Linda F. Collins (April 17, 1962 – May 28, 2019; known as Linda Collins-Smith until her divorce) was an American businesswoman and politician who served a single term from 2015 to 2019 as a
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 ...
member of the
Arkansas Senate
The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...
.
On June 4, 2019, she was found stabbed to death. Rebecca Lynn O'Donnell, a former campaign worker, was convicted of the murder.
Early life and career
Collins was born in
Pocahontas, Arkansas
Pocahontas is a city in Randolph County, Arkansas, United States, along the Black River. According to the 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city was 6,608. The city is the county seat of Randolph County.
Pocahontas has a number of histo ...
, and was native to the area.
However, she was educated in
Williford, Arkansas
Williford is a town in Sharp County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 70 in 2020
Geography
Williford is located at (36.251586, -91.359232).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 km (0 ...
. Her family was very poor, living 10 miles down a gravel road, in a home that didn't have running water until her teen years. According to her campaign website "her background taught her the value of hard work, and the blessing of living in a land where everyone, from the poor country girl to the inner city street kid, had the opportunity to achieve their dreams through industry and determination."
Since at least 2001, Collins owned and operated the
Days Inn
Days Inn is a hotel chain headquartered in the United States. It was founded in 1970 by Cecil B. Day, who opened the first location in Tybee Island, Georgia. The brand is now a part of the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, headquartered in Parsippan ...
in Pocahontas, which was sold in 2016. Before owning Days Inn she was a real estate agent.
[
]
Political career
Affiliation
According to her obituary:
House of Representatives
Prior to her Senate service, Collins was a one-term member from 2011 to 2013 of the Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...
from District 80. Though elected as a 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 ...
, she switched parties in August 2011, eight months after taking office.
Senate
In redistricting
Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...
, Collins was moved to the same 61st House district as Republican incumbent Lori Benedict. Therefore, Collins chose to run for the Arkansas Senate
The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...
in the 19th district, rather than challenge Benedict. Incumbent Democratic Senator David Wyatt defeated her in the 2012 general election, but on November 4, 2014, she beat Democrat James McLean for the seat. Wyatt died shortly thereafter.
Arkansas Physical Privacy and Safety Act
In 2017, Collins introduced Senate Bill 774, the Arkansas Physical Privacy and Safety Act, which would prohibit people, including transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
people, from entering government restrooms or changing facilities designated for the opposite sex, as it pertains to "a person’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth.” She said the bill would set a baseline for privacy across the state and shield public schools from lawsuits by organizations "seeking to impose their anti-privacy agenda on our children." It did not pass.[
]
True Campus Carry Act
In 2017, Collins announced the True Campus Carry Act, which would have allowed concealed-carry license holders to walk armed on campus with no additional training.
2018 Republican Primary
Collins frequently butted heads with Governor Asa Hutchinson
William Asa Hutchinson II (, '' AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who is the 46th and current governor of Arkansas. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. attorney for the Fort Smit ...
, both as a result of her proposed legislation as well as her opposition to Medicaid expansion
In the context of American public healthcare policy, Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who reside in states which have opted out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), who are both ineligible for Medicaid unde ...
in the state. In May 2018, state representative James Sturch challenged Collins in that month's Republican state senate primary, garnering Hutchinson's support. Collins lost a close race, with 4,726 votes to Sturch's 5,299.
Personal life
Collins was married to Philip Smith, a circuit court judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
who was disgraced after a 2017 scandal. She filed for divorce that November. They had two children and three grandchildren.
Murder
On June 4, 2019, Collins' father and son found her body outside her home in Pocahontas; she had died of stab wounds (initially reported as gunshot wounds).
On June 17, Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell of Pocahontas, a former campaign worker and personal friend of Collins, was charged with capital murder, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. She initially pleaded not guilty on all three counts, but later guilty of murdering Collins and abusing her corpse; she was sentenced to 43 years on August 7, 2020.
Investigators determined that O'Donnell killed Collins on May 28. According to Collins' son, O'Donnell constantly stole money from her and "snapped" when she was confronted about it. However, O’Donnell claimed Collins had not had any income since January and she was taking the money out of a hotel they mutually owned to pay Linda’s bills.
See also
* List of American politicians who switched parties in office
The following American politicians switched parties while they were holding elected office.
Federal
State
Local
See also
* List of Canadian politicians who have crossed the floor
* List of elected British politicians who have chang ...
* List of assassinated American politicians
This is a list of assassinated American politicians sorted alphabetically. They were elected or appointed to office, or were candidates for public office.
There are 53 assassinated American politicians listed. The most common method of homicide w ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins-Smith, Linda
1962 births
2019 deaths
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesswomen
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Arkansas Democrats
Arkansas Republicans
Arkansas state senators
Assassinated American politicians
Businesspeople from Arkansas
Deaths by stabbing in the United States
Female murder victims
Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
People from Pocahontas, Arkansas
Women state legislators in Arkansas
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesswomen
People murdered in Arkansas