Edward J. Kennedy Jr., a lifelong resident of Lowell, was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in November 2018. He represents the First Middlesex District, which includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Dracut, Dunstable, Pepperell, and Tyngsboro.
A graduate of Boston University, Ed also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Framingham State University.
He began his political career when he won a seat on the Lowell City Council in 1977, at the age of 26. At that time the city was at a crossroads. The once-bustling home of the Industrial Revolution had fallen on desperate economic times, the landscape dotted by hulking vacant mill buildings and an increase in blight, arson, and drug crimes in the neighborhoods.
He served four terms on the Council from 1978-1985, fighting to keep property taxes reasonable and to improve city services for those who stayed in the city, while helping to steer the city into its economic and cultural renaissance. Those years saw the establishment of the Lowell National Historical Park, the construction of the Hilton hotel and the Wang Training Center downtown, the renovation of the Wannalancit Mills and other former industrial spaces, an influx of federal funds to improve the city’s housing stock and prevent neighborhood blight, and the arrival of thousands of Cambodian refugees, all important pieces of changing the face and future of the city.
From 1992-1996, Ed served in a regional capacity as a Middlesex County Commissioner.
He returned to the Lowell City Council in 2012, where he was a strong proponent of the city conducting tax lien auctions to recoup back taxes owed to the city. In August 2012, the city took in $1.3 million in what had been lost revenue from the sale of tax liens and taxes paid by property owners who did not want their liens to go to auction.
Ed has continued to be a leading voice for economic development initiatives and environmental policy on the City Council. He served as Mayor in the 2016-2017 term, during which time he was an outspoken and unwavering leader in the fight to keep Lowell High School downtown. His level-headed leadership guided the city through one of the most contentious battles in the city’s history.
As a City Councilor. Ed has served as the representative to the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG), chairs the City Council’s Economic Development and Education Partnerships subcommittees and is a member of the City Council’s Arts & Culture, Downtown Redevelopment, Environment & Flood Issues, Municipal Facilities, Zoning, and Ad-Hoc Election Laws subcommittees.
Prior to being elected to the Senate, Ed worked as a commercial real estate appraiser. He is a long-time member of the Democratic State Committee, the Sierra Club and the Appalachian Mountain Club.
In his free time, Ed loves to hike, spend time with his three grandsons, and enjoy the variety of dining and cultural options available throughout Greater Lowell.
Ed and his wife, Susan, live in the Lowell’s Belvidere neighborhood.
