Tries to Write New Chapter in Family’s Political Chronicle : Young Kennedy Aims for Office in Rhode Island

The freckle-faced young man with his shirttail sticking out of his khaki slacks was ringing doorbells, seeking votes for himself for today’s Rhode Island primary election.

“I didn’t sleep last night,” he confided. “Tossing and turning--I’ve got butterflies.”

It’s no wonder, for Patrick Kennedy is trying to write a new chapter in his famous family’s political chronicle.

The son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) is seeking his first public office--a seat in the Rhode Island Legislature--at the age of 21, when he is still a college student with virtually no experience. What’s more, he is trying to succeed in Providence, where he has lived for only two years as a student.

Appearance by Senator

To his critics, Patrick Kennedy is an arrogant upstart, ready to use his wealth and exploit his family name. The appearance of his father on his behalf at a fund-raising breakfast last Sunday may feed such criticism.

The Providence College junior, however, makes no apologies for trying to knock off a nine-year incumbent representative who has the Democratic Party’s endorsement in Providence’s largely blue-collar 9th District. In his eyes, he represents the spirit of reform, eager to crush the petty politics of patronage in favor of a broader public interest.

“I can make up for lack of experience by hard work,” he said in an interview. “This is my home, and I am enthusiastic to serve.”

Both Patrick Kennedy and his opponent, John F. Skeffington Jr., a veteran campaigner who, at 50, is old enough to be Kennedy’s father, are predicting victory in the primary. The winner is guaranteed success in November, because no Republican will be on the general election ballot.

Contempt for One Another

Neither candidate does much to conceal his contempt for the other.

“I love the Kennedys, but when they come into a district where there is an endorsed Democrat who’s been in for nine years and has done nothing wrong--it’s unfair and unjust,” Skeffington said in an interview.

A florid-faced man, Skeffington, a funeral director, is proud of his deep roots in his Providence neighborhood, where his Irish forebears settled 75 years ago.

“I know the concerns of the people--I am one of them,” he said.

On the other hand, Skeffington does not pretend that he is political perfection. A divorced Roman Catholic father of three college-age sons, he frankly acknowledged: “I don’t read books.”

Kennedy, a tall, slight youth without any trace of the distinctive Boston accent of his father, insisted that face-to-face campaigning would determine the outcome. He labeled his older opponent “right-wing” and charged him with doing little as a legislator except to “hang around” to do the bidding of party bosses.

High-Tech Techniques Used

Kennedy’s entry into the race has injected polling, computer-generated direct mail and other high-tech campaign techniques into this relatively low-level election. Both candidates have spent more than $60,000 seeking to be elected to an office that pays $300 a year.

The young challenger has financed his own campaign by taking a $35,000 loan from his personal funds. Skeffington, who spent about $5,000 in his previous election contests, raised $31,000 at a fund-raising dinner but said he was running out of money as the election neared.

Despite the resort to newfangled and expensive campaign techniques, however, both men have been knocking on doors of the estimated 4,700 voters in the district. Skeffington says he has lost 22 pounds in the process.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous, the time it takes,” he said.

For Kennedy, the estimated 1,500 home visits he has made since the end of June have provided a crash course in political science as well as valuable insight into the district’s concerns.

Question of Age

His good manners, evident sincerity and a boyish Kennedy grin usually assure a warm reception. At the same time, prospective voters question his age and his commitment to remain in the Providence area. Aides estimate that at least 1 in 7 of the people Kennedy visited were likely to vote for him, whereas only 1 in 15 showed strong animosity.

An informal survey of voters in the district clearly indicated the split in sentiment, with most voters undecided or at least undeclared.

“I think he’s too young, really,” said Rose Lepre, a housewife who said she would vote for Skeffington. “Jack is always available, and he’s a native son.”

Patricia Caroll, however, said Kennedy has impressed her. “It’s time for new blood,” she said.

Kennedy’s strategists believe that he needs a larger-than-usual turnout. The district has the city’s highest proportion of municipal and state employees. They are likely to vote no matter what, and they would probably favor Skeffington over a renegade.

Good Weather Desired

“If it’s a rainy day on Wednesday, we’re dead,” George Hoey, one of Kennedy’s campaign aides, said a few days ago. But good weather, he insisted, could produce a heavy turnout and a Kennedy landslide.

Rhode Island Democratic leaders, who tried to talk Kennedy out of making the race, are skeptical of his motivations in running for the lowly legislative post. “I get the impression that he’s using this as a stepping stone to a congressional seat,” said Carolyn Brassil, chairwoman of the Providence city party and a member of the City Council.

Skeffington says the Kennedy family picked Rhode Island because its size makes it the least expensive state to win a U.S. Senate seat. He is particularly angry over the frequent visits of Sen. Kennedy, who has been ringing doorbells on his son’s behalf.

“I don’t know whether I’m running against Patrick’s father or not,” he said.

Kennedy, however, finds it only natural that his father, who was opposed by many Democrats in Massachusetts when he sought a U.S. Senate seat at the minimum age of 30 in 1962, would come to his aid.

‘He’s Proven Himself’

“It’s like his first race all over again,” Kennedy said. “But he’s proven himself. My uncle, President (John F.) Kennedy, had to overcome party opposition when he first ran for Congress. They said the same thing about my Uncle Bobby (the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York), and their record of public service speaks for itself.”

Friends of young Kennedy said he was trying to carve a niche for himself in a state where his family name is not so dominant as it is in Massachusetts. He lives in a first-floor apartment in a three-family home, but after the election he intends to buy a house, the friends said.

Kennedy, although expressing confidence in victory, mused briefly about the possibility that he may lose to Skeffington, who shares the name of the fictional Frank Skeffington, tragic hero of “The Last Hurrah,” a novel about Boston politics.

“I will know that I have run a good campaign,” he said. “It would not be easy to lose. . . . “ And then, in a show of Kennedy bravado mixed with optimism, he grinned and added: “But I don’t expect to lose.”