Collins was adept at many jobs

By Scott Benjamin

Brookfield -- Fran Collins said that, “In politics it is difficult to get back to a job that you once had.”

Collins served as a state representative from 1967 to 1975 from the 107th District, as Minority Leader from 1971 to 1973 and as Speaker from 1973 to 1975.

After Gov. Tom Meskill of New Britain announced in early 1974 that he would not seek a second term, Collins was one of three candidates that sought the Republican nomination.

When Collins – who grew up in Danbury and lived most of his life in Brookfield – formally launched his candidacy at the Hartford Hilton, one of the supporters waving a lawn sign was M. Jodi Rell, who 30 years later would become governor at a ceremony in front of the State Capitol, with Collins serving as the master of ceremonies.

Collins, who died recently at age 92, lost to U.S. Rep. Bob Steele (R-2) at the 1974 nominating convention. He said Steele asked him to become Republican state party chairman, but Collins declined, recommending that Steele choose someone who he was closer to.

Collins told his law partners that when he made his bid for governor, if he lost, he was going to return to the office full-time after having devoted many hours over the recent years to his legislative leadership positions.

From there, he didn’t try to get back to the jobs he once had. However, he had a large impact on how governments function.

At one juncture du ring the 1990s he simultaneously was the land-use attorney in Ridgefield, New Milford and Brookfield. He and associate Tom Beecher were the co-town counsels in Brookfield from 2003 to early 2010, with Collins also handling the land-use applications.

Someone once noted that Collins was representing Stew Leonard’s in Danbury on a land-use application, and said, “I imagine he would be excellent at representing them since as a municipal land-use attorney he has had so many things thrown at him.”

Former Brookfield Zoning Commission Chairman Bill Schappert once said, “When you have a case in court, he keeps you from doing dumb things.”

Even before his stint as Speaker, he was the regular moderator at the Brookfield town meetings, a position that he continued in for decades.

Collins chaired the Government Committee at the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce and moderated debates among federal, state and municipal candidates.

During Collins tenure in government, he initiated the Brookfield Memorial Day Parade, secured funding for the land for the Brookfield Library on Whisconier Road, which opened in 1975, and the property for the West Side campus at Western Connecticut State University, which went into operation in 1982.

J. Brian Gaffney, a former state representative from New Britain who also served as Republican state Party Chairman, said that as Speaker, Collins had one of the best records in managing the state House of Representatives.

When he was being interviewed in 2006 with Beecher at their law office in Danbury on the topic of how being the town counsel can be a time-consuming job, the interviewer remarked, “It is not as though you gentlemen are spending hours on the phone each day trying to generate contributions for Jodi’s campaign” as Rell sought a full term as governor.

After laughing, Collins commented that he had heard on the radio that morning that poll showed Rell with an unprecedented 83 percent approval rating.

Collins had been her mentor.

In 1970, Rell was expecting the birth of her daughter and wasn’t driving much. She got a phone call from Brookfield Republican leader Yolanda Hague to attend a tea that was being sponsored by the Brookfield Republican Women’s Club. Hague offered to drive Rell to the tea, and the future governor reluctantly agreed to attend.

She said years later that after departing the tea she didn’t expect to become active with the Brookfield Republican Women’s Club.

However, at the tea she asked Collins, a featured speaker at the event, a question that he couldn’t answer.

The next day Collins called her at home to provide the information, and Rell decided to become a member of the club, would later serve as its president and eventually became the second female governor in Connecticut history.