Helen Collins

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Helen Collins
Image of Helen Collins
Prior offices
Colorado Springs City Council District 4

Education

Graduate

Joint Military Intelligence College

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Helen Collins is the former nonpartisan District 4 representative on the Colorado Springs City Council in Colorado. First elected in 2013, Collins lost a re-election campaign in the general election on April 4, 2017.

Biography

Collins is a retired U.S. Navy cryptologist. She holds a master’s degree in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College and a bachelor's degree in behavioral science and management.[1]

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Colorado Springs, Colorado (2017)

The city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, held elections for city council on April 4, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 23, 2017.[2] Yolanda Avila defeated Deborah Hendrix and incumbent Helen Collins in the Colorado Springs City Council, District 4 general election.[3]

Colorado Springs City Council, District 4 General Election, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Yolanda Avila 40.79% 2,346
Deborah Hendrix 31.04% 1,785
Helen Collins Incumbent 28.17% 1,620
Total Votes 5,751
Source: Colorado Springs, Colorado, "April 4, 2017 Municipal Election Results," accessed April 18, 2017

Noteworthy events

Ethics complaint

Collins was the subject of an investigation by the city's Independent Ethics Commission following an ethics complaint by the Colorado Springs City Attorney's Office. The complaint alleged that Collins took part in a real estate deal with author Douglas Bruce that allowed Bruce to avoid paying a $7,600 court judgement he owed the city. Collins dismissed the complaint, saying, "It's based on the recall. It's 'make Helen look bad.'"[4]

The council voted 8-0 to cite Collins with three ethics violations at a meeting on June 9, 2015. The citations were not a declaration of guilt, but they required Collins to request a public hearing before either the council or an independent officer.[5] In early September 2015, a judge was chosen to preside over the hearing.[6] Collins then filed her own ethics complaint on September 30, 2015, against the mayor and city council over an alleged breach of open-meeting laws.[7]

In early January 2016, a retired U.S. magistrate judge named Boyd Boland held an ethics hearing over the complaints against Collins.[8] Boland ruled that she had "placed her friendship and political alliance with Mr. Bruce above her duty of loyalty (to) the City of Colorado Springs." Because she did not benefit financially from the transaction, however, Boland noted that she could not be fined. City council rules did not allow her to be suspended or removed from office for the offense, so the only punishment available in this case was an official censure.[9]

Recall

See also: Helen Collins recall, Colorado Springs, Colorado (2014)

Collins was the target of a recall by a group that claimed she failed to "represent the best interests or address the basic concerns, of the long-ignored voters and hard-pressed taxpayers in City Council District 4."[10] The recall election took place on April 7, 2015.[11] Collins was retained.[12]

Recent news

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See also

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Municipal government Other local coverage
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External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Colorado Springs City Council, District 4
2013-2017
Succeeded by
Yolanda Avila