Rick Hill
| Rick Hill | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Montana's At-large district |
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| In office 1997 – 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Pat Williams |
| Succeeded by | Dennis Rehberg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 30, 1946 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Political party | Republican |
Richard "Rick" Hill (born December 30, 1946) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Montana.[1] He is currently a candidate for Governor of Montana in 2012.[2]
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[edit] Early life, education, and business career
Hill was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was one of four children and grew up in a one-room apartment in the back of a tire repair shop. At age four Rick was paralyzed by polio. In 1964, he graduated from Atkin High School in Atkin, Montana. In 1968, he graduated from Saint Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Hill received his Juris Doctor degree in 2005 from the Concord Law School in Los Angeles, California.[1]
He owns a surety bonding company.
[edit] Early political career
He served as Republican precinct committeeman and state committeeman from Lewis and Clark County, Montana; member, served on the board of directors, Montana Science and Technology Alliance; and chaired the Montana State Worker’s Compensation Board from 1993-1996.[1]
In 1993 Governor Marc Racicot asked Hill to act as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Montana State Fund, where he worked in a volunteer, unpaid capacity for three years.[citation needed]
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Elections
In 1996, he decided to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana's At-large congressional district.[1] He won the Republican primary with a plurality of 44% of the vote.[3] In the general election, he defeated Democrat Bill Yellowtail, who had been a Regional Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 52%-43%.[4][5] Hill won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Dusty Deschamps 53%-44%.[6] Hill later decided not to run for re-election to a third term in the 2000 election, citing vision problems that were subsequently corrected. The election was won by Republican nominee Denny Rehberg, who defeated Keenan.[7]
[edit] Tenure
In May 1999, Hill criticized the "life style" choices of Nancy Keenan, a Democrat serving her third term as State School Superintendent, who had just announced she would run against him in 2000. He noted that she had never married and had no children, whereas he was a "family man". Keenan called Hill's remarks "ridiculous" and said she had always wanted children but had had a hysterectomy for health reasons.[8]
Hill believed that soft money should be prohibited.
Hill has sponsored 32 bills between 1997 and 2000, of which 22 haven't made it out of committee and 4 were successfully enacted.[9] He voted with the party 91% of the time.[10]
[edit] Committee assignments
He was on a Freshman task force that would limit or prohibit the use of soft money.[11] He served on the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources.[12]
[edit] 2012 gubernatorial election
In November 2010, he announced he would run for Governor of Montana in 2012.[13] He chose State Senator Jon Sonju as his running mate.[14]
[edit] Personal life
After having an affair earlier that year, on May 18, 1976, Hill filed for divorce from his first wife, Mary Hill (nee Spaulding). In 1980, after the couple failed to reconcile, Spaulding filed for divorce and Hill obtained custody of the three children.[15][16][17] He married his second wife, Betti, in 1983.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Hill, Rick - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000605. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
- ^ "Former GOP U.S. Rep. Rick Hill to run for Montana governor". Missoulian. 2010-11-06. http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_c843d1e2-e929-11df-932f-001cc4c03286.html.
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=380933
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=29619
- ^ "Bill Yellowtail suspended from the EPA". The Helena Independent Record. 2000-04-29. http://helenair.com/news/article_db827502-0645-5881-87b7-69b5ca39d939.html.
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=30716
- ^ "Former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill to run for Governor". Montana Standard. 2010-11-05. http://www.mtstandard.com/news/local/article_bd9f68ae-e92a-11df-9cdd-001cc4c002e0.html.
- ^ Ayres, B. Drummond, Jr. (May 27, 1999). "Political Briefing; Some Big Thunder in Big Sky Country". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/27/us/political-briefing-some-big-thunder-in-big-sky-country.html. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400587
- ^ http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/h000605/
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/30/us/gop-freshmen-agree-to-stop-push-for-fund-raising-curbs.html?src=pm
- ^ http://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_617a7c2c-3a77-11e1-925a-0019bb2963f4.html
- ^ http://www.rickhill2012.com/index.php/media/latest-news/67-latest-news/200-rick-hill-announces-run-for-governor-2012
- ^ http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/rick_hill_announces_jon_sonju_as_gubernatorial_running_mate/26232/
- ^ McLaughlin, Kathleen (4 October 1996). "Hill Divorce Papers Surface: More Details Shed Light on Candidate's Marital Troubles". Billings Gazette.
- ^ McLaughlin, Kathleen (31 August 1996). "Candidate Releases Mass of Divorce Records". Montana Standard: p. A3.
- ^ "Hill's Wife Says Affair Broke Them Up". Helena: The Independent Record. 1996-10-06.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Rick Hill for Governor
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Patrick Williams |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Montana's At-large congressional district 1997 – 2001 |
Succeeded by Denny Rehberg |
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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