Khazei formally joins race for Kennedy seat

BOSTON - Alan Khazei, co-founder of the youth service program City Year, has formally announced his bid for the U.S. Senate seat held for nearly a half-century by Edward Kennedy.

Khazei told several hundred supporters at a Boston Common rally Thursday that he’s proud his campaign is “citizen-led, citizen-energized, and citizen-financed.“

Khazei joins three other Democrats and two Republicans running for the seat opened when Kennedy died last month.

The party primaries in the special election to succeed him are Dec. 8. The general election is Jan. 19.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday appointed former Democratic Party chairman Paul Kirk to fill the seat until the election.