Thomas Robert Stevens (1956 – October 23, 2019) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ger. He founded the Objectivist Party and served as its chair. Stevens was that party's nominee for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

and

2012 United States presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re ...

s. He was the founder of the Personal Freedom Party of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Additionally he was the president of the Beaux Arts Society, a position he cherished. With an interest in the arts, Dr. Stevens also was a play reviewer for ''Applause! Applause!''. Stevens founded the Objectivist Party on February 2, 2008, the anniversary of the birth of

Objectivist Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement ...

philosopher

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

. Previously, he had served as president of

The New York Young Republican Club The New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) is an organization for members of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party between the ages of 18 and 40 in New York City. The New York Young Republican Club is the oldest and largest chapt ...

during which time the club engaged in an internal feud. He was indicted for attempting to hire a

hit man Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...

, but he was set up by political enemies, and the charges were dropped. He previously served as state chairman of the

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) is the Pennsylvania affiliate of the Libertarian Party. Since March 2022, it has been chaired by Rob Cowburn. Leadership LPPA Platform The party believes that each individual must be free to do as ...

and as an interim vice chairman of the political party

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell ...

. In 2010, he announced the formation of the Personal Freedom Party of New York. He was a presidential candidate as well. He ran the

site ''Rising Action'', formerly known as ''Liberty Lion''. Stevens was a graduate of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

and

Maurice A. Deane School of Law The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University (commonly known as Hofstra Law) is a law school located in Hempstead, New York on Long Island, affiliated with Hofstra University. Founded in 1970 and accredited by the ABA in 1971, the sc ...

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of N ...

. Stevens died on October 24, 2019.

References

External links

Presidential campaign site

''Rising Action''
Stevens' blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Thomas 1956 births Date of birth missing 2019 deaths American bloggers Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni Lawyers from New York City New York (state) Libertarians Politicians from New York City New York University alumni Objectivists Candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election 21st-century American politicians Pennsylvania Libertarians American political party founders