Kennelly, Barbara B. (Barbara Bailey), 1936-

Barbara Bailey Kennelly (born July 10, 1936) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 1st district from 1982 to 1999.

Born Barbara Ann Bailey in Hartford, Connecticut, she raduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in West Hartford in 1954. She earned a B.A. from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. (now Trinity Washington University) in 1958 and a certificate from the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration in 1959 before marrying John Kennelly, later Speaker of the Connecticut House. In 1971, she earned a master's degree from Trinity College in Connecticut. She worked as the director of two social service organizations before being appointed in 1975 to fill a vacancy on the Hartford court of common council. She was elected to the post the next year and served for a total of four years. In 1978, when Connecticut secretary of state Gloria Schaffer left office, Kennelly launched her own successful campaign to win election to the post against the wishes of Democratic leaders.

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