Joe Malone joked he was the "sacrificial lamb" when he ran against venerable incumbent Sen. Edward Kennedy in 1988.
As he had so many other challengers before, Kennedy handily defeated the then 33-year-old Republican hopeful, taking 65 percent of the vote.
Malone, a Waltham native who is the brother of City Clerk Russ Malone, said while he differed greatly with Kennedy politically, he garnered a newfound respect for the liberal lion after the campaign was over - and also learned some valuable lessons from him.
"After running against Ted Kennedy, I viewed him in a totally different light," Malone said. "He was someone who had been through a great deal of adversity, and therefore had a great deal of empathy toward others."
Malone said Kennedy was more than a gracious winner, even going so far as to send Malone and his family a handwritten letter.
"In addition to the letter, he also called me the night of the election, and spent 10 minutes on the phone, basically encouraging me to stay in politics," Malone said.
"He was just very thoughtful."
The two would maintain that mutual respect years after. Malone said Kennedy called to console him some 10 years later when his mother passed away.
Also, Kennedy would always send greetings to Malone whenever he ran into a friend from Waltham.
"It was always a warm message that got sent," he said.
The goodwill Malone said had built up, along with the lessons he learned during the campaign against Kennedy, helped him win the state treasurer's seat two years later.
He was re-elected to the state post in 1994 and held the seat until 1999.
Malone also ran for governor in 1998, but lost to incumbent Gov. Paul Cellucci.
Malone now lives in Scituate and works in financial services. He's also an on-air contributor for Fox Channel 25.
Malone said one of the most important things he learned from Kennedy was that you can fight the good fight politically and be friends at the end of the day - that politics should never be personal.
"And the senator did that better than anybody," Malone said.
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
