B. T. Collins

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Brien Thomas "B. T." Collins (October 17, 1940 – March 19, 1993)[1] was an American politician from California and a member of the Republican party.

Early years

Born in New York City,[1] Collins served as a Green Beret Captain during the Vietnam War and lost his right arm and right leg to a grenade attack in 1967. Upon returning to the United States, Collins enrolled at Santa Clara University, earning a B.A. in 1970 and a J.D. in 1973.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Executive branch

In 1979, Collins was appointed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown as Director of the California Conservation Corps.[2] During his California Conservation Corps service, Collins gained notoriety for drinking a beaker of malathion to demonstrate his belief that it was safe.[3]

Although a Democrat, Brown nevertheless appointed the conservative Republican Collins to replace Gray Davis as his chief of staff, a position Collins held from 1981[4] until Brown left office in 1983.[5]

Collins served as chief deputy to Republican California State Treasurer Tom Hayes from 1989 until 1991, when Hayes left office and Republican Governor Pete Wilson appointed Collins as director of the California Youth Authority.

State Assembly

After Sacramento-area Republican Tim Leslie won a 1991 special election to the California State Senate to replace John Doolittle, who had been elected to Congress, Wilson encouraged Collins to run for Leslie's vacant seat in the State Assembly.[5] Collins won a special election that September for the Sacramento-area 5th District against fellow Republican Barbara Alby, and narrowly beat her again in the 1992 GOP primary.[6]

Death

Collins died of a sudden heart attack March 19, 1993 in Sacramento[1] while serving his second term in the State Assembly. Alby won the special election to replace him.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Several sites in Sacramento have been named in his honor, including the BT Collins Juvenile Justice Center in Sacramento.[7] When the Sacramento Army Depot was redesignated as an Army Reserve Center in the mid-1990s, it was renamed the B.T. Collins Army Reserve Center.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

There is also a park in the City of Folsom named the B.T. Collins City Park located at 828 Willow Creek Drive, Folsom, California. The men's restroom in the Santa Clara University School of Law library was named the "B.T. Collins Memorial Latrine" in his honor;[8] it features a plaque over the urinal with a quote from Collins: "If it ain't in Gilbert's, it ain't the Law."[9]

Electoral history

Member, California State Assembly: 1991-1993
Year Office Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
1991 California State Assembly
District 5 (Special Election)
style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |none style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" | style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |B.T. Collins 50.2%
Barbara Alby 49.8%
style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |19,785 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |62.1% style="background:Template:Party color" |David McCann style="background:Template:Party color" align="right" |12,091 style="background:Template:Party color" |37.9%
1992 California State Assembly
District 5
style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Joan Barry 65%
Jack Robbins 35%
style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |65,787 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |41.2% style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |B.T. Collins 52%
Barbara Alby 48%
style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" align="right" |93,833 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |58.8%

References

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Further reading

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External links

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Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/checkTemplate:Succession box/check California State Assembly, 5th District
September 18, 1991–March 19, 1993 Template:S-ttl/check
Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

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