Richard W. Hinch (May 1, 1949 – December 9, 2020) was an American politician. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he was a member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

from 2008 until his death in 2020. He was speaker of the

for one week before he died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Early life and education

Hinch was born in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

, and served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1968 to 1972. He graduated from

Marblehead High School Marblehead High School is a public high school located in Marblehead, Massachusetts. History The school has approximately 970 students. The current campus began construction in 2001, and opened for the 2002–2003 school year. In 2002, Natio ...

and

Salem State University Salem State University (Salem State or SSU) is a public university in Salem, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it is the oldest and largest institute of higher education on the North Shore and is part of the state university system in Massa ...

Career

Hinch was involved in the real estate business in

Merrimack, New Hampshire Merrimack is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 26,632 as of the 2020 census. There are four villages in the town: Merrimack Village (formerly kno ...

. He was elected to the

, in 2008, representing the Hillsborough 21 district. From 2015 to 2018, he served as the majority leader of the House, and from 2018 to 2020, he served as minority leader. Hinch opposed

paid family leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity le ...

legislation in 2019. He supported

school choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools. The most common in the United States, by both the number of programs and by the number of participating students are scho ...

legislation that would give parents $3,000 for either private school tuition or homeschooling. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Hinch supported Republican representatives who refused to wear face coverings on the House floor, referring to this faction as the "patriot section" and "freedom group." On November 20, 2020, Republican House members gathered at

McIntyre Ski Area McIntyre Ski Area is a city-owned ski area adjacent to Derryfield Park in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. It opened in 1971 with two chairlifts and a rope tow, and was operated by the city until 2009, when they leased the area and manag ...

, where they nominated Hinch to become the next House speaker. (In the 2020 election, Hinch won election to a seventh two-year term, and Republicans regained control of the state legislature, taking majorities in both chambers from the Democrats.) The indoor meeting was followed by an outbreak of

among Republican lawmakers. Several of them tested positive for the

COVID-19 virus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a p ...

after the conference and before the opening session of New Hampshire's legislature. The outbreak caused a controversy, as Democratic state lawmakers said that they were not informed of the outbreak, while Republicans were informed. Hinch publicly downplayed the outbreak, saying that only a "small number" were infected. On December 2, 2020, Hinch was formally elected and sworn in as speaker at an outside gathering on the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

campus.

Death

Hinch died from

at his home on December 9, 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Hampshire The COVID-19 pandemic in New Hampshire is part of an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The first confirmed case was reported on March 2, 2020. A state of emergency was declared March 13, ...

. He was 71. It was unclear how Hinch acquired the virus, but Republican state Representative William M. Marsh blamed the death of his colleague on "

peer pressure Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, and behavior. A g ...

" from a group of Republican legislators in New Hampshire who refused to follow public health guidelines to prevent the virus's spread, such as

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...

and wearing face coverings. Hinch was succeeded as speaker by his deputy,

Sherman Packard Sherman Adams Packard (born February 25, 1949) is an American politician in the state of New Hampshire. He is the speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, sitting as a Republican from the Rockingham 5 district, having been first elec ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinch, Dick 1949 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American politicians Businesspeople from New Hampshire Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New Hampshire Military personnel from Massachusetts Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives People from Marblehead, Massachusetts People from Merrimack, New Hampshire Salem State University alumni Speakers of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Marblehead High School alumni