[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3692-S3693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO CON HOGAN
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Marcelle and I have a good friend in
Vermont named Cornelius Hogan, although everyone knows him as Con
Hogan.
In our State, we have been fortunate to have people, of both
political parties, who have given a great deal of themselves to serve
the people of Vermont, and Con is an excellent example of that.
Recently, the newspaper the Times Argus published an excellent
profile of him. I called Con and Jeanette to say how much I enjoyed it.
I would like to share the piece with my fellow Senators, and ask
unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
A Life Well Served; Plainfield's Con Hogan Remininsces About Time in
Government, Business
(By Susan Allen)
Plainfield.--Every Thursday a 4 p.m., the late Gov. Richard
Snelling would invite some of his cabinet members to his
office and put a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon and glasses on
his desk.
``You could talk about anything you wanted,'' recalled Con
Hogan last week, seated at the kitchen table in his
Plainfield home, with an expansive view that includes the ski
slopes of Sugarbush and Mad River Glen.
That was a new one for me. I thought I'd heard most of the
behind-the-scenes stories from past--and present--
administrations. I've been in the Vermont press that long,
and collect interesting and odd-ball recollections like some
people collect stamps. I'm fascinated by the people who
devote their lives to serving the state.
But Hogan's reminiscences during our conversation proved
how many good stories I've missed.
Hogan is retired from his extensive tenure in state
government and we started talking about how busy he is during
his so-called retirement (more on that later), but quickly
began trading accounts of political personalities. Most of
his tales were gathered during his professional journey from
serving as a guard in a prison in Annandale, N.J., to heading
Vermont's massive Human Services Agency under Snelling and
former Gov. Howard Dean.
That journey included two significant side trips: An 11-
year stint in the private sector helping International Coins
and Currency slog its way out of bankruptcy in the 1980s, and
an ``ill-thought,'' unsuccessful run for governor as an
independent against incumbent Jim Douglas and Democrat
Douglas Racine in 2002.
``That was a period of temporary insanity,'' he said of the
gubernatorial race, which almost certainly burned some
bridges with the GOP hierarchy. ``I don't regret it, but I
don't consider it a high point.''
Hogan received a degree in psychology from Rutgers, married
wife Jeanette in 1965, and took a job as a prison guard in
Annandale, rising quickly through the ranks to eventually
serve as a division head with the New Jersey Department of
Corrections, focusing on the budget.
``I loved it,'' he recalled of those 7 years. ``The people
who work in that line are under such professional pressure
that you become fast friends, the closest friends.''
Hogan and his wife regularly visited a good friend in
Vermont who lived on an apple farm in Bennington, and in 1972
at age 28, he applied for the job of corrections commissioner
in this State. He chuckles at his own audacity, and the
outcome.
Then-Secretary of Administration Richard Mallary (who went
on to serve in the U.S. House for Vermont) wrote Hogan a two-
page, handwritten letter thanking him for his interest,
letting him know the job was already filled, but urging him
to contact the new commissioner to talk about becoming his
deputy.
Hogan is amazed at the thought of Mallary writing such a
long, personal note. But back in 1972, he did apply for
deputy commissioner post and got the job.
Those were tumultuous years in corrections, he said. Then-
Gov. Thomas Salmon, trying to control a huge state deficit,
issued a 10 percent cut in all budgets, to be executed in
60 days--a staggering assignment, Hogan knew.
And the Windsor prison, which had opened in 1808 during the
U.S. presidential administration of Thomas Jefferson, was
closed in the early 1970s, leaving the State without a
maximum security prison for a number of years.
With Snelling's first election in 1976, Hogan moved into
the post of commissioner of Social and Rehabilitative
Services, again during a difficult time. The Weeks School for
juvenile offenders closed, forcing the State to redistribute
the 400 youth to smaller group facilities around the State.
Hogan recalled that all but 15 were placed at one point.
Those 15, he said, were sent to stay with a Vermont couple
who--without the State's knowledge--packed them all into a
Winnebago and headed off to see the country.
``The dad called me from New Orleans,'' Hogan said. ``I
said, `What are you doing in New Orleans?' ''
Four of the young Vermonters had run off, and the state
scrambled to fix the mess. Fortunately the story ended well
for everyone and never (until now) became public, Hogan said
with a grin.
After his 11-year foray with ICC in the 1980s, Hogan once
again received a call from Snelling, who was considering a
run for governor and wanted Hogan to head his transition team
if elected. Snelling was elected and appointed Hogan his
secretary of Human Services in 1991.
``During the transition, I was working from 6 a.m. to
midnight, staying in the office--sometimes I slept over,'' he
said. During a meeting one day, Hogan was called out because
Jeanette was outside with fresh clothes for her husband. ``I
need to explain to my wife why I'm spending more time with
you than her,'' Hogan told Snelling, who didn't like meetings
interrupted.
``He lit up. `Let's go meet your wife,' '' Hogan recalled.
Jeanette had just been to the dentist and had a front tooth
removed, flashing a smile that showed a gaping hole. Hogan
said Snelling never missed a beat and made a ``big show'' of
graciousness to his wife.
Hogan recalled Snelling's impatience with long
presentations. So, as Human Services Secretary, Hogan created
a game where he took a deck of cards, and on each wrote a
one-line synopsis of a proposed program, the cost, and the
supporters and opponents. Fifty-two suggestions.
Snelling loved it; he'd flip through the cards quickly and
make two piles: Yes and No. And Hogan knew how to proceed.
``He was at the top of his game,'' said Hogan of Snelling
during that second trip to the governor's office. His
recollections of his former boss are nostalgic and reflect
his respect and deep admiration for the late governor.
Snelling died in office on Aug. 13, 1991. During his brief
second tenure as governor, he worked with Democratic House
Speaker Ralph Wright to craft a plan to retire an enormous
state deficit, another point of pride for Hogan.
The day after Snelling's death, new Gov. Howard Dean called
Hogan into his office for a briefing on the Human Services
Agency.
``I was in no shape to go,'' Hogan recalled. Not only was
he mourning Snelling's passing, he didn't know Dean or what
to expect from the former lieutenant governor.
Hogan arrived with a list of 50 issues to discuss, and
spent an hour running through them all. ``Dean didn't say a
word, he just listened. He was either getting it . . . or not
getting it and he did,'' Hogan recalled.
The two worked well together for 8 years until Hogan left
the administration in November 1999. ``There's a half-life to
that kind of job,'' he said of Human Services secretary.
After making progress on many social issues, ``I had begun to
see some of the same problems again.''
Then came the ill-fated gubernatorial run.
Followed by retirement--or Hogan's version of retirement:
He travels the world working with countries that include
Australia, Israel, Chile, Norway, Northern Ireland, Scotland,
and in May, Holland, to improve their government structure
and programs for children.
[[Page S3693]]
He has also become involved in informal lobbying efforts
for universal health care (the number of uninsured Vermonters
has climbed from 42,000 in 2001 to 69,000 today, he noted; he
predicts the increase will continue without serious action).
He considers high health care costs a ``serious economic
threat'' to the State.
He serves on the board of Vermont College in Montpelier,
which is seeking certification and funding. Hogan also
continues to play the banjo with his band, Cold Country
Bluegrass (Jeanette plays the string bass).
And he helps Jeannette around the family horse farm, which
she started but is now run by their daughter, Ruth.
That's Con Hogan's idea of retirement.
His son lives next door with Hogan's two grandchildren, and
Ruth lives around the corner. And in the end, that is his
life's ambition achieved.
``Having my family close enough to enjoy their successes,
and watch the kids grow up,'' he said. ``Nothing comes close.
This to me is what it's all about.''
____________________