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Former Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann (Republican) was elected to a tenth term in the New York State Senate in November 2002. Former Senator Hoffmann represents the 49th District, which encompasses all of Madison County and parts of Onondaga, Cayuga, and Oneida Counties. She is one of eleven women serving in the New York State Senate.

Former Senator Hoffmann was appointed Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee in January of 1999. Her major legislative goals include the encouragement of production agriculture and the preservation of New York State's family farms. In 1987, she helped farmers create the Regional Cooperative Marketing Agency (RCMA), which united 22,000 family dairy farms in 11 Northeastern states under a collective bargaining umbrella. Former Senator Hoffmann was also the driving force behind New York State's push for entrance in the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact.

In the 2000 budget, Former Senator Hoffmann created the New York State Barn Restoration and Preservation Program which provides grants for barn repair. With nearly 5,000 applications in the first round, this widely successful program will preserve these "cathedrals on our rural landscape" for many years to come.

As a member of the Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee, Former Senator Hoffmann has led the fight to reform New York State's sex offender treatment laws and departmental policies. Following a lengthy study of successful treatment methodologies utilized by other states, Former Senator Hoffmann initiated New York's first sex offender treatment unit at Oneida Correctional Facility. Her support for specialized programs of this type is based on national studies which prove that treatment reduces certain sex offender recidivism rates.

In 1992, Former Senator Hoffmann convened The Task Force on Tuberculosis, AIDS and Prison Health Care which recommended ways to improve health and safety conditions in State prisons. A major task force goal--more medical care in prison and less at local hospitals--has since been achieved through a state-of-the-art telemedicine link between the SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse and prisons in Central New York.

Former Senator Hoffmann is a strong advocate for economic development and job creation. She arranged with manufacturers in a rural industrial park in her district to create the first Job Development Authority financed child care center in New York State. Her continuing support for such projects as the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum, Erie Canal Village and the Rhythm and Blues Festival in Syracuse has enhanced tourism activity and stimulated the economy throughout Central New York.

As an outspoken proponent for governmental reform, Former Senator Hoffmann has authored numerous bills to change New York's highly partisan legislative process. Her efforts to achieve fundamental reforms have won praise from groups as diverse as the League of Women Voters and Change New York.

In 1994, Former Senator Hoffmann was one of 15 Americans selected by the U.S. Department of State to serve as a member of a United Nations panel of election observers in El Salvador. This 550 person international team monitored voting activity as El Salvador marked an end to 12 years of civil war by conducting its first free elections.

In 1996, Former Senator Hoffmann created the Civil Rights Connection, a program which offers select high school students a unique opportunity to study Civil Rights history. Taking a page from her own civil rights activities, Former Senator Hoffmann arranged for students to travel to Mississippi, where they stayed with host families and participated in the annual Medgar Evers Memorial Homecoming Reunion.

Former Senator Hoffmann received her B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from Syracuse University and M.S. in Information Science from the University of Maryland. She is an award-winning photographer and has worked as a writer, a college English and Journalism professor and television producer.