Rick Hill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana'sat-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Pat Williams |
| Succeeded by | Denny Rehberg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Allan Hill (1946-12-30)December 30, 1946 (age 78) Grand Rapids, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | St. Cloud State University (BA) Concord University (JD) |
Richard Allan Hill[1] (born December 30, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as a member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromMontana.[2] He was the Republican nominee forGovernor of Montana in 2012.[3]
Hill was born inGrand Rapids,Minnesota. 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, Hill was paralyzed bypolio. In 1964, he graduated from Aitkin High School in Aitkin, Minnesota. In 1968, he graduated fromSaint Cloud State University Hill received hisJuris Doctor degree in 2005 from theConcord Law School inLos Angeles, California.[2]
Hill owned asurety bonding company prior to entering politics.[4]
He served as Republican precinct committeeman and state committeeman fromLewis and Clark County, Montana; member, served on the board of directors, Montana Science and Technology Alliance; and chaired the Montana StateWorker’s Compensation Board from 1993 to 1996.[2]
In 1993, GovernorMarc Racicot selected 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. At the time Hill became chairman, the organization had a $500 million debt. After leaving the post, he worked to cut the pay and pensions of the state employees charged with administering the fund.[5]
In1996, Hill ran for theU.S. House of Representatives inMontana's at-large congressional district.[2] He won the Republican primary with 44% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated DemocratBill Yellowtail, who had been a Regional Administrator for theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency,[6] 52%–43%.[7] In November 1998, Hill won re-election to a second term, defeating the Democratic nominee, longtimeMissoula County Attorney Dusty Deschamps, 53%–44%.[8]
In 2000, Hill decided not to run for re-election to a third term, citing vision problems, which were subsequently corrected. The election was won by Republican nomineeDenny Rehberg, who defeatedNancy Keenan,[9] then the three-term State Superintendent of Public Instruction.[10]
Between 1997 and 2000, Hill sponsored 32 bills, of which 22 did not made it out of committee and four were passed into law by Congress.[11] He voted with the Republican party 91% of the time.[12]
Hill served on theU.S. House Committee on Natural Resources.[13]
In 2006, Hill was nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bush to be a member of the Board of Directors of theCorporation for National and Community Service. He was confirmed by the senate on June 28, 2007, and his term expired on June 10, 2009.[1]
In November 2010, Hill announced he would run forGovernor of Montana in 2012.[14] He selected State SenatorJon Sonju as his running mate.[15] On November 6, 2012, Hill lost to his Democratic opponent,Steve Bullock, in the general election by a margin of 48.9%–47.3%.[16]
In May 1976, Hill filed for divorce from his first wife, Mary Hill (née Spaulding), after having an affair with another woman. In 1980, after the couple failed to reconcile, Spaulding filed for divorce and Hill obtained custody of the three children.[17][18][19] He married his second wife, Betti, in 1983.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana's at-large congressional district 1997–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Montana 2012 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative | Succeeded byas Former US Representative |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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| One at-large seat (1993–2023) |
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