Meet Jeff Hill, candidate for Tower City Council

Jeff Hill, candidate for Tower City council, is holding his grandfather’s hat. Jeff is standing on the porch of his new home in Tower, 611 North Third Street. Jeff’s Godparents, Joe “Krexer” and Margaret Erchul, lived in this house for many years and its recent purchase by Jeff  reminds him of lots of fond memories from his youth. Every Christmas, Jeff recalls, he and his family would visit with the Erchuls.

OCTOBER 11, 2016 — Anyone would be hard pressed to come up with a name more synonymous with Tower over that of Jeff Hill.

Jeff, age 62, is a candidate for the Tower City Council on the ballot along with two other candidates vying for one of two open seats. The city election will be held, along with the state and national general election, on Tuesday November 8.

Born in the Soudan Hospital to the late Stanley “Bunker” Hill (Tower’s postmaster for years), and Mary Ann (Chiabotti) Hill, Jeff was raised on the Main Street. He is a Tower High School graduate and was confirmed at St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Tower. Jeff holds an Associate’s Degree from Vermilion Community College in Ely. Jeff currently resides in a home he is purchasing on North Third Street, Tower.

The pages of Tower history are filled with the accomplishments of the Hill family and Jeff is no exception. For years he was a member of the Main Street business community owning and operating a real estate agency and serving the community’s communication needs selling pagers and cell phones. In fact, over the years, Jeff established a couple of real estate agencies in Tower and developed a loyal following and dedicated customer base and is known by those customers for his fair and honest dealings.

Jeff’s father, Stanley, and grandfather, William Hill, were also members of the Tower business community. Stanley Hill owned and operated a shoe repair business before becoming Tower’s postmaster. Readers of a certain age might well remember the shoe repair business and that Stanley’s business motto was: “Let Stan Save your Sole!” Stanley’s father, Jeff’s grandfather, William, was a veterinarian and blacksmith in Tower.

Grandpa William Hill also enjoyed a life in Tower politics, having served as Tower’s mayor during the early years of the Twentieth century. William was known as the “Cow Mayor” because the previous administration made the unpopular move to ban cows from being kept in Tower. Families who kept milk cows, as livestock necessary to supplement their larders with milk, butter, cream and the main ingredient needed to make cheese, became his ardent supporters electing him to his mayor seat.

“My Grandfather, my Father and I have had a business on the Main Street for over 100 years. My business background is in real estate, property development, and communications. I have lived in Tower all my life except for a brief period when I took my business on the road to explore ideas in business incubation,” Jeff proudly states.

Jeff is a retired Tower firefighter. He briefly served as fire chief, and served a lengthy term as assistant chief. He retired from the department serving as the department’s safety and training director. Jeff, along with his colleagues and fellow officers were instrumental in establishing the model for the fire department and ambulance service we know today. He was instrumental in obtaining over a million dollars in funding for the fire department through grants, charitable gambling, and subsidies from outside governmental funding sources. He also served as an Emergency Medical Technician on the Tower Ambulance Service.

In addition, Jeff has served Tower as its Civil Defense Director and on the Planning Commission. Jeff chaired the planning commission for years and the commission wrote the city’s current zoning ordinance while under his direction.

When asked why he is now throwing his hat into the world of Tower politics, Hill responded, “I want to serve the people of Tower. We are at a crossroads, experiencing a time of change in our community just like all communities. I look forward to helping the city take inventory, confirm where we now are and what direction we need to go so we can experience a prosperous future.” While Jeff would certainly appreciate your vote, he simply states, “be sure to vote. It’s important, the citizens, people who live in Tower, need to help determine the direction we go from here.” He pledges, if elected, that he will keep open communications with all of Tower’s citizens.

NOTE: this is the first of our interviews with candidates for Tower’s City Council. In the coming weeks we also hope to interview candidate Brooke Jankowski and candidate Kevin Fitton.