Cal Hobson

Calvin Jackson Hobson III is an American politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate. He was the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate from 2003 to 2005.

Early life, family, and education

Hobson was born on March 30, 1945, in Tucson, Arizona as the eldest son of Wardena and Calvin Jackson Hobson II, his parents having met while attending the University of Oklahoma. Hobson's father served in the United States Army Air Corps training pilots during World War II. Returning to Oklahoma, the Hobson family settled on a family farm in Wayne, OK where his father entered the oil and gas industry. The family later moved to Lexington, OK where Hobson graduated high school. Cal Hobson graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree. In 2006, Hobson unsuccessfully ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, ultimately losing the Democratic primary to Jari Askins. Areas of legislative concern for Hobson were higher education funding, prison reform and mental health services.

During his political career, Cal was instrumental in securing funding for several key facilities associated with the University of Oklahoma, notably the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, the OU National Weather Center, the Sarkeys Energy Center, and a significant expansion of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

Later life

After retirement from politics, Hobson worked at the University of Oklahoma College of Liberal Studies where he still regularly teaches courses on Oklahoma political history. Hobson continues to write regularly for several newspapers including The Norman Transcript and The Oklahoma Observer. Cal Hobson resides in Lexington, Oklahoma on a fifth generation-owned family farm, having come into the family possession during the Oklahoma land rush of 1889.