E-Mail This Article to a Friend Republican maverick to oppose Ted Kennedy Belongs to the "Howie Carr" school of thought BY ADAM REILLY

Looks like Senator Ted Kennedy may not be running unopposed after all. His would-be opponent in the 2006 U.S. Senate election? Kevin P. Scott.

No, it’s not just you. Outside of Wakefield, where Scott was a selectman from 1999-2002 and a member of the board of public works from 1994-1997, Scott is virtually unknown. Of course, this should change this as soon as word of Scott’s candidacy gets out, since running against Kennedy--whom conservatives view as a kind of political antichrist--is an excellent way for an ambitious young Republican (read: Mitt Romney, 1994) to get loads of free publicity.

Who is this Kevin Scott? Well, he’s 41-year-old graduate of UMass-Boston and Newbury College. He speaks Russian, enjoys reading about politics and history, and has lived in Wakefield his entire life. More to the point, he seems to be heavily influenced by conservative talking head Howie Carr, whose drive-time show on WRKO-AM is infused with the same combative populism that marks Scott’s web site, MassForScott.com. "I am not a Harvard trust fund baby," Scott assures visitors. "Kevin is one of you," the site adds. "Just like you, he has gone through the trials and tribulations that life tends to throw at a person and he has overcome them."

Elsewhere on the site, Scott pans the Senate as a "private elite club of super-rich aristocrats that excludes regular citizens," and rails against both "career politicians" and "the multi-billion dollar lobbyist industry." In short, he is (or wants to be thought of as) an everyman--hence his campaign slogan: "I do not want your help because I am better than you, but because I am one of you."

Yet Kevin P. Scott may defy easy categorization. When the Phoenix caught up with him Monday afternoon, Scott identified himself as a "moderate Republican," and plugged tax-code simplification and deficit reduction. Then, after urging better health management to contain the health-care crisis, he began singing the praises of recycling (!) -- an issue, he claims, where liberals and conservatives can make common cause. "Of course, the tree huggers are saying they want to hug a tree, and the conservatives are saying they want to save money, but the bottom line is, they do agree," he argues. "There’s more agreement than first meets the eye on some of these issues." What would Howie say?

Up in Wakefield, meanwhile, early reactions to Scott’s run were mix. Mary K. Galvin, Wakefield’s town clerk, described Scott as a "wonderful young man." But a woman who answered the phone in the selectmen’s office--and who asked not to be identified--seemed hesitant when asked if Scott should be taken seriously. "Hmm..." she replied. "I’m not going to answer that."