MATTHEW LIFFLANDER

LIFFLANDER--Matthew, of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, passed away August 15th at the age of 80, following a brief illness. He was working on his third book and practicing law as the founding partner of Lifflander & Reich and Counsel to Dentons, up until his last days. The patriarch of the Lifflander family, Matt was preparing to marry for the third time. His main passions in life beyond his family were cigars, coffee, military and police hats, memorabilia from the 1939 World's Fair, pens, and politics. Born in New York City to Ben and May Lifflander in 1932, he grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens. He received an undergraduate degree from NYU and a law degree from Cornell University. Matt's first job was on the staff of Governor Averell Harriman, and included the task of manning the phone on the night of prisoner executions. He later became a vice president and chief international counsel at Hertz. After he struck out on his own, the car rental giant remained a client. Matt gained many other long term clients, including Liberty Lines bus company, Zurich American Group insurance and Ralph Lauren Footwear. Matthew served as CEO of Uniworld, an international master franchisor of Orange Julius hamburger shops. He worked tirelessly for the Democratic Party for his entire life. Matt was chairman of the unsuccessful New York State gubernatorial bids of Howard Samuels in the early 1970s. He had key roles in several presidential campaigns, including that of Senator Ed Muskie, for whom he served as national campaign chairman in 1972. He was Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson's New York Campaign chairman in 1976 and New York head of the Democrats for Perot movement in 1992. He also twice served as finance chairman of the New York State Democratic Party. In 1979, W.W. Norton & Company published Matt's first book, Final Treatment, The File on Dr. X, a tale of his personal involvement in a multiple medical murder case. His second book was published by the New York State University Press in 2012. The Impeachment of Governor Sulzer, A Story of American Politics, tells the story of New York Governor William Sulzer, a popular congressman, who took office in January 1913 and was the only governor of the state ever impeached. He was removed from office in October of that year because he defied the all-powerful Tammany Hall machine. Matt's Op Ed pieces and articles have appeared in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Albany Times-Union, the New York Daily News, the New York Law Journal, the New York Sun, New York Archives Magazine, and The Journal of Privatization. His unfinished book, tentatively titled Scamming America, was about the causes and costs of perjury. Matt's extensive public service included work as a consultant for the Ford Foundation, Chief Counsel to the New York State Assembly's Medical Practice Task Force, a five year term as Acting Village Justice in Hastings, and seven years as chairman of the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers. He also founded a secret society called The Legion of Reliable People (LORP), to honor those who always keep their word, no matter how difficult. He is survived by his sons Clay and Justin and their families -- including four grand children and two great grand children -- and his fiancee Sandra Isaacs. A memorial service will be held at Temple Beth Shalom in Hastings-on-Hudson on Thursday, October 10, at 4pm In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers.