Alessio Lorenzo

Alessio Cabela Lorenzo (born June 7, 1923) is an American political activist and politician currently serving as the 1st Lieutenant Governor of Rochester since 1949 and as the United States Secretary of Economy from 1949 to 1953.

1923-1947
Alessio Lorenzo was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Rochester to newly settled Italian immigrants from Milan, Giovozzo Lorenzo and Camilla Montefinco on June 7, 1923. He grew up in the Boston area in a moderately religious family that only attended Church on occasions such as Easter and Christmas, while still practicing Catholic traditions and morals that were ingrained in Italian society. Lorenzo attended MIT in 1940, graduating four years later with bachelor degrees in Economics and Political Science.

After completing his university education in 1944 - which awarded him with the privilege of draft immunity while studying - Lorenzo joined the US Air Force, and trained for months to become a fighter pilot. Serving under the 7th Air Force, Lorenzo fought and engaged with the enemy in the Battle of Iwo Jima as a P-51 Mustang pilot. Following the end of World War II in 1945, he was honourably discharged and subsequently moved to Arlington as an employee of the US Department of Commerce.

1947-1949
Lorenzo secured the ALP nomination for the Rochester gubernatorial race in late 1947, and began campaigning immediately. The central tenets of his economically liberal platform included raising the minimum wage to $1.30, building affordable housing for the disadvantaged, and expanding Rochester's transportation system to serve disconnected communities.

The election was a tight 4-way race that necessitated intensive ad campaigns across the state, involving attacks on austerity measures and negligence of slums. Because of vote splitting between four different candidates, the results were not decisive in any way as no candidate received more than 40% of the vote, with the BIUP's eventual winner Donald Scott gathering 39.9% and runner-up Lorenzo garnering 37.8%.

1949-
Lorenzo's opponent and newly inaugurated Governor Donald Scott appointed him to serve as the first Lieutenant Governor of Rochester, as the only ALP member to serve in the Rochester cabinet. Following Quentin Carter's success in the presidential race, Lorenzo was also appointed to serve as the US Secretary of the Economy. His tenure was notable for the unanimous passage of the landmark European Recovery Program Act of 1949, giving $11.5 billion in aid to European allies.

Ideology and political views
Lorenzo describes himself as a social liberalist. With centre-left views on social issues and centrist views on economic issues, he is akin to most members of the American Liberal Party. Owing to his upbringing, Lorenzo holds positions similar to that of the Catholic Church, such as opposition to gay marriage, recreational drugs, and abortion. However, he holds more liberal views on issues like racial discrimination, segregation, and immigration.