Governor Deval Patrick is holding a 3:00 press conference today to discuss the US Senate vacancy. I expect him to announce the dates for the general and primary elections, and to discuss his desire for a law that lets him appoint a temporary Senator. I don't expect him to say who he would appoint if given the opportunity.

But just in case he does, here is my Top Ten List of people who Deval Patrick will NOT appoint to the US Senate::

It was reported that Ted Kennedy wrote his succession-related letter to Patrick, Murray and DeLeo on a day in early July when he was writing a number of other letters, including one to the Pope. Whatever was in that letter -- delivered personally by President Obama a week later -- apparently was not enough to sway the heart of Benedict XVI, who, we learn today from Time online, is giving a pretty blatant cold shoulder to the deceased Senator.

Shortly before Kennedy died, I read the new Balz/Johnson book on the 2008 Presidential campaign. It has a whole chapter, essentially, on the Kennedy endorsement, which they think was one of the key turning points for Obama winning the nomination. Whether or not that's true, they've got fascinating reporting on a series of many phone calls in which Bill Clinton tries to persuade Ted to endorse Hillary.

In this week's issue of the Boston Phoenix -- in print tomorrow, online now -- I have a column about the renewed speculation about Kennedy succession, after news broke about the Senator's wishes for a temporary appointment.

My line of work sometimes presents odd timing issues. This story was reported, written, edited, put on pages, and finalized when I went to sleep last night.

According to current state law, the special election for the vacant Senate seat will be held in 145-160 days, which would mean either January 19, January 26, or February 2.

The party primaries for that election must be held six weeks earlier, which would be either December 8, 15, or 22.

I am getting informed speculation, however, that there may be a proposal to change the law -- aside from any change concerning a temporary appointment.

I'm combining a couple of questions about "bullet voting" -- using just one of the four available votes for at-large city council, to maximize the effect, instead of voting for four candidates. "Boston Guy" asks: "which method do you find more effective for voters?" "Vote Or Be Silent" asks: "Have you heard of any camps pushing for bullet votes which will be very important in this years election?"

"Josh D." asks:

Do you believe any of the City Councilor At-Large Candidates have used race to promote their candidacy? Do you think that is an acceptable campaign strategy?

Yes they have. I know that Ayanna Pressley, for example, frequently cites the fact that she would be the first minority woman on the council. Tomas Gonzalez notes in his bio that he was one of the highest-ranking Latinos in the Menino administration.

"Ernie" asks:

Is Susan Passoni done with politics or will she resurface again some day?

I think she comes back. Conventional wisdom says that after three losses you get labeled and can't find backers. (She's run twice for city council and once for state rep.) But I think in her case she's proven herself a very strong candidate in tough races. I suspect she'll run again, if the right opportunity comes.

"Matty-O" asks:

Are the Sox going to close with Billy Wagner? I also have a follow up. Is this a good thing?

The answer is no. Wagner will be part of the set-up squad; he is not healthy enough yet to pitch in back-to-back games. He is willing to accept a role in the pen for the remainder of 2009 and then go on the free market to find a team that will take a chance on him as a closer next year.

"Sexy Tell Me creative director" (if that's your real name!) asks:

Do you believe that showing more gay main characters in movies/TV will result in moving more people towards equality? How much influence over the average American does mainstream television and movies have on political and social issues, in your opinion?

Hope you're all enjoying Ask Me Anything Day as much as I am! Up next, yet another municipal query -- who says nobody cares about city politics anymore? "Kyle R." asks:

Looking forward to 2011, do you think any of the at-large candidates are positioning themselves for a 2011 district run? Also, if Yoon and/or Flaherty don't win this year do you think either or both of them runs at-large in 2011?

"El Che" asks:

So if that's still the top four for the at-large race, who's your dark horse? And what do they need (aside from a strong GOTV effort) to come from behind?

For those who missed the earlier question, I stuck with my prediction of Connolly-Pressley-Murphy-Ezedi for the final winners of the four at-large Boston City Council seats.