man, one vote" requirements be in place before elections taking place in 1967. General Assembly Friedland was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1966, serving there until 1974. In a judicial finding announced in February 1971 after a hearing by the New Jersey Supreme Court, Friedland was found to have violated judicial ethics for his efforts in attempting to get charges dropped against an alleged Mafia loan shark. Friedland faced potential disbarment by the court and could have faced censure or expulsion by the New Jersey Legislature. On July 27, 1971, the New Jersey Supreme Court suspended Friedland from the practice of law for a period of six months. Friedland asserted that he had done nothing wrong and would run for re-election. He insisted that as "[t]here had been no charge of impropriety in connection with [his] legislative duties", he expected the General Assembly would take no action against him. Relating to that same case, Friedland was one of three legislators targeted by Assistant New Jersey Attorney General William J. Brennan the 3rd on December 30, 1968, in which Brennan accused Friedland and two other legislators of being "entirely too comfortable with members of organized crime". Brennan's testimony was based on New Jersey State Police files which alleged that Friedland had acted as the middleman to suppress criminal complaints against a loan shark. Friedland denied Brennan's allegations and demanded his resignation, stating that he had been attempting to settle a usurious loan and that he had not talked to any of the complaining witnesses. On January 11, 1972, Friedland was one of four Democrats who voted to give the minority Republicans control of the General Assembly, electing Thomas Kean as Assembly Speaker. He justified his actions based on claims that the Democratic leadership had been ignoring the needs of Hudson County, and was joined by Hudson County legislators Michael F. Esposito and David Wallace, along with Edward J. Higgins from nearby Elizabeth. As part of the deal with the Republicans, Friedland was appointed chair of the bipartisan Assembly Conference Committee. Democratic leaders in the Assembly had pushed for S. Howard Woodson of Trenton, who would have been the Assembly's first African American Speaker, and charges of racism were leveled by fellow Democrats against Friedland. Democratic Assemblyman Kenneth A. Gewertz of Gloucester County shouted that "Jesus Christ had his Judas, the Democrats now have their David Friedland". Friedland