For nearly a half - century in the U.S. Senate, Mr. Kennedy was a steadfast champion of the working class and the poor, and
a powerful liberal voice on health care, civil rights, and other issues, as well as education.
Mr. de Blasio, who has relied on the
liberal Mr. Silver to act as a
powerful voice for New York City in Albany, said he believed the Manhattan legislator's character to be unimpeachable.