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Kennedy visits Chicopee, Holyoke

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



Running for re-election, Senator Edward M. Kennedy made a three-stop campaign swing on Friday through western Massachusetts in Holyoke, Chicopee and Springfield.

At each of the locations, Kennedy spoke of the importance of returning the Democratic Party back into power in the House and the Senate and shared the attention with other Democratic candidates.



***

In Holyoke, Kennedy was the guest at an event sponsored by State Representative Michael Kane at the Koffee Kup Caf on Westfield Road. Dozens of supporters were crowded into the bakery waiting for his arrival.

Kennedy arrived with his two Portuguese water dogs, Splash and Sunny, and brought them into a van from the Holyoke Soldier's Home with several veterans who wanted to meet the senator.

He told them about the breed and how the dogs are "writing" a children's book. Kennedy shared with the veterans that he participates in a read-aloud program at a school once a week.

State laws forbade Kennedy from bringing his two dogs into the Koffee Kup, something the senator joked about at the door.

"Splash and Sunny aren't allowed in here. They wanted to say that victory is in the air. And I say the same thing," Kennedy said.

With the dogs inside his car, Kennedy came in and started shaking hands and posing for photos.

After remarks from Kane, Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan and Congressman John Olver, Kennedy said he had served 44 years in the Senate. He recalled that when he was first campaigning he told audiences that they needed a young man with new ideas. Now he said they need age and experience.

Kennedy asserted that this mid-term election is "the most important political campaign of this generation" and compared to the elections of 1960 and 1968.

He called for voters to embrace the "politics of hope" and reject the Bush administration that have sent Americans "under-armored and under-manned with no plan for peace" to Iraq.



***

Close to 100 Chicopee residents were waiting for Kennedy at the Chicopee Senior Center. His arrival into the center's multi-purpose room brought a standing ovation.

Sandra Lopollo, the head of the Chicopee Council on Aging, thanked Kennedy for his "relentless support" of programs that benefit senior citizens.

"The work you do is the difference in the [lives of] millions of older adults each year," Lopollo said.

Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette and State Representative Joseph Wagner introduced the senator.

Kennedy said that among his father and mother's values was a belief that a defining issue in evaluating a society was how it treats the elderly.

Kennedy said the Bush administration's effort to privatize Social Security is "not a wise policy."

Kennedy had been welcomed by the seniors with a rendition of "My Wild Irish Rose," and promised that at the end of his remarks he would sing "You are my Sunshine" and "Sweet Rosie O'Grady," a favorite of his mother.

Once Kennedy concluded a remarks on the needs for affordable prescription medications, he did as he promised and led the audience in song.

Bissonnette told The Chicopee Herald that he took the opportunity to speak to Kennedy about requests for federal funding for the clean-up at the former Uniroyal tire factory, a new senior center and for the continued development of Chicopee's downtown.

He said the senator was "very responsive" to the requests and Bissonnette added that with federal budget talks going on in January 2007 he wanted "Chicopee's agenda in front of him [Kennedy]."