Lyman F. Hoffman (born February 13, 1950) is a

Yup'ik The Yupʼik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Central Yupʼik, Alaskan Yupʼik ( own name ''Yupʼik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; Russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an ...

politician and Democratic member of the

Alaska Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or reje ...

since 1995. He represents the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta,

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. T ...

, and

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. He also served in the Senate from 1991 to 1993 previously, and was a member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...

from 1987−91 and 1993−95. In January 2019, Hoffman became the longest-serving member in the history of the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There a ...

, surpassing the tenure of Jay Kerttula, the previous record holder.

Partisan affiliation

Hoffman was the only registered Democrat to caucus with the Republicans in the Senate from 2015 to 2023. He endorsed Republican nominee Dan Sullivan over Senator

Mark Begich Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he ...

during the 2014 U.S. Senate race. From 2007 to 2013 and again since 2023, Hoffman has been a member of a bipartisan majority coalition of Democrats and Republicans.

Controversy

On May 1, 2004, Hoffman was arrested for erratic driving and for striking a home with his car. He refused to take a

breathalyzer A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser''), also called an alcohol meter, is a device for measuring breath alcohol (drug), alcohol content (BrAC). It is commonly utilized by law enforcement officers ...

test and later pled guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to three days in jail by Judge Peter Froehlich, which began on July 6. Hoffman also had his driver's license revoked for 90 days, was placed on probation for one year, and was fined $1,500. In 2013, Hoffman was found guilty of violating financial disclosure laws by the Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics. Between 2008 and 2010, Hoffman hid between "$311,000 and $690,000" in income from his business interests in a company that primarily contracts with a state-funded agency. From Alaska Public Media, "The committee found that Senator Hoffman "knowingly" prepared and filed incomplete disclosures, leaving out a "substantial" amount of income." In 2016, Hoffman was the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, whose plan to address the state's fiscal crisis focused on cutting services and capping the Permanent Fund Dividend. Critics note that the hardest hit areas from slashing the PFD are in Hoffman's district. However, Hoffman has also called the dividend the "first call" on revenue from Permanent Fund earnings.

References

External links

Alaska State Legislature – Senator Lyman Hoffman
official AK Senate website
Project Vote Smart – Representative Lyman F. Hoffman (AK)
profile * ''Follow the Money'' – Lyman F. Hoffman *
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campaign contributions
Lyman Hoffman
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' * 1950 births 20th-century Alaska Native people 21st-century Alaska Native people 21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature Alaska politicians convicted of crimes Democratic Party Alaska state senators American city managers Living people Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Native American state legislators in Alaska People from Bethel, Alaska Yupik people 20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature {{NativeAmerican-politician-stub