Joe Bergantino was on the hunt.

Speaker Tom Finneran joined Mrs.Teresa Heinz, Senate President Robert Travaglini and several others at a press event last month at the Mattapan Health Center, to announce a plan to help seniors and working class people afford the high costs of prescription drugs. Finneran's staff had arranged for the press event at this vital not-for-profit health care facility on Blue Hill Avenue, just outside of Mattapan Square - in the middle of the Speaker's legislative district. The cost of health care is a compelling issue in this neighborhood and Finneran is no stranger at this health center.

But Bergantino, an investigative reporter with the television station once known as WBZ-TV, was there to stalk Finneran. Word had leaked that the Speaker was being questioned about the veracity of his statements in a civil court case about redistricting legislative districts. Speaker Finneran has come under attack by political foes and some media people, on the basis that Finneran is somehow racist in his politics. The TV newsman was there to play "gotcha" on the Mattapan rep.

As Finneran began to leave, a TV cameraman began to record, and Mr. Beragantino stuck a microphone in front of him. "No comment for you, Joe - now and forever," Finneran said. The cameraman was told to keep recording as the Speaker climbed into the passenger seat of a car. It would be great television, showing the speaker avoiding this questioner and driving off.

But there was a glitch - as the video continued to roll, the car remained at the sidewalk, and then Dr. Azzie Young, the health center's director, moved into the shot to give her thanks to the Speaker. Finneran got out of the car, Dr. Young hugged him, and the two talked for several moments.

The cameraman stopped the shoot: evidently, the pictures of this black woman and her white state rep, obviously good friends, did not fit the storyline. That night, only the video sequence showing Finneran declining to comment was broadcast. It was sensational TV, but it was grossly unfair and terribly unbalanced.

This vignette is evidence of a common occurrence in Tom Finneran's current public life. Our state rep finds himself in the crosshairs of any number of attacks - from political foes, from media assassins, from members of the public who know him only from the caricatures of him that appear in the news.

Finneran has sought help from an aggressive defense attorney, and the man's first effort this week goes a long way towards deflecting the critical onslaught.

Attorney Richard Egbert on Monday referred to a footnote in the recent court decision which said in part, "Although Speaker Finneran denied any involvement in the redistricting process, the circumstantial evidence strongly suggests the opposite conclusion."

Egbert said, "The media, and others, have quoted this footnote in repeated efforts to attack the credibility of Speaker Finneran. It is now time to correct the record... we strongly believe that the court's language... is simply wrong. Without a doubt, it is entirely contrary to the evidence that was presented in court.

"Indeed, Speaker Finneran never denied any involvement in the redistricting process," Egbert said. "Rather... (he) acknowledged his role." Transcripts from the court proceedings clearly reveal that Finneran acknowledged taking an active role in the process.

It is to be hoped that the Finneran response this week will bring an end to the attacks on this man. It is a fond hope, but it's not likely to be the reality. It has happened before, and will again, that people in public life are placed under the glare of adverse and unwelcomed publicity. The media's lust for a story is fed by the public's appetite for scandal, no matter the high quality of the person.

It deserves to be said here: Tom Finneran is a good man, a wonderful neighbor, and a great legislator. He is and always has been an outstanding advocate for the issues that matter to the residents of his district.

Are people in the district all of one mind with him on every issue? Certainly not. But does the Speaker deserve the mindless attacks that seem to be coming from every quarter? Certainly not.

For years, his foes have posited the canard that he is re-elected each time because people fear him. It needs to be said here that Finneran is well-liked and even loved in all parts of his district. Among his neighbors and constituents - those who know him best - we think we're fortunate to have him as our state rep.

-Ed Forry