EAST PROVIDENCE --Saying Rhode Island doesnÂ’t need "a congressman who needs a babysitter," Rumford Republican Edmund Leather announced he will challenge Rep. Patrick Kennedy for the 1st District seat in the House of Representatives. Leather, 67, is a retired foreign service officer who was posted from Portugal to Switzerland to Jamaica and before that was a schoolteacher in Woonsocket. Leather has called on Kennedy to resign his seat because of the congressmanÂ’s public battle with addiction. "HeÂ’s an addict. He has been for 20 years," Leather said in an interview before his formal announcement. "Whether it is alcohol or drugs, he has had the best medical treatment. I donÂ’t think he belongs in Congress. He should resign. I think he canÂ’t take the pressure of being a Kennedy."
The remark about the babysitter comes from KennedyÂ’s statement to reporters after leaving a 28 day treatment regimen at the Mayo Clinic that followed an early-morning traffic mishap Kennedy was involved in near the Capitol building in early May. Kennedy said at a press conference that he has a strong support network in Washington D.C. and is building one in Rhode Island because "I canÂ’t follow my own instincts when it comes to this."
Speaking to about two dozen family, friends and supporters at the Metacomet Country Club on Thursday, Leather said, "Just the other day, he said he canÂ’t trust his own instincts. Well, neither can I." The line drew applause from his audience.