The Kennedy-backed pick for interim senator - a Beltway insider who could enjoy a lifetime pass to the Senate floor - has deep ties to special interests, sitting on a board that oversees a health-insurance provider and having lobbied for the pharmaceutical industry, the Herald has learned.

“Obviously, this is a conflict of interest and raises serious concerns,” Craig Holman of the non-partisan watchdog Public Citizen, said of the potential appointment of Paul G. Kirk Jr. to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s seat. “It is distressing. There were many qualified people.”