This would make for an interesting race:
suntimes.com
Wm. Kennedy Smith eyes Congress seat
July 29, 2001
BY LYNN SWEET SUN-TIMES WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON--William Kennedy Smith, who after being acquitted of rape
charges in a sensational trial went on to become a Chicago doctor crusading on
behalf of land mine victims, is testing the waters to run for Congress from a North
Side district.
Smith is a member of the third generation of cousins in America's most famous
political family. The Chicago Sun-Times has learned he is quietly exploring a House
bid for the 5th District seat being vacated by Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.), who is
leaving Congress to run for governor.
A Portage Park elementary school teacher said she attended a political focus group
July 19 during which a dozen or so women were questioned about potential
candidates, including Smith, to replace Blagojevich.
A video was shown highlighting Smith's work with land mine victims that featured
Smith on camera, said Audrey Kocylowski, recounting the evening session held at
an office building near O'Hare Airport.
The women discussed the various potential candidates. ''Two names stood out,''
said Kocylowski. ''Bernie Hansen and William Kennedy Smith, though people
couldn't figure out which Kennedy it was.''
Smith, 39, is the son of the late Stephen Smith and his wife, Jean, a member of the
storied Kennedy clan. Jean Kennedy Smith, President Bill Clinton's ambassador to
Ireland, is the sister of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.); they suffered through the
assassination of two brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert
Kennedy (D-N.Y.). Stephen Smith handled the family's business affairs.
In addition to focus groups, two other knowledgeable sources told the Sun-Times
that Smith has discussed a bid for the House.
The first and crucial political hurdle for Smith is figuring out if he is electable in the
wake of his 1991 rape trial. Then a medical student, Smith was charged with sexual
battery on May 9, 1991, following a late night at a Palm Beach, Fla., bar with Sen.
Kennedy and his son Patrick, now a House member from Rhode Island.
Smith testified at his trial--one of the first trials to be featured on cable news
outlets--that he engaged in consensual sex on the beach with his accuser, Patricia
Bowman. The jury believed Smith and acquitted him after 77 minutes of
deliberation.
After the trial, Smith resumed his medical education and ended up in Chicago. He
is an adjunct instructor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern
University Medical School and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Smith, who is single, has kept a low-key, almost anonymous profile in Chicago,
where he lives near the lake in Lincoln Park. His cousin Chris Kennedy, 38, runs
the Merchandise Mart and will be the general chairman of Paul Vallas' campaign
for governor. Kennedy's sister, Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend,
will run for governor of her state. Another cousin, Mark Shriver, a member of the
Maryland Legislature, is running for Congress.
Smith has never run for political office. He has built a national reputation in his role
as founder and president of Physicians Against Land Mines. The goal of the group,
according to its Web site, is to ''end land mine proliferation and aid land mine
survivors worldwide.''
The district is heavily Democratic, so the winner of the March Democratic primary
is the overwhelming favorite to claim the seat in the November election. The magic
value of the Kennedy name is worth less in a district that will send a Democrat to
Congress no matter what. Chris Kennedy is being wooed for statewide office
because his name on the ballot is seen to have the kind of drawing power that
could make the difference in a close race.
Four Democrats are organizing primary campaigns: Hansen, the 44th Ward
alderman and committeeman; former state Rep. Nancy Kaszak (D-Chicago), an
attorney; Rahm Emanuel, a former senior advisor to Clinton and now an investment
banker, and Pete Dagher, a former Clinton administration aide in the
Transportation Department and special projects manager in the White House.
Kocylowski said the focus group was asked to discuss whether Smith's rape trial
would be an insurmountable liability. ''A lot was focused on 'Will he make a good
representative?' The panel felt he was doing a wonderful job in the private sector.''
The video about Smith's work with land mine survivors was ''heart-wrenching" and
"very emotional,'' Kocylowski said, ''but what does that have to do with
representing our sector in Illinois?''
Diane Nickolson, also a Portage Park resident, and another focus group attendee,
said the Smith video on his land mine work was "compelling . . . it caught at your
heart,'' but talk of his trial woes was "predominant.''
"He is doing good work with his organization. But why should he run for
Congress?'' Nickolson said.
Besides Smith, Hansen, Kaszak and Emanuel, the focus group also included
Forrest Claypoole, the former Park District chief who may run for something else
instead. Nickolson said the women were most receptive to Kaszak and Hansen.
Smith did not return a phone call to his office.
Kaszak, who lost the Democratic primary to Blagojevich in 1996, already has
assembled a political team and hired a campaign manager. She is committed to the
contest and will announce when Blagojevich makes his candidacy official next
month.
Kaszak said Saturday that Smith "is welcome to join the race as is anyone who is
interested in discussing issues important to the Fifth Congressional District.
Whether his rape acquittal should be a factor is "up to the voters,'' she said.
Emanuel said he won't run if Hansen really gets into the race. In the meantime, he is
putting together a campaign team and has started fund-raising.
Emanuel said on Saturday, "Every candidacy has its own opportunities and
challenges. I think his (Smith's) own challenges are quite unique.''
Hansen said he is excited about making a run and has been looking for a signal
from Mayor Daley. He said he talked to the mayor a few days ago and told him
that he intends to get into the race. ''He didn't tell me to stop,'' Hansen said.
Dagher said he soon will announce the creation of an exploratory committee.
"A potential run (by Smith) does not change my plans one bit,'' Dagher said on
Saturday.
The seat to be up for grabs was once tightly held by former Rep. Dan
Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Republican Michael Flanagan beat Rostenkowski in a 1994 fluke election because
Rostenkowski was under federal indictment. |
