Barbara B. Kennelly

Barbara B. Kennelly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 1st district
In office January 12, 1982 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	William R. Cotter
Succeeded by	John B. Larson
Personal details
Born	(1936-07-10) July 10, 1936 Hartford, Connecticut
Political party	Democratic

Barbara Bailey Kennelly (born July 10, 1936) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut.

Family and Education

Kennelly was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of long-time Democratic Party leader John M. Bailey. She graduated from Trinity Washington University in 1958 and received a master's degree from Trinity College in 1971. She was married to the late James J. Kennelly, an attorney who served as a Connecticut State Representative and Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. She has three daughters, one son, and twelve grandchildren.

Career

Politics

In 1975, Kennelly was elected to the Hartford City Council, where she was a member until 1979. She served as the Secretary of the State of Connecticut from 1979 until 1982.

Kennelly was elected to Congress in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William R. Cotter. She represented Connecticut's First Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from January 12, 1982 until January 3, 1999. She did not seek re-election in 1998, running instead for governor of Connecticut against Republican incumbent John G. Rowland, to whom she lost.

Other activities

From 2002 to 2011 she served as President of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

The Barbara B. Kennelly Post Office Building in Hartford is named in her honor.

On July 1, 2009, she spoke to the Presidential Classroom Scholars Program on the US House floor.

Kennelly is also a member of the board of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, a non profit prominent in the assistance of elections in many countries.

External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Barbara Kennelly in Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame
• Barbara Kennelly Papers Archives & Special Collections, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut