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

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, as well as a former Massachusetts

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

. He currently lives in

Sturbridge, Massachusetts Sturbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to Old Sturbridge Village living museum, living history museum and other sites of historical interest such as Tantiusques. The popu ...

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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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, i ...

. In 1996, Hillman was named superintendent of the State Police by Governor

William Weld William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

. 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

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 Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...

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 Kerry Murphy Healey (born April 30, 1960) is a former American politician who served as the 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 under Governor Mitt Romney. She is currently the inaugural president of the Milken Institute ...

, chose Hillman as her running mate for the 2006 election. The pair lost to

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

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 C ...

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