When Jack was young, he dreamed of being an architect or a soldier. On November 7, 1960, as he stood with his classmates and teachers along Elmwood Avenue in Cranston, Jack watched as then-Senator John F. Kennedy – who was campaigning to become President – and then-candidate Claiborne Pell – who was running to become Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator – drove by his school. Jack never imagined that one day he’d have the opportunity to serve alongside Kennedy’s brother and succeed Claiborne Pell in the United States Senate.
Reed served three terms in the Rhode Island State Senate, where he focused on housing, children’s welfare, and mental health issues. The people of Rhode Island then elected him to serve three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. As Rhode Island Monthly put it: “Since he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990, Reed has been known as the hardest of workers who tirelessly researches issues and keeps himself in the know. His knowledge ranges far and wide, foreign and local.”
