# Doug Hoffer

Douglas R. Hoffer Jr. (born September 3, 1951) is an American policy analyst from Burlington, Vermont, who is currently serving as the Vermont State Auditor. He took office on January 10, 2013.

## Early life and education

Hoffer was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. He left high school in his junior year, and earned his high school equivalency two years later. He entered Williams College in 1981 at age 30, graduated with a B.A. in political science, and went on to receive a J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School (magna cum laude).

## Career

After leaving high school, Hoffer worked and traveled for over a decade. While living in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, Doug worked as the Mâitre D’ at Alice's (Restaurant) at Avaloch in Lenox. Upon graduation from law school in 1988, he accepted a position with the City of Burlington in the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) having learned of the city's innovative approach to community development under then-mayor Bernie Sanders and CEDO Director Peter Clavelle.
Hoffer left City Hall in 1993 and worked as a self-employed policy analyst for 19 years until winning election as state auditor in 2012. Some of his clients included the Vermont State Auditor, Peace & Justice Center (for whom he wrote all ten phases of The Job Gap Study), Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, Vermont State Treasurer, Vermont Employees Association, Yellow Wood Associates, City of Burlington, Burlington Electric Department, and the Public Assets Institute.
Hoffer was appointed to the Burlington Electric Commission by the mayor and city council in 1994. The commission oversees the municipal electric department and Hoffer served as chair of the commission for five of his six years, from 1995 to 2000.

### Elected office

Hoffer first ran for state auditor in 2010 as the Democratic candidate, with an endorsement from the Vermont Progressive Party, and lost to Republican incumbent Tom Salmon.
In 2012, running as the nominee of the Democrats and Progressives, he defeated Republican State Senator Vincent Illuzzi and Liberty Union Party nominee Jerry Levy (Salmon did not run for re-election).
Hoffer ran unopposed in 2014.
In 2016, Hoffer defeated Republican Dan Feliciano and Liberty Union Party candidate Marina Brown. As in prior campaigns, Hoffer was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders.
In 2018, Hoffer defeated Republican Richard Kenyon and Liberty Union Party candidate Marina Brown.
In 2020, Hoffer defeated Progressive Party candidate Cris Ericson.
In 2022, Hoffer defeated Republican Richard Morton.

## Personal life

Hoffer lives in Burlington, Vermont. He is in a long-term relationship, and has no children.
Hoffer pitched a no-hitter for the VFW Little League team of Norwalk in 1964. He won the men’s club championship at the Williston Golf Club in 2006.

## Electoral history

Vermont Auditor Democratic Primary election, 2010 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Doug Hoffer | 35,750 | 58.2 |
| Democratic | Edward Flanagan | 24,630 | 40.1 |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 1,065 | 1.7 |
Vermont Auditor election, 2010 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Thomas Salmon (inc.) | 120,237 | 52.0 |
| Democratic* | Doug Hoffer | 105,081 | 45.5 |
| Liberty Union | Jerry Levy | 5,736 | 2.5 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 111 | 0.0 |
*Hoffer was cross-endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party.
Vermont Auditor election, 2012 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Doug Hoffer | 140,668 | 51.4 |
| Republican | Vincent Illuzzi | 123,669 | 45.2 |
| Liberty Union | Jerry Levy | 9,368 | 3.4 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 12 | 0.0 |
*Hoffer was cross-endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party.
Vermont Auditor election, 2014 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Doug Hoffer (inc.) | 146,836 | 99.8 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 323 | 0.2 |
*Hoffer was cross-endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party.
Vermont Auditor election, 2016 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Doug Hoffer (inc.) | 159,695 | 55.4 |
| Republican | Dan Feliciano | 113,231 | 39.3 |
| Liberty Union | Marina Brown | 15,099 | 5.2 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 228 | 0.0 |
*Hoffer was cross-endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party.
Vermont Auditor election, 2018 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Doug Hoffer (inc.) | 160,291 | 57.61 |
| Republican | Richard Kenyon | 88,021 | 31.64 |
| Liberty Union | Marina Brown | 10,947 | 3.93 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 116 | 0.04 |
*Hoffer was cross-endorsed by the Vermont Progressive Party.
Vermont Auditor Democratic Primary election, 2020 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Doug Hoffer | 55,486 | 51 |
| Democratic | Linda Joy Sullivan | 38,018 | 35 |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 139 | 0.00 |
Vermont Auditor election, 2020 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic/Republican | Doug Hoffer (inc.) | 266,445 | 71.82 |
| Progressive | Cris Ericson | 48,731 | 13.14 |
Vermont Auditor election, 2022 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Doug Hoffer (inc.) | 178,714 | 61.21 |
| Republican | Richard Morton | 94,613 | 32.41 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 300 | 0.02 |