[3] He graduated from Lehigh University in accounting, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
[3] He served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives representing the 140th House district for two terms,[3] having defeated challenger Republican Thomas C. O'Connor in 1974[4] and Republican Edward Gilmore in 1976.
He gave up his seat in the middle of his second term to serve as mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut.
His wife Elizabeth Gibbs Collins served as city clerk for four of those years[1] He was the first vice president of the Connecticut Conference of Mayors.
During a road trip to the southwest, Collins was killed in a car accident July 22, 2022.