Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Mary Kennedy

46. Mary Kennedy

If you’re looking for legislative drama, nothing beats the public safety committees, with their high-profile votes on drugs and crime. But while the hearings in the Assembly are often contentious and/or dysfunctional, there’s no such drama on the Senate side and that seems to be due in large part to Mary Kennedy, the Senate Committee on Public Safety’s chief counsel, who oversees the committee with a deft touch. Kennedy makes this list because of her competence and job performance. She may not be as high profile as some of the others on this list. But given her role, you’d be more likely to hear about her if she allowed problems to fester. She doesn’t.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024