Banker French Hill To Run For Congress

Delta Trust and Bank CEO French Hill says he will run for the Republican nomination for Arkansas’ Second Congressional District.

Current Cong. Tim Griffin (R) is not seeking a third term. Democrat Pat Hays, former North Little Rock mayor, has already announced for the seat and Rep. Ann Clemmer (R-Bryant) is expected to enter the GOP primary on Wednesday.

Hill, 56, filed his paperwork to establish a committee with the Federal Election Commission today, according to a campaign announcement.  He had previously announced that he would seek a Little Rock House seat in the Arkansas legislature, prior to Griffin’s retirement announcement.

“I’m running for Congress because we need more business leaders in Congress – not more career politicians. I grew up in the Second District and live and work here today,” said Hill. “Everyday at my business my priorities are helping Arkansas’s entrepreneurs start and grow their own businesses and encouraging families to save and invest. I know first hand the challenges businesses and families in Arkansas face, and in Congress, I will fight every day for policies that spur economic growth and job creation. I will demand greater accountability at every level of the federal government and do away with job-killing policies like ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank. Representing the Second District in Congress would be an honor, and I look forward to working hard to earn the trust and support of Arkansans in the months ahead.”

Hill is a former George H.W. Bush administration official having served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

He has served as CEO of Delta Trust and Bank since its formation in 1999. Previously, he worked at First Commercial Corp., a large financial institution that eventually sold to Regions Corp.

Hill is a trustee on the George W. Donaghey Foundation, a board member of Arkansas Children’s Hospital, past chairman of the UALR College of Business Advisory Board, a board member of the Quapaw Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and past president of The Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Fifty for the Future. He is serving as the 2013 chairman of the board of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

He and his wife, Martha, have two children, Liza and Payne, and they attend the Cathedral of St. Andrew Catholic Church. Hill is a 1975 graduate of Little Rock Catholic High School and a 1979 magna cum laude graduate in economics from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.