[AGL] Jeff Friedman dies, age 62

[michele mason]

Turns out, I liked him more than I knew!  mm

On Jun 8, 2007, at 4:38 PM, Michael Eisenstadt wrote:


> This is the obit from the Statesman.

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

>

> Friday, June 08, 2007

> More than 35 years after Jeff Friedman helped change the face and the 

> focus

> of Austin politics, the firebrand former mayor has died at the age of 

> 62.

> Friedman, who was first elected to the City Council in 1971 at age 26,

> suffered a heart attack last weekend. He died Thursday. Known for his 

> bushy

> mustache and quick wit, Austin's "hippie mayor" pushed open the doors 

> of

> City Hall for people who hadnever before been welcome, friends said. 

> "Jeff

> introduced Austin city government to democracy," said Texas Monthly

> publisher Mike Levy. "To say that the city was shocked is an

> understatement." Friedman's first council win came only a year after

> graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, riding a wave of

> newfound voting power among minorities, college students and others. 

> The

> liberal coalition challenged the mostly conservative establishment and

> championed many of the issues that dominate Austin politics today, 

> such as

> controlling growth and providing diverse representation. Four years 

> later,

> Friedman was mayor and declared that the "people of Austin have taken 

> the

> city."

> Friedman focused on many issues that directly affected citizens. He 

> called

> for equalizing electric rates, creating a public ambulance service and

> making City Hall more accessible to and representative of the 

> community.

> Peck Young, a political consultant who ran Friedman's council 

> campaign, said

> Austinites now take for granted the open government measures that 

> Friedman

> put in place, such as notifying neighbors of impending zoning 

> decisions and

> requiring city leaders to disclose personal financial information. And 

> he

> wanted government to serve the people who had been ignored, 

> particularly the

> black and Hispanic communities. "He had a big heart for those folks who

> needed a voice," Young said. The city's boards and commissions 

> multiplied

> during his tenure, which allowed more people to have a say in city 

> affairs,

> supporters said. One of Friedman's appointees, Shudde Fath, still 

> serves on

> the Electric Utility Commission, which the council created while 

> Friedman

> was mayor. "He was a breath of fresh air in city government," Fath 

> said,

> because he looked out for the little guy.

> Friedman's time on the council was an era of tremendous growth. Young 

> said

> that Friedman did not oppose growth, but he believed it should be well

> managed and that taxpayers should not be subsidizing the development. 

> "He

> was the first guy to say that we're going to have to argue about this

> stuff," Young said. Handling growth led to some of the major battles 

> of the

> era, including repeated fights over a proposed nuclear project in South

> Texas. Friedman eventually supported the controversial nuclear 

> project, a

> decision that created a rift between him and many of the folks who put 

> him

> in office. Lowell Lebermann, who served on the City Council at the 

> same time

> as Friedman, said he brought a loud, lively voice and a completely 

> different

> point of view to City Hall. "If he had not been here and been 

> involved, we

> would have had to invent him," Lebermann said. In 1977, Friedman 

> announced

> that he would not seek re-election and would focus full-time on his law

> firm. "I really love working for the people of Austin," Friedman told 

> the

> American-Statesman at the time. "To have been a 26-year-old kid off 

> the UT

> campus and have had a chance to do some creative molding of the future 

> of

> this city-it's really been fun. No, it's been good." Friedman moved

> frequently as a child and came to Austin for law school after 

> graduating

> from the University of Missouri in 1967. He was swept into local 

> politics in

> 1970 when the City Council tried to thwart a student anti-Vietnam War 

> march

> planned in the wake of the Kent State shootings. That incident 

> prompted a

> core group of students to launch a campus voter registration drive and 

> then

> turn that momentum to electing Friedman and a slate of liberal 

> candidates to

> the City Council. "It was a campaign to raise issues and generate the

> discussion necessary to bring Austin to a modern era," Friedman said 

> in a

> 2005 interview. "We just thought we'd get some points across." 

> Instead, they

> developed some political muscle that was exercised again and again to 

> launch

> the careers of some of Austin's most enduring political figures, 

> including

> Gonzalo Barrientos and Lloyd Doggett. Friedman ran unsuccessfully for 

> mayor

> in 1988 and toyed with the idea of vying for the U.S. Congress seat 

> now held

> by Doggett. After leaving politics, Friedman was dismayed with the 

> path the

> city's political leaders had followed and criticized the focus on

> environmental issues over social concerns. "They became the rulers and

> forgot what it was like when they didn't have equal access to 

> government

> decision-making," Friedman said in 1990 after several liberal council

> candidates lost. Ron Weddington, Friedman's law partner for almost 30 

> years,

> said Friedman spent a lot of time with this family and enjoying 

> baseball

> after leaving the council. He also continued to relish a good fight. 

> In the

> 1980s, Friedman represented a woman who had been fired from a Luby's

> restaurant for what her employer said was stealing a 10-cent blueberry

> muffin. The woman had actually deducted the cost of the muffin from 

> her time

> card, but the employer had erased the notation. But because the 

> employer had

> told workers at the restaurant that the woman had been fired for 

> stealing,

> Friedman sued Luby's for slander and won. The jury gave her a $300,000

> judgment. His wife of 33 years, Carole, said Thursday that Jeff

> Friedman"always loved Austin even though it has changed." Adam 

> Friedman said

> his father was funny, well respected and cared for his community. "All 

> he

> wanted was what we wanted. What we wanted was to be him," Adam Friedman

> said. Friedman is also survived by his son Jordan, mother Evalyn 

> Friedman

> and sister Jill Friedman. Services are scheduled for Sunday at 

> Congregation

> Beth Israel, 3901 Shoal Creek Boulevard. The time has not been set.

>