Charlie Collins (born November 30, 1962) is a businessman and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician in Arkansas. Collins served four terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 84, which encompasses part of Washington County near Fayetteville. In 2014, Collins briefly sought the Republican nomination for

Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas The lieutenant governor of Arkansas presides over the Arkansas Senate with a tie-breaking vote, serves as acting governor of Arkansas when the governor is out of state and assumes the governorship in cases of impeachment, removal from office, deat ...

. Following reelection in 2016, Collins sponsored legislation to allow anyone over age 21 to carry guns on college campuses and other public places. Controversial among the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

community within District 84, Collins lost his reelection bid in 2018.

Biography

Early life

He graduated from Franklin High School in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

, Michigan. He graduated in 1985 from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in Annapolis, Maryland. He received a master's degree in 1986 in quantitative economics from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

in Washington, D.C.Crown Partners Executive Search, LLC
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Career

He started his career at

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

in 1990 as a brand manager in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio. He came to Arkansas in 1996. He later worked for Eastman Kodak as vice president of sales, as team leader at

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and

Sam's Club Sam's West, Inc. (doing business as Sam's Club) is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton as Sam’s Wholesale Club. , Sam's C ...

, and as vice president of the

H. J. Heinz Company The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...

in Arkansas. In 2005, he joined Crown Partners Executive Search, LLC, a recruiting and consulting firm.

State Representative

He has served as a state representative for District 84 since 2011 and he was re-elected in 2012 and 2014.Arkansas House of Representatives biography
Sarah Villegas
Charlie Collins Wins Re-election
'' The Arkansas Traveler'', November 7, 2012 The position was formerly District 89 and held by a Democrat Jim House, who Collins defeated in 2010. During his first term, he was a member of the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, and the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, where he was vice chair of the Subcommittee on Educational Institutions. In his second term, he is a member of the Legislative Joint Audit Committee, Insurance and Commerce Committee, and Chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. He has also proposed a bill to reduce the

state income tax In addition to Federal government of the United States, federal Income tax in the United States, income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, ...

Act 562 of 2017

In the 92nd Arkansas General Assembly, Collins sponsored a bill to allow faculty at public universities (including the

within District 84) to use

concealed carry Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pr ...

handguns on campus as long as they have a Firearms license. The bill caused major debates on the state's open carry law and the

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

. Every public college opposed the bill, including UA Chancellor

Joseph E. Steinmetz Joseph E. Steinmetz (born January 6, 1955) was the sixth chancellor of the University of Arkansas. He succeeded G. David Gearhart on Jan. 1, 2016, following academic and administrative positions at Stanford University, Indiana University Bloomingt ...

. Gun advocates in the Arkansas General Assembly succeeded in expanding Collins' initial proposal to almost all public places, including the courthouses, bars, churches, and sporting events. The expanded measure ultimately became law as Act 562 of 2017, with exemptions for sporting events, the state hospital, and the

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a public health sciences university in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research centers, a s ...

(UAMS). Collins was unseated in his bid for a fifth legislative term in the general election held on November 6, 2018.

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Denise Garner outpolled Collins by 1,440 votes, 7,456 (55.3 percent) to 6,016 (44.7 percent).

Personal life

He is married to Leeann Collins, and they have two sons and two daughters. They live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Charlie 1962 births Living people People from Livonia, Michigan Politicians from Cincinnati Politicians from Fayetteville, Arkansas Businesspeople from Arkansas United States Naval Academy alumni George Washington University alumni Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians