Howard Mills

Howard Mills was a Republican New York assemblyman from Middletown who ran against Senator Charles Schumer of New York in the 2004 U.S. Senate election but lost in a landslide.

Related Topics:
Republican - New York - Middletown - Charles Schumer - 2004 U.S. Senate election

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Mills served as a councilman and later supervisor in Walkill, New York, before being elected to the State Assembly in 1998. As supervisor, Mills noted he worked to keep the town's finances managed properly.

Related Topics:
Walkill, New York - 1998

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However, he was not immune to questions about his role in managing the town's police department, which has seen repeated scandals since its inception in the early 1980s. At one point, when the position of chief was vacant, Mills chose to hire one of the sergeants he knew well to take over. The sergeant, however, had not even taken the civil service exam for higher positions, and Mills chose to bypass several other candidates who had passed it. The new police chief lasted a couple of years before he embarrassed the town with some sexist remarks in the department's newsletter.

Related Topics:
Police - 1980s - Sergeant - Civil service - Newsletter

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Residents also complained that the town board's policy, under Mills, of requiring all who commented at public meetings to sign in with their name and address was designed to intimidate critics.

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During his time as an assemblyman he served as deputy minority leader and as chairman of the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee.

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In 2004 he dropped a bid for a fourth Assembly term in order to run against Schumer for the Senate. He took up the Senate race after the Republican Party had difficulty recruiting a candidate against the popular Schumer. Mills struggled to raise money or be known during his campaign and he lost in the largest landslide of any statewide race in New York history. Mills conceded the race minutes after polls close and before any votes were counted. He won only one county, the least populated and most Republican one in the state, Hamilton County in the Adirondacks.

Related Topics:
2004 - Hamilton County

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In 2005 Mills was appointed by Gov. George Pataki as the New York State Superintendant of Insurance, making him the state's top regulator of that industry. In August 2005 it was reported that he is considering a future bid for political office.

Related Topics:
2005 - George Pataki

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