B. T. Collins

B. T. Collins
Member of the California State Assembly from the 5th district
In office September 18, 1991 – March 19, 1993
Preceded by	Tim Leslie
Succeeded by	Barbara Alby
Personal details
Born	(1940-10-17)October 17, 1940 Mt. Vernon, New York, U.S.
Died	March 19, 1993(1993-03-19) (aged 52) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Santa Clara University
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Vietnam

Brien Thomas "B. T." Collins (October 17, 1940 – March 19, 1993) was an American politician from California and a member of the Republican party.

Early years

Born in New York City, 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.

Executive branch

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

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 until Brown left office in 1983.

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. 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.

Death

Collins died of a sudden heart attack March 19, 1993 in Sacramento while serving his second term in the State Assembly. Alby won the special election to replace him.

Several sites in Sacramento have been named in his honor, including the BT Collins Juvenile Justice Center in Sacramento. 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.

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; it features a plaque over the urinal with a quote from Collins: "If it ain't in Gilbert's, it ain't the Law."

Electoral history

Member, California State Assembly: 1991-1993

Year	Office		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1991	California State Assembly District 5 (Special Election)		none				B.T. Collins 50.2% Barbara Alby 49.8%	19,785	62.1%		David McCann	12,091	37.9%
1992	California State Assembly District 5		Joan Barry 65% Jack Robbins 35%	65,787	41.2%		B.T. Collins 52% Barbara Alby 48%	93,833	58.8%

Further reading

• Collins Baker, Maureen (2008). Outrageous Hero: the B.T. Collins Story. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Bryce Hill Pub. ISBN 978-0-9798697-4-7. OCLC 228021214. Retrieved 2010-04-26.

External links

• B.T. Collins candidate information at JoinCalifornia.com
• B.T. Collins Scholarship official site
• B.T. Collins "Captain Hook" Scholarship at Santa Clara University School of Law
• "Brien Thomas Collins". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
• B.T. Collins remembered on 25th Anniversary of his passing at KFBK (AM)