Dale Alford

Thomas Dale Alford ( born January 28, 1916 in Newhope, Pike County, Arkansas; † January 25, 2000 in Little Rock, Arkansas ) was an American politician. Between 1959 and 1963 he represented the fifth electoral district of the state of Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

Dale Alford attended the public schools in Rector and the Arkansas State College in Jonesboro. Then he studied until 1939 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Medicine. Finally, he finished his studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Between 1940 and 1946 he was a member of the medical service of the U.S. Army. After the end of World War II Alford worked as a university lecturer and assistant professor of ophthalmology at various universities. In this area, he also has a private practice. Between 1955 and 1958 he was also a member of the education committee of the city Little Rock.

1958 Alford was elected as an independent Democrat with 51 percent of the vote against incumbent Brooks Hays in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was not an official candidate, but by night Rage possibility was ( Write-in candidate ) added to the ballot. Alford was after the Republican Charles F. Curry in 1930, only the second politician who moved in this way in the Congress; later it still succeeded Republican Joe Skeen of New Mexico. Two years later, Alford was then nominated by the Democrats and confirmed with a vote share of 82.7 percent. He was able to complete in 1963 two terms in Congress between January 1959 and January 3, 3. In 1960 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, where John F. Kennedy was nominated as presidential candidate of the party.

In 1962, Alford gave up another run for Congress. He would anyway have to run in another district, as the existing fifth district was dissolved. Instead, he ran unsuccessfully within his party against Governor Orval Faubus to the nomination for the gubernatorial elections. In 1966, he failed again in the Governor primaries. After he retired from politics.

In the following years he was an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church and numerous other associations. Dale Alford died on 25 January 2000 of heart failure. He was buried in Little Rock. Since 1940, he was married to L' Moore Smith; the couple had three children.