CapeCodTimes.com – Kennedy wins voters’ hearts
HYANNIS — A cheerful crowd of voters and poll watchers greeted Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., yesterday as he and his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, headed toward the voting booths inside Barnstable Town Hall.
Kennedy said he hoped there would be a big turnout for yesterday’s state primary races.
“I get lumped up every time I see him,” said Shirley Clark of Hyannis, leaning on her cane as she watched Kennedy and his wife step into the elevator she had just exited.
Kennedy smiled at her, touched her arm and said, “I like your sticker,” with a nod of acknowledgment for the “I voted” sticker affixed to the front of her sweater.
“He’s such a great guy. He always says hello, always makes you feel like someone special,” Clark said as the elevator doors closed.
Kennedy entered through a basement door used by voters familiar with town hall.
On the second floor, where voters from precincts 9 and 13 cast their ballots, there was a veritable receiving line of area residents, most of whom smiled broadly when they saw Kennedy and his wife come into the room set aside for voting.
Like any other voters, the Kennedys leaned toward poll clerks seated behind a table and announced their names. The clerks in turn checked the names against the list of registered voters.
Kennedy shook hands, thanked people for their support and, once or twice, ran a hand through his trademark thick white hair.
Visible through that hair on the back of his head was a small scar from the surgery he underwent over the summer when doctors removed a brain tumor.
Kennedy has been recuperating on the Cape and sailing just about every day.
