Local Law Firm Kisses Up To GOP

BY BUDDY NEVINS

A Hollywood law firm founded by a one-time Democratic leader has is now embracing the Republicans.

Maybe that’s because Republicans have more money?

Becker and Poliakoff, who has been active in the Cuban-American community for years, is co-sponsor of a luncheon and briefing for Hispanic delegates to the GOP convention in Tampa next Tuesday. The event features former Gov. Jeb Bush.

The firm was co-founded by Alan Becker, a Democratic state House member in the 1970s. He is best known for the state’s first condominium regulations.

Becker beat U. S. Rep. Ed Stack in the Democratic primary in 1980.  He lost the race for U. S. House to Republican E. Clay Shaw by 55-45.

Founded in 1973, the law firm is known as a lobbying heavyweight  in Broward.

At one time, chief lobbyist Bernie Friedman was said to control the Hollywood City Commission. He continues to have great influence at the county commission.

 

Bernie Friedman: Drinking Some of That Lobbying Money?

Friedman, too, was a Democratic activist.  He was the national president of the Young Democrats, which is not shabby. He was also a top aide to U. S. Rep. Larry Smith, D-Hollywood.

Here is the invitation to the event:

 



5 Responses to “Local Law Firm Kisses Up To GOP”

  1. disenchanted says:

    someone said FOLLOW THE MONEY

  2. Wind Blows says:

    Hey Bernie, looks like your holding up your finger to see which way the wind blows.

  3. Ghost of McLovin says:

    simply playing both sides of the field – they have more money than they can spend

  4. Bernie Friedman says:

    Hey Buddy, Wow, great picture of me from my 50th Birthday a few years back. Funny you chose this picture from my facebook page as those very same Republicans you talk about in our law firm actually sent me the bottle of Dom Perignon in the picture. Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, Nelson Diaz, Edgar Castro, Carlos G. Gimenez and Elinette Ruiz. Becker Polaikoff has a proud history of Republican and Democrat involvement. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is a proud alumni of the firm and even talks about his time at the firm in his new book and State Rep. Greg Stube(R) is a litigator in our Sarasota office.

    FROM BUDDY:

    Rubio does write about his time at Becker. He write that Alan Becker hired him in 2000 from another now-defunct firm Ruden McClosky. Ruden was going to cut Rubio’s salary because he was spending so much time on politics and the Legislature. Becker agreed to pay Rubio approximately the same salary he originally made at Ruden. “I had been in difficult financial straits when Alan Becker had offered me a job, and I was indebted to him,” Rubio wrote.

    A few years later about the time Rubio was on track to be Speaker of the Florida House, Broad and Cassel came along in 2004 and offered Rubio three times as much as he was making at Becker — $300,000-a-year. He took the job.

    Rubio practiced land use law.

  5. Broward D says:

    They do a lot of work in Tallahassee which is controlled by Republicans so this makes sense.