Kennedy won’t seek re-election in 12th Senate District

Keith M. Phaneuf :: CTMirror.org

Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., D-Branford

Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr., D-Branford, announced tonight that he will not seek re-election for a new term as state senator for Connecticut’s 12th District, saying that he will expand his efforts to safeguard the rights of the disabled.

“The decision to not seek re-election was a very difficult one because I love my job and the legislative process,” Kennedy wrote in a statement. “I feel honored and privileged to serve in the Connecticut General Assembly, and I am extraordinarily grateful to the hard-working residents of Branford, Guilford, Madison, North Branford, Durham and Killingworth for entrusting me to represent them and their needs.”

Kennedy, a longstanding disabled rights lawyer who lost his leg to bone cancer at age 12, is the new chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities’ governing board.

“Unfortunately, many of the civil rights gained by people with disabilities are now under imminent threat, as the current federal administration works to dismantle these hard-fought rights, achieved over the past two decades through bipartisan efforts,” he added. “I plan to bring national attention to these alarming and harmful changes.”

Kennedy first was elected to the Senate in 2014, succeeding Guilford Democrat Edward Meyer.