Joe Hoeffel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theMontgomery County Board of Commissioners | |
| In office January 7, 2008 – January 3, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Ruth Damsker |
| Succeeded by | Josh Shapiro |
| In office January 6, 1992 – January 3, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Rita Banning |
| Succeeded by | James Maza |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's13th district | |
| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Jon Fox |
| Succeeded by | Allyson Schwartz |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the153rd district | |
| In office January 4, 1977 – November 30, 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Beren |
| Succeeded by | Jon Fox |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Merrill Hoeffel III (1950-09-03)September 3, 1950 (age 75) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Francesca Hoeffel |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Joseph Hoeffel (grandfather) |
| Education | Boston University (BA) Temple University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1970–1976 |
| Unit | United States Army Reserve |
Joseph Merrill Hoeffel III (/ˈhʌfəl/HUF-əl; born September 3, 1950) is an American author and politician. ADemocrat, Hoeffel was a member of theUnited States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, representingPennsylvania's 13th congressional district. He also served multiple terms on theMontgomery County Board of Commissioners,[1][2][3] and from 1977–84, was a member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives. A native ofPhiladelphia, he is a graduate ofBoston University andTemple University School of Law.
Hoeffel was an unsuccessful candidate for theUnited States Senate in2004, and forGovernor of Pennsylvania in2010.
Hoeffel was born inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, to Joseph and Eleanore Hoeffel.[4] After graduating fromWilliam Penn Charter School in 1968, he attendedBoston University and earned aBachelor of Arts degree in English in 1972. He served in theArmy Reserves from 1970 to 1976.[5]
He first became involved in politics during the1972 presidential election, when his opposition to theVietnam War led him to support SenatorGeorge McGovern.[6] In 1973, he became a legislative aide to RepresentativeGerry Studds ofMassachusetts, for whom Hoeffel did research on foreignoverfishing.[6]
After working for Studds for a year, Hoeffel challenged four-termRepublican incumbentDaniel Beren for a seat in thePennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the Abington-based153rd district, in 1974. He was defeated by 1,505 votes.[6] From 1975 to 1976, he was the CentralMontgomery County administrator for theAmerican Red Cross.[5]
Hoeffel successfully ran again for state House in 1976, after Beren decided to not seek re-election. He was the first Democrat to represent the Abington area sinceWorld War I. He served from 1977 to 1985.[7] The first bill he passed as a state legislator was a campaign reform proposal in 1978 improving financial disclosure.[5]
In 1984, he gave up his seat to run for theUnited States House of Representatives in the13th congressional district, but was defeated by longtime Republican incumbentLawrence Coughlin. Hoeffel sought a rematch in 1986, and was defeated again. He received hisJuris Doctor degree fromTemple University School of Law in 1986, and then worked at theNorristown law firms of Wright, Manning, Kinkaid & Oliver (1987–90) and Kane, Pugh & Driscoll (1990–91).[6]
After several years out of politics, Hoeffel won a seat on the Montgomery County Commission in 1991. In a surprise to the political establishment, Hoeffel supported Republican Mario Mele for Commission chairman overJon Fox.[8]
In 1996, Hoeffel made a third run at Congress, taking on his former colleague on the Montgomery County Commission,Jon Fox, now a first-term Congressman. That year, Fox hung onto his seat by an 84-vote margin.[9] However, in 1998, in his fourth attempt, Hoeffel broke through. Hobbled by a tough Republican primary and the fallout fromthe impeachment process against PresidentBill Clinton, Fox could not hang on a second time. Hoeffel won by more than 5,000 votes.[10] Hoeffel became only the second Democrat to represent the Montgomery County-based district in 86 years.
He won re-election twice, though not without difficulty. In 2000 he won an expensive race against RepublicanState SenatorStewart Greenleaf, who represented most of the eastern portion of the congressional district. He thus became the first Democrat to serve more than one term in the district in decades. In 2002, he defeated wealthy ophthalmologistMelissa Brown by less than expected; the 13th had been made somewhat more Democratic with the addition of part of Philadelphia. During the 2002 election, Hoeffel's website was praised as among the best of the 2002 election cycle.[11]
In Congress, Hoeffel was a member of twoHouse committees:International Relations andTransportation and Infrastructure.
On July 20, 2004, Hoeffel became the third sittingU.S. Congressman in one week, followingCharles Rangel andBobby Rush, to be arrested fortrespassing while protesting allegedhuman rights violations in front of theSudanese Embassy. U.S. SenatorArlen Specter, Hoeffel'sRepublican opponent in the 2004U.S. Senate race, criticized thearrest as apublicity stunt.
Rather than holding onto his seat, Hoeffel decided in 2004 to run for theU.S. Senate against incumbent RepublicanArlen Specter. In the election held on November 2, 2004, Hoeffel was defeated by more than ten points to Specter, 53%-42%, and only carried four counties.[12] Hoeffel was at a considerable disadvantage because of Specter's popularity in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Hoeffel endorsedBob Casey, Jr. for the United States Senate in2006; Casey defeated incumbent RepublicanRick Santorum by a wide margin.
Hoeffel announced that he would run forlieutenant governor inMarch 2006 against incumbentCatherine Baker Knoll, but dropped out of the race a day later.GovernorEd Rendell convinced Hoeffel that the Democratic ticket needed geographic balance; Knoll is fromAllegheny County; Rendell is from Philadelphia.[13] The Democratic Committees of Bucks and Chester Counties had overwhelmingly voted to endorse him over Knoll.[14]
In February 2007, Hoeffel announced that he would resign his post in order to run for the Montgomery County Commission with incumbent Ruth Damsker. Hoeffel's and Damsker's opponents were incumbentJim Matthews and district attorneyBruce Castor.[15]
Hopes were high that the Democrats could win majority control on the commission due to party gains in the county and a fractured county Republican party. Hoeffel finished second, behind Castor, winning a seat on the Commission, but his running mate fell short, keeping control in Republican hands.[16] However, thanks to a deal with Matthews, Hoeffel became Vice Chairman of the Commission, in exchange for supporting Matthews' bid to become Chairman over Castor.[17]
On September 20, 2009, Hoeffel announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination forGovernor of Pennsylvania. During the campaign, he called for the introduction of agraduated income tax for the state, supported the implementation of a statewidesingle-payer health care program, stressed hispro-choice position onabortion and opposition toschool vouchers, and distinguished himself as the only candidate supporting the legalization ofsame-sex marriage.[18]
He received endorsements fromNOW, theStonewall Democrats, theUnited Auto Workers, and various local affiliates ofDemocracy for America.[19]
In the May 18, 2010 primary, he placed fourth out of four candidates, receiving 130,799 votes, or 12.7% of the total votes cast, and winning Montgomery County, though without a majority.[20]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dan Onorato | 452,611 | 45.1 | |
| Democratic | Jack Wagner | 244,234 | 24.3 | |
| Democratic | Anthony Williams | 180,932 | 18.0 | |
| Democratic | Joe Hoeffel | 125,989 | 12.6 | |
| Total votes | 1,003,766 | 97.7 | ||
Within days of losing the 2010 primary for governor, Hoeffel announced he would seek another term as county commissioner in 2011. He followedMatthews, who also initially announced his intention to seek re-election.
A subsequent grand jury report[clarification needed] found questionable behavior on Hoeffel's part for his participation in discussing county business at private breakfast meetings held with Matthews and senior aides–an alleged violation of stateSunshine laws. However, unlike Matthews, who was later alleged to have perjured himself while testifying to the grand jury,[22] Hoeffel was never charged with criminal wrongdoing.[23][24]
On March 10, 2018, Hoeffel announced that he would seek to retake his old congressional seat, now renumbered as the4th District. A court-ordered remap had cut out the district's share of Philadelphia.[25][26] Although the new 4th was geographically similar to the area he had represented for his first two terms, he finished a distant third, with only 11 percent of the vote, well behind State Representative and fellow Abington residentMadeleine Dean.
According to his campaign website, Hoeffel favors expanded funding for early childhood education programs, drop-out prevention and drop-out reengagement programs and centers, and basic education for school board members. He favors keeping the currentdefined benefit pension plan for all teachers over a change to adefined contribution plan for new hires. Hoeffel would continue the school funding formula implemented by GovernorEd Rendell to reduce dependence on local property taxes to fund schools.[27]
Hoeffel has a lifetime 97% rating from theAFL–CIO and is endorsed by several labor unions in the Philadelphia area.[28]
Hoeffel has a 100% rating fromNARAL Pro-Choice America.[29] He is endorsed by formerNARAL Pro-Choice America PresidentKate Michelman,[30] and by the Pennsylvania chapter of theNational Organization for Women[31]
He favors amending Pennsylvania's Hate Crimes Law to include crimes targetingLGBT people and supports full marriage rights.[32]
Hoeffel's book about his vote for the Iraq War,The Iraq Lie: How the White House Sold the War, was published in 2014 by Progressive Press. Hoeffel provides a first-person account of the Congressional debate on the Iraq War Resolution, and argues that the Bush White House misled Congress and the country and took the United States to war in Iraq under false pretenses. Hoeffel suggests intelligence reforms to prevent such deceptions from happening again.
Hoeffel's second book,Fighting for the Progressive Center in the Age of Trump, was published in August 2017 by Praeger. In this book, Hoeffel argues that "progressives must fight for the political center of our civic arena with policies that are both socially liberal and fiscally responsible if we want to win the battle for public support against Donald Trump." The book is a mix of policy prescriptions which reject partisan extremes and rigid ideologies, with numerous anecdotes from 25 years serving in elected office at the county, state and federal levels.
He is married to Francesca Hoeffel. They live inAbington Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, and have two children. His grandfather, also namedJoseph M. "Joe" Hoeffel, served as coach of theGreen Bay Packers in 1921.[33]
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Joseph M. Hoeffel | 120,220 | 49% | Jon D. Fox | 120,304 | 49% | Thomas Patrick Burke | Libertarian | 4,930 | 2% | Bill Ryan | Natural Law | 525 | <1% | |||||
| 1998 | Joseph M. Hoeffel | 95,105 | 52% | Jon D. Fox | 85,915 | 47% | Thomas Patrick Burke | Libertarian | 3,470 | 2% | |||||||||
| 2000 | Joseph M. Hoeffel | 146,026 | 53% | Stewart J. Greenleaf | 126,501 | 46% | Ken Cavanaugh | Libertarian | 4,224 | 2% | |||||||||
| 2002 | Joseph M. Hoeffel | 107,945 | 51% | Melissa Brown | 100,295 | 47% | John P. McDermott | Constitution | 3,627 | 2% |
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Joseph M. Hoeffel | 2,334,126 | 42% | Arlen Specter | 2,925,080 | 53% | James Clymer | Constitution | 220,056 | 4% | Betsy Summers | Libertarian | 79,263 | 1% | * |
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2004, write-ins received 580 votes.
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 13th congressional district 1999–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromPennsylvania (Class 3) 2004 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
