Reed V. Hillman (born November 30, 1948, in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

) is an American law enforcement officer and politician who was the Republican nominee for

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...

for the 2006 gubernatorial election in

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, as well as a former Massachusetts State Representative. He currently lives in Sturbridge, Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

Pre-politics

Hillman was born and raised in Newton, graduating from

Newton North High School Newton North High School, formerly Newton High School, is the larger and longer-established of two public high schools in Newton, Massachusetts, the other being Newton South High School. It is located in the village of Newtonville. The school f ...

in 1966. Hillman's father was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran and his mother stayed at home to take care of her four children, of which Reed was the oldest. Hillman graduated from Suffolk Law School in 1974 and continued to pass the bar exam. The same year Hillman would begin his 25-year career with the

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state. As of 10/4/2022, it ...

. In 1996, Hillman was named superintendent of the State Police by Governor William Weld. Hillman became responsible for more than 2,600 law enforcement personnel and an annual budget of over $200 million. Among Hillman's accomplishments as superintendent were the creation of the state police affirmative action program and the construction of new statewide crime labs. Though his service as superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police generally received praise, it also received some criticism from feminists. This criticism stems from a policy of placing pregnant female troopers on restricted duty.

Political career

In 1999, Hillman retired from the State Police and decided to run for State Representative in a special election. Hillman was successful and became vocal in the Massachusetts State Legislature. His most passionate issues were those of public safety, including his support for the

Amber Alert An Amber Alert (alternatively styled AMBER alert) or a child abduction emergency alert ( SAME code: CAE) is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. The system originated in ...

, expanding the State Police DNA database, and tougher drunk driving legislation. In the state legislature, Hillman represented the First Hampden District, consisting of the towns of Brimfield, Holland, Palmer and Wales, all in Hampden County; precincts B and C in the town of Ware, in Hampshire County; and the towns of Sturbridge and Warren, both in Worcester County. He declined to seek re-election to the seat in 2004, and was succeeded by Palmer Board of Selectmen Chairman Todd M. Smola, a fellow Republican and Hillman's former aide. In 2005, Hillman was suggested by Governor Mitt Romney to be considered for the position of

U.S. Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

for Massachusetts. The following year the lieutenant governor, and Republican nominee for governor, Kerry Healey, chose Hillman as her running mate for the 2006 election. The pair lost to Deval Patrick and

Tim Murray Timothy Patrick Murray (born June 7, 1968) is an American lawyer and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 71st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2013, when he resigned to become the head of the Worcester Chamber of Co ...

in the general election in November by a wide margin. Hillman now teaches at Mount Wachusett Community College, in Gardner MA, teaching criminal justice courses.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillman, Reed V. 1948 births Living people Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Babson College alumni Suffolk University Law School alumni People from Framingham, Massachusetts Politicians from Waltham, Massachusetts People from Sturbridge, Massachusetts Newton North High School alumni