Philip H. Hoff

{{Infobox officeholder

|image = Philip H. Hoff (VT).jpg

|caption =

|order1 = 73rd Governor of Vermont

|lieutenant1 = Ralph A. Foote
John J. Daley

|term_start1 = January 10, 1963

|term_end1 = January 9, 1969

|predecessor1 = F. Ray Keyser Jr.

|successor1 = Deane C. Davis

|office2 = Member of the Vermont Senate

|term_start2 = 1983

|term_end2 = 1989

|predecessor2 = Thomas Crowley, Esther Sorrell, Robert V. "Bill" Daniels, Mark Kaplan, E. Douglas McSweeney, Sallie Soule

|successor2 = Sally Conrad, Thomas Crowley, Doug Racine, George Little Jr., Hilton Wick, Stephen Blodgett

|alongside2 = George Little Jr., Dennis Delaney, Thomas Crowley, Doug Racine (1982, 1984, 1986), Sallie Soule, (1982), Sally Conrad (1984, 1986)

|constituency2 = Chittenden County

|office3 = Chairman of the Vermont Democratic Party

|term_start3 = 1973

|term_end3 = 1975

|predecessor3 = Leonard Wilson

|successor3 = Robert Branon

|office4 = Member of the Vermont House of Representatives

|term_start4 = 1961

|term_end4 = 1963

|predecessor4 = Joseph E. Moore

|successor4 = Richard H. Schmidt

|constituency4 = Burlington

|birth_name = Philip Henderson Hoff

|birth_date = {{birth date|1924|6|29}}

|birth_place = Turners Falls, Massachusetts, U.S.

|death_date = {{death date and age|2018|4|26|1924|6|29}}

|death_place = Shelburne, Vermont, U.S.

|party = Democratic

|spouse = Joan Brower (m. 1948)

|children = 4

|alma_mater = Williams College
Cornell Law School

|branch = United States Navy

|unit = USS Sea Dog

|serviceyears = 1942–1946

|rank = Seaman First Class

|battles = World War II

}}

Philip Henderson Hoff (June 29, 1924 – April 26, 2018) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. He was most notable for his service as the 73rd governor of Vermont from 1963 to 1969, the state's first Democratic governor since 1853.

Life and career

Hoff was born in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, the son of Agnes (Henderson) and Olaf Hoff, Jr.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/63055785/|title=Can Hoff bring two-party government to Vermont?|date=March 3, 1962|work=The Bennington Banner (via Newspapers.com)|access-date=April 28, 2018}} His father worked in the insurance industry and served two terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Hoff was a star high school football player, scoring the winning touchdown in Turners Falls High School's 1942 annual game against rival Greenfield High School.{{cite news|newspaper=The Boston Globe|last = Hadad|first=Herbert|date = November 8, 1962|page=7|title=Ex-Football Hero Hoff's Grit, Speed Win Vermont Upset}}

Hoff attended Williams College, where he studied English, but postponed graduation for two years in order to serve in World War II. He enisted in December 1942 and saw combat action during World War II aboard the submarine, USS Sea Dog, which took part in combat patrols throughout the Pacific Ocean theater.{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/175592261/SS-401-Sea-Dog |title=History of the USS Sea Dog (SS 401) |last=Lowrance |first=V. L. |date=May 4, 1954 |website=SCRIBD |publisher=US Navy, Division of Naval History |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=April 27, 2018 |pages=1–5}} He attained the rank of Seaman First Class with the rating of quartermaster (the Navy's term for a navigator), and was discharged in 1946.{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com// |title=U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949, Entry for Philip H. Hoff |last=United States Department of the Navy |date=April 1, 1946 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com, LLC |location=Provo, Utah |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 1, 2018}} He met his wife, Joan Brower, during his naval service and they married in 1948.{{cite web|title=Philip H. Hoff|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/492/000122126/|publisher=NNDB Soylent Communications|access-date=November 19, 2012}} After graduating from Williams College in 1948, he attended Cornell Law School, where he joined the Phi Delta Phi fraternity and graduated in 1951. The Hoffs were the parents of four daughters―Susan, Dagny, Andrea, and Gretchen.{{Cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/burlingtonfreepress/name/joan-hoff-obituary?id=13851894 |title=Obituary, Joan Brower Hoff |date=July 1, 2020 |website=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |publisher=Legacy.com |access-date=December 24, 2024}}

The Hoffs moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1951, where Hoff began a law practice. He also became involved in local politics as a Democrat, and was a founder of the activist group Vermont Democratic Volunteers.{{cite news |date=March 4, 1958 |title=Morrison to Speak at Democratic Meeting in Essex Jct. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/200190575/ |work=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |page=15}} In addition to serving as a justice of the peace,{{cite news |date=November 5, 1956 |title=Directions for Voting |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/199309629 |work=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |page=5 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com }} he was also chairman of the city zoning board.{{cite news |date=February 4, 1958 |title=Stiff Opposition Greets Plans for Rezoning Shelburne Rd. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/199436619/ |work=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |page=7}} Hoff was also an officer of the Chittenden County Bar Association{{cite news |date=April 26, 1958 |title=Frederick Smith Heads County Bar Asasociation |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/200497660/ |work=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |page=15 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com}} and a member of the Burlington-Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce board of directors.{{cite news |date=December 24, 1958 |title=Chamber Votes by Mail to Name Nine Directors |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/200524554/|work=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |page=13 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com}}

Career

File:Philip H. Hoff for Vermont Governor poster 1962.jpg

Hoff was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1960, and served one term, 1961 to 1963.{{cite web|title=Philip H. Hoff|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/hodgkins-hoffer.html#514.28.93|publisher=The Political Graveyard|access-date=November 19, 2012}} As a legislator, Hoff was a member of the "Young Turks," a bipartisan alliance of progressive and reform minded representatives and senators that included Republicans Franklin S. Billings Jr. and Ernest W. Gibson III.{{cite web |url=http://vermontway.blogspot.de/2011/05/voting-equality-and-hoff-effect.html |title=Voting Equality and the Hoff Effect |last=Guma |first=Greg |date=May 9, 2011 |website=The Vermont Way: Restless Spirits and Popular Movements |publisher=Greg Guma |location=Burlington, Vermont |access-date=May 1, 2018 |ref={{sfnRef|"Voting Equality and the Hoff Effect"}}}}

File:Philip h hoff 20041012.jpg

In 1962, Hoff was elected Vermont's first Democratic governor since the Vermont General Assembly selected John S. Robinson after no candidate obtained a popular vote majority in 1853.{{cite book |last1=Duffy |first1=John J. |last2=Hand |first2=Samuel B. |last3=Orth |first3=Ralph H. |date=2003 |title=The Vermont Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTBCXqOou0YC&pg=PA104 |location=Hanover, New Hampshire |publisher=University Press of New England |page=104 |isbn=978-1-58465-086-7}} Hoff waged an energetic campaign against incumbent Republican F. Ray Keyser Jr., and capitalized on local factors including a split between Vermont's conservative and progressive Republicans (the Proctor Wing and the Aiken-Gibson Wing).{{sfn|"Voting Equality and the Hoff Effect"}} Rather than support the conservative Keyser, many of Vermont's liberal Republicans opted to support Hoff on a third party line, which contributed to his narrow margin of victory.{{sfn|"Voting Equality and the Hoff Effect"}} Hoff was also aided by national factors, including the popularity of incumbent Democratic President John F. Kennedy, to whom Hoff was often compared.{{cite news |last=Page |first=Candace |date=April 27, 2018 |title=Gov. Phil Hoff: A look back at 'The man who changed Vermont' |url=https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2018/04/27/gov-phil-hoff-look-back-man-who-changed-vermont/558826002/ |work=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont}}

Hoff won reelection in 1964 and 1966. During his governorship, he pioneered unprecedented environmental, development, and social welfare programs, including the creation of the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women.{{cite web|title=Philip H. Hoff|url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_vermont/col2-content/main-content-list/title_hoff_philip.html|publisher=National Governors Association|access-date=November 19, 2012}} Concerned about racial justice, he joined with New York Mayor John Lindsay to co-found the Vermont-New York Youth Project, which brought minority students from the city together with Vermont students to work on joint summer projects at several Vermont colleges. According to the Boston Globe, the program, which temporarily doubled Vermont's black population, "uncovered some latent bigotry that had not been visible before."{{cite news|newspaper=The Boston Globe|title=Hoff hopes to be first Vt. Democratic senator|page=24|date=April 5, 1970|last=Stewart|first=Richard}} The poll tax was eliminated during his tenure as governor, and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, Legal Aid and Vermont Public Television were established.[https://vtdigger.org/2018/04/27/democratic-groundbreaker-former-gov-phil-hoff-dies-93/ Democratic groundbreaker, former Governor Phil Hoff dies], VTDigger.org, Kevin O'Connor, April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.

Hoff was the first Democratic Governor in the nation to split with President Lyndon Johnson over the Vietnam War and later campaigned across the country to promote Robert F. Kennedy's effort to obtain the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination. After Kennedy's assassination, Hoff endorsed Eugene McCarthy. Democrats who opposed Johnson came close to nominating Hoff as a candidate for Vice President at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, but after some initial enthusiasm, Hoff declined to put his name forward.{{cite news |last=Doyle |first=Mavis |date=August 29, 1968 |title=Hoff to be VEEP Candidate if Conservative is Tapped |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/199469692 |work=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |page=16}}

Hoff's endorsement of Kennedy and later McCarthy upset conservative Democrats and Hoff was also criticized for increases in state spending which some claimed led to hefty deficits.{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |last=Ring |first=Wilson |date=April 27, 2018 |title=Former Vermont governor who presided over liberal swing dies |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/vermont-governor-presided-liberal-swing-dies-54784212 |work=ABC News |location=New York}} In 1970, Hoff challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Winston L. Prouty, but Prouty easily won reelection. During the campaign, Hoff announced that he had battled alcoholism in the past.{{cite news |newspaper=The Boston Globe |title=Hoff says he's beaten alcoholism |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-beaten/161470592/ |last=Stewart |first=Richard |date=October 8, 1970 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}} Had he won, Hoff would have been the first Democratic senator in Vermont history.

In the 1980s he returned to elective politics, serving three terms in the Vermont State Senate (1983-1989). He also served in various advisory and honorary positions and as President of the Board of Trustees at Vermont Law School as well as continuing his work as a lawyer in private practice. In 1989, he co-founded the law firm of Hoff, Curtis.

Death

Hoff died at an assisted living facility in Shelburne, Vermont, on April 26, 2018, at age 93.{{cite news |last=Ring |first=Wilson |agency=Associated Press |date=April 27, 2018 |title=Former Gov. Phil Hoff dies |url=https://www.rutlandherald.com/articles/former-gov-phil-hoff-dies/ |work=Rutland Herald |location=Rutland, Vermont}}

Legacy

Hoff was the subject of a biography, 2011's Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State by Samuel B. Hand, Anthony Marro, and Stephen C. Terry.{{cite book |last1=Hand |first1=Samuel B. |last2=Marro |first2=Anthony |last3=Terry |first3=Stephen C. |date=2011 |title=Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QyJfXnsdA0IC |location=Hanover, New Hampshire |publisher=University Press of New England |page=Title page |isbn=978-1-61168-032-4}}

In 2012, Castleton State College named its newest residence hall after Hoff, the first building to be named in his honor.{{cite news | url=http://www.wcax.com/story/17927101/castleton-dorm-named-for-hoff?clienttype=printable | title=New Castleton dorm named for Gov. Hoff | work=WCAX-TV | date=April 29, 2012 | access-date=May 1, 2012 | author=LeBlanc, Deanna | location=Burlington, Vermont}}

References

External links

{{cite web |url=https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_vermont/col2-content/main-content-list/title_hoff_philip.default.html |title=Biography, Governor Philip Henderson Hoff |date=2015 |website=www.nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=April 27, 2018}}

{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Governor of Vermont|years=1962, 1964, 1966}}

{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Vermont
(Class 1)|years=1970}}