- Chris Collins (county executive)
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Chris Collins County Executive for Erie County, NY Incumbent Assumed office
2008Preceded by Joel Giambra Personal details Born May 20, 1950
Schenectady, New YorkPolitical 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 - MBAOccupation Politician Website http://www.CollinsForOurFuture.com Christopher C. Collins is the County Executive in 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, Starboard Sun Corporation, Buckler Biodefense Corporation, and Innate Therapeutics, Ltd.
On November 8, 2011, Collins conceded to his opponent, Mark Poloncarz in the race for Erie County Executive. [1]
Political offices Preceded by
Joel GiambraErie County, New York County Executive
2008 – 2011Succeeded by
Mark PoloncarzCategories:- 1950 births
- Living people
- North Carolina State University alumni
- University of Alabama at Birmingham alumni
- Erie County Executives
- New York Republicans
- Businesspeople from New York
- New York politician stubs
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