By James W. Dolan

Judy Meredith is another Dorchester treasure. A community activist, she serves as president of the Dorchester House board of directors. She is also well known around the state house where she is a registered lobbyist.

You've heard about the fat-cat lobbyists who represent special interests for big money. They tend to have relatively easy access to powerful legislators. You don't often see them hanging around the state house corridors trying to buttonhole legislators on their way to the chambers or their offices. That kind of lobbying they view as too degrading.

Not so Judy Meredith, she'll track anybody who can help one of her several causes wherever they may be. She's not in a position to do favors for anybody or make sizeable campaign contributions. Judy is affectionately referred to as a "goo-goo." That's a person who represents the poor, disabled and disadvantaged. She has done it extraordinarily well for over 25 years.

Often persons who come to the halls of power to promote those interests are well- intentioned amateurs. Not Judy, she's a pro. She knows all the power centers and how to reach them as she fights for those with little political clout.

She is their champion; a grandmotherly, gray-haired, slightly frazzled but handsome woman who carries a message some would prefer not to hear. Legislators listen because they respect and trust her and know that her's is a voice that needs to be heard. They also know she understand the pressures under which they operate

With a smile, they'll kid her asking what she wants now and looking put out at the interruption, but they listen. They like her, in a way she's one of them. She has been up there longer than most and knows the game. They know her message is important because she often speaks for those with no other advocate.

Her clients do not have money and they cannot swing elections, usually the only thing they have got going for them is the merits and too often the merits are not enough. In a sense, Judy serves as the legislative conscience as she patiently explains the human consequences of some proposed action.

Today she fights a rear-guard action to prevent budget cuts that will devastate services for the poor and sick. A combination of Tip O'Neil and Mother Teresa, she brings considerable political skills to bear on behalf of the vulnerable. Her compassion and commitment impress even the disinterested.

Judy is often invited to teach grass-roots political action and legislative advocacy to groups in other states trying to influence government policy. She understands the process and how the media can be useful allies in advocating for those in need. Her wise counsel is of great value since she knows what tactics work and what serve to only alienate.

She proudly recounts how she was recently arrested while demonstrating with striking janitors who finally got a much deserved pay increase. This is a woman of passionate beliefs who will put on the line for a cause to which she is committed.

If you think all lobbyists become rich representing big corporate clients, you are wrong. There are a few like Judy Meredith, dean of the "goo-goos," who labor not for riches or prestige but because of a strong commitment to social justice.

A Fields Corner resident, she has earned a valued reputation which puts her in the ranks of the best lobbyists in the state. She is a shining example of how doing what's right is its own reward.

(James W. Dolan is a retired Dorchester District Court judge now practicing law at Dolan, Connly & Flaherty, 50 Redfield St., Dorchester, jdolan@dolanconnly.com. His column, Off the Bench, appears regularly in the Reporter.)