Owen Hill
| Owen Hill | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Colorado Senate from the 10th district | |
|
Assumed office January 15, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Cadman |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater |
United States Air Force Academy Pardee RAND Graduate School |
Owen Hill is a state legislator for the U.S. State of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Republican in 2012, Hill represents Senate District 10, which encompasses Eastern Colorado Springs.[1]
Biography and early career
Owen and his wife Emily are the parents of four children. Owen and his family live in Colorado Springs.
In 2010, Owen ran against the incumbent Senate Majority Leader, Democrat John Morse. He lost by 340 votes. As a first time candidate, he earned the second highest vote count in the district for all Republicans on the ballot. In June 2012, he won his primary election for State Senate District 10 by a substantial margin. Hill faced Brandon Hughes in the general election, and won the election with 73.5% of the vote.
After studying Economics at the Air Force Academy, Owen had the opportunity to complete his Ph.D. in Policy Analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School in association with the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California. Following his military service, Owen worked in international finance operations, serving as a Chief Financial Officer for a non-profit organization, and running his own financial consulting company. He managed the budget for Compassion International, a children’s non-profit.
Legislative career
2012 election
In 2012, Hill ran for the open Senate seat in Senate District 10 to replace Senator Bill Cadman after redistricting. He faced opponent Brandon Hughes of the Libertarian Party and Christopher Mull of the American Constitution Party, and defeated them with a 73.7% of the vote.[2]
2013 legislative session
Hill was appointed to serve on the Senate Education Committee, Finance Committee, and the Legislative Audit Committee.
During the 2013 Colorado Legislative session, Senator Hill promoted an amendment that would have exempted faith-based organizations from providing benefits to individuals in civil unions, if doing so would violate their freedom of conscience.
2014 U.S. Senate Challenge
Hill ran for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Democrat Mark Udall, Colorado's senior senator and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. On his campaign committee page, Hill asserts that "America needs a vibrant, growing economy, and Mark Udall has no idea how to achieve this." Hill opposes the Affordable Care Act, saying that "the right way to lower healthcare costs is to find cures for Alzheimer's, cancer, and diabetes."[3]
In a November campaign speech before Denver county Republicans, Owen related a story from a trip to Kenya where when one youth told him he wanted to be President of the United States, "I held back my snarky comment that said ‘Well, you know what, we already have someone from Kenya as President of the United States.’” Hill declined to apologize after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called the remark "...hateful and false birther rhetoric [used when candidates] think no one is watching." Hill responded "The fact that my obvious joke is being highlighted today just shows how worried Mark Udall and the Democrats actually are of my campaign for the U.S. Senate here in Colorado." [4]
Hill withdrew from the U.S. Senate race on March 17, 2014, citing Rep. Cory Gardner's entry as the reason.[5]
References
- ↑ "State Senate District 4". COMaps. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- ↑ "2012 Election Results DP". Election Results. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
- ↑ Owen Hill for United States Senate. Retrieved November 9, 2013
- ↑ Colorado GOP senate candidate Owen Hill not apologizing for ‘birther’ comments, KDVR Fox31 Denver, November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013
- ↑ "Gardner gets clear primary path in Colorado". 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.