Neal Peirce and Jerry Hagstrom summarized Dewey's governorship by saying, "for sheer administrative talent, it is difficult to think of a twentieth-century governor who has excelled Thomas E. Dewey ... hundreds of thousands of New York youngsters owe Dewey thanks for his leadership in creating a state university ... a vigorous health-department program virtually eradicated tuberculosis in New York, highway building was pushed forward, and the state's mental hygiene program was thoroughly reorganized." Dewey also created a powerful political organization that allowed him to dominate New York state politics and influence national politics. Elections In 1938 Edwin Jaeckle, the New York Republican Party Chairman, selected Dewey to run for Governor of New York against the Democratic incumbent, Herbert H. Lehman. Dewey was only 36 years of age. He based his campaign on his record as a famous prosecutor of organized-crime figures in New York City. Although he was defeated, Dewey's surprisingly strong showing against the popular Lehman (he lost by only 1.4%) brought him national political attention and made him a front runner for the 1940 Republican presidential nomination. Jaeckle was one of Dewey's top advisors and mentors for the remainder of his political career. In 1942, Dewey ran for governor again and won with a large plurality over Democrat John J. Bennett Jr., the outgoing state attorney general. Bennett was not endorsed by the American Labor Party, whose candidate, Dean Alfange, drew almost 10 percent of the ballots cast. The ALP endorsed for re-election incumbent lieutenant governor Charles Poletti, who lost narrowly to Dewey's running mate Thomas W. Wallace. In 1946, Dewey was re-elected by the greatest margin in state history to that point, almost 700,000 votes. In 1950, he was elected to a third term by 572,000 votes. Policies Usually regarded as an honest and highly effective governor, Dewey doubled state aid to education, increased salaries for state employees and still reduced the state's debt by over $100 million. He referred to his program as "pay-as-you-go liberalism ... government can be progressive and solvent at the same time." Additionally he put through the Ives-Quinn Act of 1945, the first state law in the country that prohibited racial discrimination in employment. As governor, Dewey signed legislation that created the State University of New York. Shortly after becoming governor in 1943, Dewey learned that some state workers and teachers were being paid only $900 a year, leading him to give