Kathy Hoffman (born 1985) is an American educator, speech-language pathologist, and politician who served as the

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction The Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected state executive position in the Arizona state government. The superintendent oversees the state of Arizona's public school system and directs the state's Department of Education. Th ...

from 2019 to 2023. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she took her oath of office with her hand placed on top of the book ''Too Many Moose'', which holds special significance for her and her former students. Hoffman narrowly lost reelection in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Education and career

Hoffman earned a bachelor's degree in Japanese Studies at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in 2009 and a master's degree in speech-language pathology from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in 2013. She taught pre-school before beginning her career as a speech-language pathologist. Before running for office, Hoffman worked as a speech-language pathologist at

Vail Unified School District Founded in 1903, the Vail Unified School District (often shortened to simply Vail School District) is the school district in the town of Vail, Arizona. It also serves portions of nearby Tucson, Arizona. It operates an inclusive preschool, ten ele ...

and

Peoria Unified School District Peoria Unified School District #11 (PUSD) is a school district headquartered in the District Administration Center (DAC) in Glendale, Arizona. It provides both primary and secondary education for most of Peoria, some areas of Glendale and Young ...

. Hoffman is fluent in both

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Superintendent of Public Instruction

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, Hoffman defeated former California

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Congressman

Frank Riggs Frank Duncan Riggs (born September 5, 1950) is an American army veteran, former law enforcement officer, charter school executive, and politician from the states of California and Arizona. Early life Frank Riggs was born in Louisville, Kentucky. ...

in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction, after Hoffman defeated former state senator David Schapira in the Democratic primary in a surprise upset. She said she was inspired to run after watching the confirmation of

Betsy DeVos Elisabeth Dee DeVos ( ; ' Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States secretary of education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her support for ...

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. Hoffman participated in Arizona’s Citizen’s Clean Election Commission’s campaign funding program, which provides some campaign funding to participating candidates who forgo special interest and high-dollar contributions, yet out-raised her opponent 2-to-1. An effort to recall Hoffman was launched on February 11, 2021, with supporters having until June 11, 2021 to collect 574,832 signatures to initiate a recall election. Recall supporters criticized Hoffman for allegedly violating her oath of office, particularly in regards to the impact of COVID-19 in schools. The June deadline for signatures was not met and no recall election occurred. The recall effort was led by We the People AZ Alliance, an organization that promotes election fraud conspiracy theories. This group led several other failed recall attempts as well, against the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Republican Governor Doug Ducey, and Republican State Senator Paul Boyer. Hoffman sought reelection in

, but was defeated by Republican former Superintendent

Tom Horne Thomas Charles Horne (born March 28, 1945) is an American attorney, politician, and Republican activist who served as the 25th Attorney General of Arizona from 2011 to 2015. Horne lost to Mark Brnovich in the Republican primary for Attorney Gene ...

Elections

References

External links

Government website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Kathy 1980s births 21st-century American politicians Arizona Democrats Educators from New Jersey 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators Living people Politicians from Plainfield, New Jersey Speech and language pathologists Superintendents of Public Instruction of Arizona University of Arizona alumni University of Oregon alumni Women in Arizona politics Women state constitutional officers of Arizona Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women politicians American pathologists Women pathologists