center and securing over $4 million in the State Budget for the nuclear center at Lowell Technological Institute, now known as University of Massachusetts-Lowell. He also established Juvenile Courts in four new locations, initiated legal assistance for indigent and mentally ill, required hospitals and doctors to report battered children, and advocated for equal pay for equal work.

In 1974, Representative Kiernan was nominated by Republican Governor Francis W. Sargent to be a special justice in the Somerville District Court. The Massachusetts Governor’s Council approved Kiernan’s nomination in February that year, and he was sworn in during the following month. After the unexpected retirement of a judge at the Lowell District Court, Governor Sargent appointed Judge Kiernan to the Lowell District Court where he served for seven years until his retirement in 1983. Judge Kiernan was known as a compassionate justice. He treated those that came before his bench with empathy and fairness, and presided over his court with the belief that people, regardless of circumstance, deserved a second chance.

Judge Kiernan served for eight years as a judge, retiring in 1983 at age 65. He lived for another 13 years, passing away on January 20, 1996. His funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Church in the Acre and he is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Lowell.

State Senator Ed Kennedy was invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the 20,000 square feet of new warehouse/distribution space that Catie’s Closet now occupies at 28 Loon Hill Road in Dracut on Friday, September 15. Catie’s Closet now serves 115 schools and 75,000 students daily across Massachusetts & New Hampshire.

Additional state legislators who were at the ribbon cutting ceremony included State Senator Pavel Payano and State Representatives Rodney Elliott and Vanna Howard. 

State Senator Ed Kennedy and most of the Lowell delegation to the state house were at the John Nesmith House on Wednesday, September 13 for a reception to welcome Maria Gariepy as the new Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Middlesex Community College.