Jeffrey Mark "Jeff" Friedman (1945-2007) was an American politician in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Friedman was a campus political activist who became the youngest person ever elected to the City Council of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

in 1971. He is best remembered as the city's so-called " hippie mayor" who led an alliance of young, ethnic, and left wing voters to capture the reins of city government in 1975 — an event that helped cement Austin's place as a liberal bastion in a conservative state and region. He was also the city's first Jewish mayor.

Biography

Early years

Jeffrey Friedman was born in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

on January 20, 1945, to Sidney Friedman and the former Evalyn Oken."Jeffrey Mark Friedman,"
''Austin Statesman-American,'' June 9, 2007. He attended the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

, from which he graduated in 1967. Following graduation he moved to

to attend the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

, graduating from that institution in 1970. While still a student, Friedman became involved in the fight against the

Vietnam war The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

as a campus activist, taking a leadership role in a march of 25,0000 people in the aftermath of the May 1970

Kent State massacre The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

.Hilary Hylton and Cam Rossie, ''Insiders' Guide to Austin.'' Fifth Edition. Morris Book Publishing, 2006; pg. 29.

Political career

Friedman first ran for the Austin City Council in 1971, backed by a coalition which included

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

students,

Mexican-Americans Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican ...

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, and sundry supporters of a liberal reform agenda.Seth Kramer, "Austin's Progressive Mayor," ''Jewish Currents,'' vol. 31, no. 6, whole no. 342 (June 1977), pp. 4-6. The 26-year-old was elected in the November balloting in a close election, becoming the youngest person ever elected to the Austin City Council. Friedman's victory came largely as the result of an influx of new voters, with the legal voting age being lowered from 21 to 18 ahead of the election. The young city councilor was selected as a delegate to the

1972 Democratic National Convention The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Repub ...

held in Miami Beach, Florida — a gathering which selected George McGovern as the party's nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

.Lawrence Kestenbaum
"Jeffrey Friedman,"
www.politicalgraveyard.com/ Friedman was reelected to the Austin City Council, the governing body of the city of 250,000 people, in 1973. In 1975, Friedman ran for mayor of Austin along with a slate of liberal candidates, capturing majority control of the city government, with the 30-year-old becoming the youngest mayor in the city's history. The resulting city council was "more akin politically to

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

than to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

," opined one contemporary political observer. The rag-tag alliance that helped elect Friedman, in combination with the mayor's fashionably long hair and bushy mustache, helped earn Friedman the moniker "Austin's Hippie Mayor" among some traditionalist wags in the community.Kate Alexander
"Austin's 'Hippie Mayor' Dies: Jeff Friedman, 1945-2007,"
''Austin Journal-American,'' June 8, 2007. Friedman and his co-thinkers led the fight to control urban sprawl and to increase participation in government by the minority community of Austin, challenging the business-friendly status quo and helping to reshape the city's longterm political agenda. He advocated for establishment of a public ambulance service and for equalization of electric rates in the city. While mayor of Austin, Friedman attempted to extend his influence into the national political sphere, joining with 21 of his mayoral colleagues from around the country as signatories of an open letter to President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

calling upon him to stop production of the

B-1 bomber The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It is commonly called the "Bone" (from "B-One"). It is one of three strategic bombers serving in the U.S. Air Force fleet along with ...

Life after politics

After his term as mayor of Austin, Friedman retired from political life and dedicated himself to establishing a legal practice and raising a family. He coached his son Adam's little league baseball team for several years.

Death and legacy

Friedman died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on June 8, 2007. He was 62 years old at the time of his death. Michael R. Levy, publisher of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

,'' was one of those who eulogized Friedman in the days after his death. "Jeff introduced Austin city government to democracy," Levy remarked. "To say that the city was shocked is an understatement."

Footnotes