November 16, 2007
Hillman alive again as U.S. marshal nominee
By DAN RING,
dring@repub.com
Reed V. Hillman of Sturbridge is back in the hunt to be the U.S. marshal in
Massachusetts.
President George W. Bush on Thursday night again nominated Hillman to be marshal
for four years.
In August, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington rejected Bush's
nomination of Hillman. The president first nominated Hillman on June 28 and now
has now resubmitted Hillman to the committee.
U.S. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, both Democrats, have opposed
Hillman's nomination, calling it a political appointment. Hillman was the
Republican nominee for lieutenant governor last year.
Hillman is a former commander of the Massachusetts State Police and a former
state legislator from Sturbridge.
By Shaun Sutner TELEGRAM &
GAZETTE STAFF
ssutner@telegram.com
Reed V. Hillman’s nomination for U.S. marshal for Massachusetts appears to be in more serious trouble than originally thought after the Sturbridge Republican was the only appointee rejected by the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Since June 28, when President Bush nominated the former state police colonel, state representative and lieutenant governor candidate, the appointment has been jeopardized because of vocal opposition from the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry.
But on Aug. 3, when the Senate
went on recess, the committee — whose chairman is Sen. Patrick J. Leahy,
D-Vermont — sent Mr. Hillman’s appointment back to the president, rendering the
appointment dead unless Mr. Bush re-nominates Mr. Hillman next month.
Dozens of other judicial branch appointments were “held over” during the recess,
meaning they are still pending.
The president can also take the highly unusual step of handing Mr. Hillman a “recess appointment,” which does not need Senate approval. Such appointments are usually reserved for higher-level positions such as judgeships or ambassadorships to major countries.
The return of Mr. Hillman’s nomination means there is no one currently proposed for the marshal’s job, said Erica Chabot, a spokeswoman for Mr. Leahy.
“Technically, this nomination is over,” Ms. Chabot said. “It is no longer pending before the committee. We sent it back to the president. It’s up to him now.”
A White House spokesman declined to comment on the nomination.
Mr. Hillman has also consistently refused to speak publicly about the appointment, citing the administration’s desire to let the nomination process take its course.
Backers of Mr. Hillman, however, are hoping that the president will again put forth his name when the Senate reconvenes, or even slip through a recess appointment.
While Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Kerry say the marshal’s job should be removed from patronage and subjected to a qualifications-based hiring process, Mr. Hillman’s supporters, who include many Bay State Democrats, have argued that Mr. Hillman, who is also a lawyer, is as qualified as anyone could be.
State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, a friend and former colleague, called the judiciary committee move “unfortunate. It’s too bad,” he said. “Reed Hillman is qualified.”
“I’d love to see the president re-nominate him, and, barring that, and although it’s extremely rare, give consideration to a recess appointment,” said Massachusetts House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. of North Reading.
Mr. Kennedy’s opposition “is completely political,” Mr. Jones alleged.
Last week, Mr. Jones sent to the judiciary committee a letter of support for Mr. Hillman signed by 41 Democratic legislators and all 24 Republicans in the Statehouse. The letter has had no practical effect because both Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Kerry failed to return the “blue slip” indicating the home state senators’ support for a presidential nominee.
Even so, both senators see little abnormal in the appointment being returned and expect the president to put Mr. Hillman’s name in play again in September.
“We can do better when it comes to picking a federal marshal for Massachusetts,” Brigid O’Rourke, a spokeswoman for Mr. Kerry, said.
July 27, 2007
Hillman picks up support for U.S. marshal job
By DAN RING,
the Republican, dring@repub.com
BOSTON - Republican Reed V. Hillman gained more support today in his bid to
become U.S. marshal in Massachusetts, but one of the state's Democratic U.S.
senators insisted Hillman is not qualified.
Eighty members of the state Legislature, including 56 Democrats and the No. 2
leader in the House of Representatives, signed a letter in support of Hillman, a
former state legislator from Sturbridge and the Republican nominee for
lieutenant governor last year. The two-page letter was mailed today to leaders
of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to hold a hearing on
the nomination.
Fifteen additional Democratic legislators, including House Majority Leader John
H. Rogers, D-Norwood, signed the letter since it was made public on Wednesday by
lead organizer House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr., R-North Reading.
President Bush nominated Hillman to the four-year position on June 28.
In a statement, Brigid O'Rourke, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry,
D-Mass., said Kerry joins U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., in opposing
Hillman's nomination. She said Hillman lacks the credentials necessary for the
post.
"Hillman has no
experience working with the federal courts and has no background protecting
witnesses, other court personnel or jurors," she said. "In a U.S. marshal's
system in need of more career, qualified professionals and fewer political
appointees, this nomination is in keeping with the old political patronage ways
of doing things. This nomination is a matter of our safety and legitimacy of our
legal system, and that is why Senator Kerry will insist on a more qualified
person for the post."
O'Rourke said Hillman doesn't meet a federal requirement that a marshal possess
a "minimum of four years of command-level" law enforcement management duties.
Hillman was the top commander of the Massachusetts State Police from 1996 to
1999, overseeing 2,400 troopers and a budget of about $250 million.
He also had two years as a troop commander during his 25-year career in the
state police.
While in the state police, Hillman, 58, also had experience protecting witnesses
and judges and providing security at 120 state courthouses, said John DiFava,
top commander of the state police from 1999-2002 and now director of security at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
DiFava said Kerry and Kennedy haven't done their homework and he is disappointed
in them.
"If Reed Hillman is not qualified, nobody is," DiFava said. "If they can't
appoint Reed Hillman, they'd better take a second look at every other U.S.
marshal in the country. I don't think you can top Reed Hillman's
qualifications."
Hillman's supporters also pointed out that John F. Bardelli, former commanding
officer of the Connecticut State Police, is now U.S. marshal for Connecticut.
Also, John R. Edwards, the U.S. marshal in Vermont, is a retired detective
lieutenant with the Vermont State Police.
Hillman declined to comment.
Top Democrats from around the state signed the letter that was sent to U.S. Sen.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Sen.
Arlen Specter, R-Pa., ranking Republican on the panel.
The letter was also faxed to Kerry and Kennedy.
State Rep. Benjamin Swan, D-Springfield, who didn't sign the letter, said today
he has philosophical differences with Hillman.
"I'm inclined to listen to my senators," Swan said. "I don't argue .¤.¤. with
Kerry and Kennedy on this call. They are going to make the call anyway."
State Rep. Sean F. Curran, D-Springfield, who signed the letter, said he
supported Hillman because Hillman is a retired lawyer, a former longtime member
of the state police and former member of the state House of Representatives from
1999 to 2004. Curran said it's also important that Hillman is from Western
Massachusetts.
"It all adds up," Curran said. "He is a great candidate for U.S. marshal."
June 30, 2007
Hillman nominated for U.S. marshal Bush taps former head of state police
STURBRIDGE—
President Bush has nominated Sturbridge resident Reed V. Hillman, a former head
of the state police, to be the next U.S. marshal for the district of
Massachusetts.
A lawyer, Mr. Hillman, 58, served 5-1/2 years as a state representative. Last
year, he was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. “We think he is
well-qualified for this position and urge the Senate to confirm him,” White
House spokesman Trey Bohn said in a telephone interview yesterday.
The appointment would be for four years, according to Mr. Bohn, who did not have
information about how much the marshal’s job pays.
“Mr. Hillman has an extensive background in law enforcement, including a 25-year
career with the Massachusetts State Police. He has the full faith and support of
the president,” the spokesman said.
Mr. Hillman had agreed to an interview at 5 p.m. yesterday, a family spokesman
said, but he received a call from the Bush administration in the afternoon
advising him not to talk with the press because his nomination would be coming
before the Senate.
A call placed to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., yesterday, seeking information
on when the Senate Judiciary Committee would consider Mr. Hillman’s nomination,
was not immediately returned. Mr. Leahy is the committee chairman.
Mitt Romney, former governor and current candidate for the Republican nomination
for president, asked the White House in 2005 to consider Mr. Hillman along with
four others for the marshal’s job.
A primary function of the U.S. Marshal Service is protecting evidence, court
personnel and jurors, and transporting prisoners. If confirmed, Mr. Hillman
would oversee the three federal courthouses in Massachusetts.
The state’s two U.S. senators, Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, both
Democrats, said they would oppose Mr. Hillman’s nomination, according to a
report published yesterday in The Boston Globe.
Mr. Kennedy said citizens have a right to expect “that political considerations
are not unduly affecting law enforcement administration,” and that Mr. Bush’s
selection of Mr. Hillman “does not meet that criteria.”
Paxton Town Administrator Charles T. Blanchard, a Republican and a former
Sturbridge selectman, questioned the senators’ judgment on the matter.
Mr. Hillman “is extremely intelligent, honest, hard-working and fully committed
to anything he undertakes,” Mr. Blanchard said yesterday. “I can’t imagine a
more qualified person. Based on their reaction to Reed’s (nomination), Senators
Kennedy and Kerry must have him confused with someone else.”
After receiving a law degree from Suffolk University, Mr. Hillman, joined the
state police as a trooper in 1974. He rose through the ranks, serving as
corporal, sergeant, staff sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. William F. Weld,
then governor, tapped Mr. Hillman to lead the 2,600-person state police
organization, naming him colonel in 1996.
Mr. Hillman, a former resident of Newton, hung up his badge in 1999. He won a
special election that year for state representative serving the 1st Hampden
District until 2005. He chose not to seek re-election, stating at the time he
wanted to replace George Luciano, who had retired as regional director of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but the job went to someone
else.
Last year, former Lt. Gov. Kerry Murphy Healey, who was running for governor,
chose Mr. Hillman as her running mate, but the tandem lost the November
election, ending 16 consecutive years of Republican control of the governor’s
office.