Chris Collins (county executive)
| Chris Collins | |
|---|---|
| County Executive for Erie County, NY | |
| In office 2008–2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Joel Giambra |
| Succeeded by | Mark Poloncarz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 20, 1950 Schenectady, New York |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Sue Collins |
| Children | Carly Collins Coleman (1976) Caitlin Christine Collins (1991) Cameron Christopher Collins (1993) |
| Residence | Clarence, New York |
| Alma mater | North Carolina State University 1972 - BSME University of Alabama at Birmingham 1975 - MBA |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | http://www.CollinsForOurFuture.com |
Christopher C. Collins is a former County Executive of Erie County, New York. The county seat is Buffalo, New York. He is a resident of Clarence, New York. Born in Schenectady, New York, in 1950, Collins moved around the country with his family as his father was transferred several times by General Electric. Collins graduated from Hendersonville High School (Hendersonville, North Carolina), in 1968. He received a BSME from North Carolina State University in 1972 and an MBA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 1975.
Collins was elected County Executive over his Democratic opponent James P. Keane (Deputy County Executive of the Dennis Gorski administration) on November 6, 2007, winning the election in a landslide 64% - 34%. Collins ran as a businessman, rather than a Republican in this race, running with the ideas of smaller county government, fewer taxes, and Six Sigma. His campaign slogan was "Elect a Chief Executive, not a Chief Politician."
Collins spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention on September 3, 2008. He was the only County Executive in the USA given the opportunity to speak at the convention.
Prior to running for Erie County Executive Collins spent 35 years in the business world. As an entrepreneur he was the founder, President & CEO of Nuttall Gear Corporation located in Niagara Falls, New York. Nuttall Gear was a 1983 leveraged buyout of the Westinghouse Electric Gear Division located in Buffalo, New York. Collins sold Nuttall in 1997 to a large industrial conglomerate. Collins ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1998 against 24 year incumbent Congressman John J. LaFalce in the 29th Congressional District of New York. After losing the 1998 election, and prior to running for Erie County Executive in 2007, Collins stepped up his entrepreneurial career purchasing or investing in over 20 bankrupt and financially troubled companies. These companies were combined into several platform companies - Bloch Industries LLC, ZeptoMetrix Corporation, Volland Electric Equipment Corporation, Easom Automation Systems, Inc., Audubon Machinery Corporation, Niagara Ceramics Corporation, Buckler Biodefense Corporation, and Innate ImmunoTherapeutics, Ltd.
On November 8, 2011, Collins conceded to his opponent, Mark Poloncarz in the race for Erie County Executive. [1]. With 140,000 more Democrats than Republicans, Collins won 39/44 cities, towns, and villages in Erie County but lost the City of Buffalo 81-19 which ultimately trumped the rest of the County in favor of his opponent, who won by 12,000 votes.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joel Giambra |
Erie County, New York County Executive 2008 – 2011 |
Succeeded by Mark Poloncarz |
 |
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