Patrick J Kennedy

American politician and noted family, the son of Joan and Ted Kennedy. He is the third child after Kara, born in 1960 and Ted, Jr. born in 1961. He was nine when his parents separated and remained close to both as they retained a cordial relationship. Patrick sowed his wild oats and followed up with drug rehab in 1985. In 1988, while still a junior at Providence College, he won a seat in the state legislature. It was not a post that came easily. Speechmaking so terrified Patrick that his hands shook visibly. He knocked on 3,000 doors and spend an unheard-of-$93,000 ($73 for every vote he got) to win a $300 a year job. During a traditional Easter weekend in 1991, he met with his dad, aunt Jean Smith and her son Willie at the Smith family ocean-front home in Palm Beach. On Good Friday he went with his dad and cousin Willie to a local bar popular with the young jet set. Two young women joined them the early hours of Saturday and the following day, Patricia Bowman accused William of rape, 3/30/1991 bringing an extended scandal, legal case and bad press. Raised in a political family, Patrick followed a natural pattern by entering politics and becoming a Rhode Island congressman by 1994. He has held the seat and become known for revising antiquated rules. During his second term in 1996, he was a quiet bachelor. The first time that he was asked, on camera, whether he would ever like to run for President, he did not hesitate to say Yes. Patrick took over the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1998, working harder than anyone else at the job, bringing in three times more than the Committee had ever raised before. There was a down side, in that his efforts took him away from his district for long stretches and his approval rating slipped among his own constituents. In 2000, he passed up an opportunity to run for office, feeling his own way rather than pressing for immediate advancement. He admits to his own human frailties such as having therapy and taking meds to combat depression. On May 5, 2006, the US representative announced his decision to enter a rehabilitation program in Rochester, MN to treat his addiction to prescription pain medication. Kennedy said he had become addicted to the medication prescribed to treat the depression that has plagued him for years. He made the decision to seek help after he crashed his car into a concrete barrier at about 3 AM on the morning of May 4 in Washington, D.C., an accident which he could not remember. Police said he appeared intoxicated but Kennedy denied drinking. On June 13, 2006 in Washington, DC, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of prescription drugs. His famous father died on August 25, 2009 of brain cancer. He announced in February 2010 that he would not seek re-election to Congress. He became engaged to Amy Petitgout in March 2011. They wed in the early evening of July 15, 2011 in Hyannis Port, MA. His sister Kara Kennedy suffered a fatal heart attack at a Washington, DC health club on September 16, 2011. Link to Wikipedia biography