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
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
governor since 1853.
Life and career
Hoff was born in
Turners Falls, Massachusetts, the son of Agnes (Henderson) and Olaf Hoff, Jr. His father worked in the insurance industry and served two terms in the
Massachusetts General Court. Philip 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.
Hoff attended
Williams College, where he studied English, but postponed graduation for two years in order to serve in
World War II.
[ He saw combat action during World War II aboard the submarine, USS ''Sea Dog'', which took part in combat patrols throughout the ]Pacific Ocean theater
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. He attained the rank of Seaman First Class
Seaman is a military rank used in many navies around the world. It is considered a junior enlisted rank and, depending on the navy, it may be a single rank on its own or a name shared by several similarly junior ranks.
In the Commonwealth, it ...
with the rating of quartermaster (the Navy's term for a navigator), and was discharged in 1946. He met his wife, Joan Brower, during his naval service and they were married in 1948. He later attended Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...
, graduating in 1951.[
The Hoffs moved to ]Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
, Vermont, in 1951,[ where Hoff began a law practice. He also became involved in local politics as a ]Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, and was a founder of the activist group Vermont Democratic Volunteers.[ In addition to serving as a ]justice of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
, he was also chairman of the city zoning board
Zoning in the United States includes various land use laws falling under the police power rights of state governments and local governments to exercise authority over privately owned real property. Zoning laws in major cities originated with th ...
. Hoff was also an officer of the Chittenden County Bar Association and a member of the Burlington-Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
Career
Hoff was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives
The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...
in 1960, and served one term, 1961 to 1963. 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.
Franklin Swift Billings Jr. (June 5, 1922 – March 9, 2014) was an American politician and judge from the state of Vermont. Billings served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and Chie ...
and Ernest W. Gibson III
Ernest Willard Gibson III (September 23, 1927 – May 17, 2020) was an attorney and judge who served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.
Early life
Ernest Willard Gibson III was born in Brattleboro, Vermont on September 23, 19 ...
.
In 1962, Hoff was elected Vermont's first Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
governor since the Vermont General Assembly selected John S. Robinson after no candidate obtained a popular vote majority in 1853. Hoff waged an energetic campaign against incumbent Republican F. Ray Keyser Jr.
Frank Ray Keyser Jr. (August 17, 1927 – March 7, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. He served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1959 to 1961, and the 72nd governor of Vermont from 1961 to 1963.
Bi ...
, and capitalized on local factors including a split between Vermont's conservative and progressive Republicans (the Proctor Wing and the Aiken-Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
Wing). 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. Hoff was also aided by national factors, including the popularity of incumbent Democratic President John F. Kennedy, to whom Hoff was often compared.
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. 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."] The poll tax was eliminated during his tenure as governor, and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, Legal Aid and Vermont Public Television were established.
Hoff was the first Democratic Governor in the nation to split with President Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
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
Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...
.[ Democrats who opposed Johnson came close to nominating Hoff as a candidate for Vice President at the ]1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...
, but after some initial enthusiasm, Hoff declined to put his name forward.
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. In 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, Hoff challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Winston L. Prouty
Winston Lewis Prouty (September 1, 1906September 10, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Vermont from 1959 until his death. He was previously a member of the United State ...
, but Prouty easily won reelection.[ During the campaign, Hoff announced that he had battled alcoholism in the past. 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
Shelburne is a New England town, town in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, Vermont, ...
, on April 26, 2018, at age 93.
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.
In 2012, Castleton State College named its newest residence hall after Hoff, the first building to be named in his honor.
References
Further reading
*''The Vermont Encyclopedia'', J. Duffy, S. Hand, R Orth, Editors (University Press of New England, Lebanon, N.H. 2003)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoff, Philip H.
1924 births
2018 deaths
20th-century American politicians
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Cornell Law School alumni
Democratic Party governors of Vermont
Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives
Military personnel from Massachusetts
Politicians from Burlington, Vermont
People from Montague, Massachusetts
Vermont lawyers
Democratic Party Vermont state senators
Williams College alumni
20th-century American lawyers
United States Navy sailors