Dean Alfange

Who was Dean Alfange?

Dean Alfange 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, where his candidacy split the liberal vote, allowing Thomas E. Dewey to win the governorship. 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.