Talk:Rick Hill/Draft

Richard "Rick" Hill (born December 30, 1946) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Montana. He is currently a candidate for Governor of Montana in 2012.

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.

He owns a surety bonding company.

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.

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.

Elections
In 1996, Hill ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana's At-large congressional district. He won the Republican primary with a plurality of 44% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Bill Yellowtail, who had been a Regional Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 52%-43%. In November 1998, Hill won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Dusty Deschamps 53%-44%.

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 nominee Denny Rehberg, who defeated Nancy Keenan, a three-term State School Superintendent.

Tenure
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. He voted with the Republican party 91% of the time.

Committee assignments
Hill served on the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources.

2012 gubernatorial election
In November 2010, he announced he would run for Governor of Montana in 2012. He chose State Senator Jon Sonju as his running mate.

Personal life
In May 1976, Hill filed for divorce from his first wife, Mary Hill ( 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. He married his second wife, Betti, in 1983.