Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend (née Kennedy), born on July 4, 1951, in Greenwich, Connecticut, is an American attorney and politician. She served as the sixth lieutenant governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003, notably the first woman to hold this position. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was a gubernatorial candidate in Maryland in 2002, but was not successful in her bid for governor. Since 2010, she has been the chair of American Bridge, a non-profit organization focused on raising funds for Democratic candidates and causes. Since 2021, she has held the role of advisor on retirement in the United States Department of Labor. She is recognized as the oldest living member of the Kennedy family, the oldest granddaughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Early Life and Education:

Kennedy Townsend was the eldest of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel’s eleven children. Her full name is Kathleen Hartington Kennedy, and she was named after her paternal aunt, Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington. Her childhood was spent in McLean, Virginia, and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. She was raised in a family with strong political ties, although it was not initially assumed that daughters in the Kennedy family would pursue political office. After President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, her father encouraged her to work for her country, expressing a sense of responsibility as the oldest of the next generation.

Kennedy Townsend displayed early talents in horsemanship, winning four blue ribbons in 1964. At age 14, she was involved in a horse riding accident at Sea Flash Farms in West Barnstable, Massachusetts, which resulted in internal bleeding and unconsciousness. She was taken to Cape Cod Hospital. She was 16 years old when her father was assassinated in 1968. On the night of his death, she was flying to Los Angeles as part of a Secret Service flight accompanying her brothers.

For her education, Kennedy Townsend attended Our Lady of Victory Elementary School in Washington, D.C., and The Putney School in Vermont. She earned a bachelor's degree in history and literature from Radcliffe College in 1974 and completed her Juris Doctor at the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1978.

Legal and Early Career:

After law school, she worked at the law firm Clendenen & Lesser in New Haven, Connecticut. She was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1982 and served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge A. David Mazzone. She participated in her uncle Ted Kennedy’s 1980 presidential campaign and worked as a policy analyst for Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the early 1980s.

In 1984, Kennedy Townsend moved with her family to Maryland, settling in the Baltimore area. She was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1985. She ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maryland's Republican 2nd congressional district in 1986, losing to incumbent Helen Delich Bentley. Following this defeat, she held various government positions in Maryland, including assistant Attorney General, and worked at the U.S. Department of Justice overseeing grants for police and community groups.

Political Career:

In 1994, Kennedy Townsend was chosen as the running mate for Parris Glendening in his campaign for Maryland governor. Her campaign helped her team win the election against Republican Ellen Sauerbrey amid a contentious and closely contested election process. Official results declared the Democratic ticket victorious by nearly 6,000 votes out of 1.4 million, despite allegations and lawsuits from Sauerbrey regarding vote irregularities. The lawsuit was dismissed, with the court ruling that no evidence of fraud or procedural violations affected the outcome.

During her tenure as lieutenant governor, Kennedy Townsend prioritized crime reduction and economic development initiatives. She was instrumental in programs such as requiring community service for high school graduation, the HotSpot Communities Initiative targeting high-crime areas, and the "Break the Cycle" program for offenders on parole and probation. She also campaigned for Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election.

In 2002, Kennedy Townsend ran for governor of Maryland but was defeated by Republican Bob Ehrlich. Her campaign faced criticism for its strategy and candidate selection, including her choice of running mate, which was seen as a factor contributing to the electoral loss. This defeat is considered to have impacted her political trajectory.

Post-Political Activities:

Kennedy Townsend has authored a book titled *Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way* (2007). She has contributed to The Recovering Politician website and served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Public Policy Institute, a visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and a senior fellow at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

In 2010, she became chair of American Bridge, aiming to strengthen Democratic campaign efforts financially. She endorsed Democratic candidates in subsequent elections, including Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign and Kamala Harris’s presidential bid in 2024. Her brother Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Donald Trump, which she and some of her siblings publicly criticized.

Personal Life:

In 1973, Kennedy Townsend married David Lee Townsend, born in 1947.