Chris Collins (Erie County)

Infobox Politician
name = Chris Collins
birth_date = May 20, 1950
birth_place = Schenectady, New York
spouse = Mary Sue Collins
children = Carly Collins Coleman (1976) Caitlin Christine Collins (1991) Cameron Christopher Collins (1993)
parents = Gerald Edward Collins Constance Messier Collins
alma_mater = North Carolina State University 1972 - BSME University of Alabama at Birmingham 1975 - MBA
residence = Clarence, New York
office = County Executive for Erie County, NY
term_start = 2008
term_end
predecessor = Joel Giambra
successor = Incumbent
party = Republican
religion
occupation = Businessman and 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. Collins had a relatively short honeymoon period as County Executive and has had numerous battles with the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority [ECFSA] . Collins has also lost three key department heads in less than ten months: Deputy County Executive Mark Davis, Budget Director Beth Kornbrekke, and Chief Information Officer Navpreet Jatana, all resigned. Collins has also crossed swords with the County Legislature over his appointment of County Attorney Cheryl A. Green. Collins demanded a higher salary for Green despite her lack of governmental experience. 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."

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, NY. 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 Virionyx, Ltd. Collins is scheduled to speak at the 2008 Republican National Convention on September 3, 2008, although his appearance may be in jeopardy due to the convention postponing several speakers on its first day because of Hurricane Gustav.