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Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins Has Died

Collins was taken off life support and died today, city officials say.

By Tom Troy

 

D. Michael Collins, a former police detective and police union president who went into politics in retirement and was elected mayor in 2013, died today at the University of Toledo Medical Center five days after suffering cardiac arrest while driving a city-owned vehicle. He was 70.

Toledo's fourth mayor under the "strong mayor" form of government that went into effect in 1993, Mr. Collins had just entered his second year on the job. During his first year, he faced unusually harsh snow emergencies, the deaths of two firefighters in an alleged arson fire, and a 56-hour period in which citizens were advised not to drink the city's water because of an algae-related toxin.

After two Toledo residents found him inside his crashed, running vehicle Sunday afternoon in South Toledo, they proceeded to perform CPR. At the hospital, Mr. Collins underwent therapeutic hypothermia, which involves inserting a tube in a major vein that monitors the temperature of and cools the blood, in hopes of a gradual recovery.

The mayor's medical crisis followed a news conference earlier the same day with Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp, during which the officials agreed to issue a notice of a Level 3 snow emergency allowing only emergency vehicles to be on the streets.

He is the first Toledo mayor to die in office since 1904 when Samuel "Golden Rule" Jones died after a brief illness.

A political independent, Mr. Collins was elected mayor in 2013, defeating incumbent Mayor Mike Bell, who was also a political independent. He was a come-from-behind candidate the in primary, having defeated two Democrats who split the Democratic vote, city Councilman Joe McNamara and Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez.

Mr. Collins said the other candidates tried to cast him as not a serious contender, but that his advancing to the general election was not a surprise to him.

"I believed in it all along. I honestly did," Mr. Collins said at the time. "I believe I have the skill and the capacity to listen and to write the next chapter, which will be the first chapter of the book called 'new Toledo'."

Mr. Collins' biggest support came from Democrats and unions that were outraged by Mr. Bell's support of Senate Bill 5, the 2011 law weakening public employee unions. The law was defeated in a statewide referendum.

Mr. Collins gained national recognition for his handling of the Aug. 2-4 water crisis that occurred after chemical tests revealed microtoxin in the city's drinking water, brought on by an algae bloom in Lake Erie at the city water intake. After nearly half a million people were forced to rely on bottled water for drinking and food preparation, Mr. Collins was able to hoist a glass of clear water for the cameras to show that water quality had been restored.

Saving the Wrangler manufacturing line at Chrysler was Mr. Collins's most recent challenge. He said in a conversation with a Blade reporter Sunday morning that he was unable to divulge details of his discussions about that with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne because they had a confidentiality agreement.

Mr. Collins first was elected to office in 2007 to represent South Toledo District 2, in a 10-way race to succeed former district Councilman Rob Ludeman. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2009, coming in fourth out of six primary contenders. Mr. Collins was re-elected to his council seat in 2011.

He grew up believing he was a distant relative of the legendary Irish revolutionary politician Michael Collins. But after traveling to Ireland to meet his family, and after his wife, Sandra Drabik, tried to research his genealogy, he acknowledged it was far from certain. An investigation by The Blade found that it was, at best, a long shot.

He was the son of Michael John Collins, one of four siblings who immigrated to Toledo from Ireland, and the former Gertrude Helmer, of German ancestry, who died in 2006 at the age of 93.

When Mr. Collins was 17 in 1962, his father, who took care of racehorses at the Lucas County Fairgrounds, was kicked by a horse and killed.

After finishing high school, he enlisted in the Marines for two years active duty and six years in the reserves.

He joined the Toledo Police Department in 1973 in the uniformed division, and went on to work in the vice squad, metro drug unit, and crimes against persons. He graduated from the University of Toledo, and in 1999 obtained a master's in business administration degree at UT.

In 1988, he was elected president of the Toledo Police Patrolman's Association. Mr. Collins said he negotiated the best police salary and benefit package in the state.

From his first marriage, which ended in divorce, he had three daughters, Tammy Dickey, Laurie Mulligan, and Kelly Sheridan, and a son, Michael, who died in 2000 at age 29.

In 2005, Mr. Collins married Ms. Drabik, former vice president and general counsel for the University of Toledo. The couple lived on Island Avenue in South Toledo.

Paula Hicks-Hudson, president of City Council, has been serving as acting mayor. She will be sworn in as mayor at a later time.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson, 63, a Democrat, will continue as mayor until the general election of Nov. 3 when voters will elect someone to serve the remainder of Mr. Collins' term. Under the city charter, council has 30 days to appoint a replacement for Ms. Hicks-Hudson's Council District 4 seat or, the appointment is made by the mayor, followed by a special election in May.

(c)2015 The Blade

 

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