Joe Kennedy is running for Congress in the Massachusetts 4th Congressional District. A former prosecutor and member of the Peace Corps, Joe has dedicated his career to pursuing justice and standing up for people who are getting overlooked by our system.
Whether fighting for fair treatment on behalf of hardworking families, giving a voice to tenants targeted by big banks, or standing up in the courts for society’s most vulnerable – Joe is committed to our country’s fundamental promise that each of us deserves a fair shot, no matter who we are or where we come from.
Before getting into this race, Joe served as an Assistant District Attorney for Middlesex County, Massachusetts, prosecuting a wide variety of misdemeanors and felonies. Prior to that, he served the counties of Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket. During his time in the courts, Joe worked to keep serious drug offenders and violent criminals off the streets and advocated for women, children and families who were victims of domestic violence.
Joe attended Harvard Law School, where he spent most of his time working for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, a student managed pro-bono law firm. An active member, Joe represented the residents of some of Boston’s most impoverished neighborhoods. He advocated for tenants who were forced out of their homes by banks after they foreclosed on delinquent landlords in the midst of the financial crisis.
In addition to his legal aid work, he co-founded an afterschool program for at-risk youth in a Boston public school with his fiancée, Lauren, which is still operating today.
Joe served in the Peace Corps from 2004-2006, where he worked on economic development and community reinvestment in the Puerto Plata region of the Dominican Republic. Home to the Rio Damajagua waterfall national park, the rural community where he lived had been exploited by outside tour companies for years.
Joe worked alongside residents to establish local control of the park, raise over $100,000 through grants and aid money, and create a sustainable business model that fairly compensated guides for their hard work and turned the park into a profitable enterprise.
Most uniquely, Joe helped create a community fund that reinvested profits from the park into education, infrastructure, and public safety throughout the area.
Joe grew up in Massachusetts and studied Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, where he was the starting goalie and co-captain of the Men’s Lacrosse team. He speaks fluent Spanish and resides in Brookline.
