David Eldridge Harrison is a former American politician, lobbyist, and judge who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Massachusetts House of Representatives

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...

 and as Chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party

Massachusetts Democratic Party

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is the state affiliate of the United States Democratic Party in the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The state party chairman is John E...

.

Political career

Harrison was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1963 to 1971, representing the 16th Essex District from 1963 to 1965 and the 1st Essex District from 1965 to 1971.

On December 7, 1968, Harrison was unanimously elected Chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. He stepped down as Chairman in May 1971 after an attempt to solve the committee's heavy debt.

Following his departure from the House, Harrison worked as a lobbyist on Beacon Hill. In 1972 he was the highest paid lobbyist at the Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts State House

The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...

.

During the 1972 United States Presidential Election

United States presidential election, 1972

The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...

, Harrison served as George McGovern

George McGovern

George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....

's New England Campaign Coordinator.

Judicial career

Harrison was sworn in as a district court judge on July 27, 1988. He served in the Lowell District Court and later was the First Justice of the Gloucester District Court.

Resignation

Harrison resigned from the bench in 2006 after the Office of Bar Counsel filed a petition for discipline against him. The petition alleged that Harrison had interfered with the Commission on Judicial Conduct's inquiry of him and that he had assisted a Commission member and another judge in violating the laws protecting the confidentiality of the Commission’s proceedings.

In 1999, the Commission on Judicial Conduct investigated Harrison's conduct during a zoning board hearing in Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

. During the investigation, Harrison discussed the Commission’s investigation of him with Commission member Gerald Cook and he received and read a copy of the Commission’s confidential memorandum.

On February 13, 2006, the Board of Bar Overseers voted to recommend that Harrison's resignation be accepted as a disciplinary sanction. On March 1, 2006, the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County entered judgment accepting the respondent’s affidavit of resignation as a disciplinary sanction. A month later, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered that Harrison's name be "stricken from the Roll of Attorneys".

Personal life

Harrison is a graduate of Gloucester High School

Gloucester High School (Massachusetts)

Gloucester High School is a public four-year comprehensive secondary school with 1,351 students and 150 faculty and staff. It is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is a member of the Northeast Alliance of High Schools....

, Tufts College

Tufts University

Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

, and Portia Law School

New England School of Law

New England School of Law is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1908 as a law school for women.-History:...

.

In 1970 he married Michelle Holovak, the daughter of former Boston College

Boston College Eagles football

The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...

 and Boston Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 head coach Mike Holovak

Mike Holovak

Michael Joseph Holovak was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football at Boston College, where he was named an All-American at fullback in 1942. Holovak was selected in the first round of the 1943 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams...

.

Outside of politics, Harrison worked in insurance and real estate sales and also as a high school football and lacrosse referee.