IN THE 18th Suffolk House district (Allston-Brighton and the Cottage Farm precinct of Brookline), incumbent representative Brian Golden faces primary pressure from attorney David Friedman and union activist Paul Felker. Golden, a Democrat, is best known for having gone to Florida after the 2000 presidential election to work on the recount effort — for Republican George W. Bush. He should be replaced, and the best candidate in this race is David Friedman. A former clerk for US Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens, Friedman — who has taken a leave from his job with downtown law firm Hill & Barlow to campaign — had an epiphany when working for the plaintiffs who sued the state to force full funding of its Medicaid obligations for the care of mentally retarded adults. The high-profile lawsuit ended when US District Court judge Douglas Woodlock ruled that Massachusetts was in violation of federal law. (See "The Waiting Game," News and Features, September 22, 2000.) Friedman was astonished when the legislature initially refused to fund the services ordered by Woodcock. The insult motivated him to run. At minimum, Friedman will bring a fierce commitment to social services to the job.
He was a JAG officer and was probably pissed that the RATs were trying to nullify the military absentee ballots.
Remember, the RATs recruited lawyers for just that purpose. They stated it clearly. They probably called Golden and he said WTF, and went to Florida.