Biography chronicles former Gov. Phil Hoff's impact

Reposted from Burlington Free Press
Written by
Candace Page

Now, a University of Vermont historian and two former journalists have told the story of how the 38-year-old lawyer turned a pent-up desire for change in Vermont into an agenda for state government.
Their book, “Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State,” combines political biography with social history to vividly portray Vermont and its government in the 1960s.

Two of the book’s authors, Stephen Terry and Anthony Marro, were reporters for the Rutland Herald who covered Hoff during his three terms as governor. The book is built around work they did nearly 50 years ago, fleshed out with recent interviews and with political history contributed by UVM emeritus professor Samuel Hand.

The authors chronicle Hoff’s rapid rise to the governorship, battles with Republicans to enact his reform agenda and his equally precipitous political fall — his loss of the 1970 U.S. Senate race. They outline the achievements of the Hoff years, from dramatic reapportionment of the state House of Representatives, to the transfer of responsibility for social welfare from towns to the state.

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