Dean Alfange

Dean Alfange (December 2, 1897 – October 24, 1989) was an American politician who held nominations and appointments from a number of parties, including the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the American Labor Party, and the Liberal Party of New York, of which he was a founding member. Born in the Ottoman Empire to two native Greek parents, Alfange remained involved in Greek-American organizations for much of his life, as well as activist Zionist groups.

He was a prominent liberal legal commentator who supported the notion of judicial activism and a Living Constitution. He ran for a number of offices, including Governor of New York. He also ran for the United States House of Representatives, but lost again. He is well remembered for a short piece he wrote entitled either "An American's Creed" or simply "My Creed". The Creed espouses the ideas of self-reliance and freedom.

Life

Early life and education Alfange was born Constantine Alflangi in Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, to two ethnic Greek parents. Alfange remained active at the college, and when he received the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Award for his book The Supreme Court and the National Will, he donated the prize to Hamilton College, establishing the ongoing Dean Alfange Essay Award, given to two students each year for essays on American constitutional government. He received a juris doctor from Columbia University Law School and became a lawyer in Manhattan. He supported Truman's notion of a Living Constitution.

American Labor Party Alfange served as head of the American Labor Party for several years in the late 1930s. Mayor of New York City Fiorello La Guardia supported Alfange in this election. Alfange finishing in third place or about 9.7 percent of votes cast. With this figure, Alfange garnered more votes than any other American Labor candidate ever had or would again in a state-wide election; these votes were accused of splitting the liberal vote and thus playing a large role in Thomas E. Dewey's victory, however, Dewey won with a majority, garnering 52% of the vote.

Liberal Party Alfange led a walkout against the American Labor Party in 1944, when pro and anti-Communist factions within the organization came into increased conflict. This walkout led to the formation of the Liberal Party of New York.

Republican Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller named Alfange head of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board in the early 1970s. He served until Hugh L. Carey abolished the board in 1975. He also served as the chairman of the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe, a group that sought to rescue victims of the then ongoing Holocaust. Through this organizations, Alfange urged that it was a Christian's moral and religious duty to help Jews victimized by the Nazis. The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge gave Alfange an award for the composition in 1952. "I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. I seek to develop whatever talents God gave me—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say – 'This, with God's help, I have done.' All this is what it means to be an American."