If you drive down State St. in Montpelier, in the vicinity of the State House, you will drive by Governor Davis Avenue and then, very shortly, Governor Aiken Avenue. Together they take you toward the entrances at the two ends of the State House.
What you will not see, either on the maps of our state or on any public building, is a recognition of Governor Phil Hoff.
The authors of a recent biography of Phil Hoff teach us that “No individual deserves more credit (or in the view of political rivals more blame) for the transformation of Vermont than Philip Hoff.” Nevertheless, they also tell us that Governor Hoff's memory has been neglected, and where other prominent politicians are honored by parks, state buildings, and roads, there is no building or other monument to Hoff's accomplishments.
Half a century has passed since Phil Hoff was first elected governor, yet we have no physical monument to remind us of his years of service. While on the national stage we have too often been subject to premature idolization, as in the nationwide urge to name things after John Kennedy after his assassination or Ronald Reagan after his death, but Phil Hoff's achievements as governor have stood the test of time.
It is long overdue to recognize Phil Hoff in the buildings or roads of Vermont.
no real discussion needed as to the impact Phil has had in so many areas of his life, and to some degree continues to do so.
Where or What, and indeed WHEN! Why wait until it is effectively too late? Clearly we would not be the state we are today without the road Phil cleared, and the impact folks who occupied the office later, and went on to impact national politics and policy….. Good call Jack indeed.
among other things, imagine the legislature without the Joint Fical Office or Legislative Council
In the wake of Irene there should be plenty of naming opportunities.
…it hadn’t taken my own investment of time and energy to learn about everything Governor Hoff did for the state while growing up and going to school. He’s the kind of leader whose accomplishments we should be sharing with the next generation of Vermonters to remind them what they can do to transform the way their state works.
I’m not a fan of naming things after politicians while they are still in office (the Howard Dean Center in Springfield, the Leahy Center in Burlington, the Leahy Conference Center in Rutland, etc.), but I think it would be great to have something named after Gov. Hoff while he is still alive. Sen. Illuzzi (who seems to be a whipping boy on this site) was good at doing that when he chaired Senate Institutions. The Mahady and Costello Courthouses, the Hebard building in Newport and the Zampieri building in Burlington are examples. Is Sen. Hartwell the person who would be doing it for Gov. Hoff?