Oakley C. Collins

Oakley C. Collins
Born	1916 Ironton, Ohio, U.S.
Died	October 30, 1994(1994-10-30) (aged 77–78)
Occupation(s)	Politician, schoolteacher, businessman
Years active	1946–1986 (politics)
Known for	Republican legislator in the Ohio General Assembly

Oakley C. Collins (1916 – October 30, 1994) was a Republican legislator in the Ohio General Assembly. Before entering politics, he worked as a schoolteacher in Ironton, Ohio. Collins was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1946 and successfully retained his seat in the 1948 election. In 1950, he moved to the Ohio Senate, where he represented a large portion of Appalachian Ohio, winning reelection in 1952, 1954, and 1956.

His bid for a fifth term in 1958 was unsuccessful when he was defeated by Democrat J. Sherman Porter. However, after Senate terms were extended to four years in 1962, Collins made a comeback by winning election to the Seventh/Eighth District and served as Chairman of the Education Committee. Following the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, he was elected from the newly established 18th District in 1966 and won reelection in 1968.

The redistricting in 1972 placed Collins outside his Senate district boundaries, prompting him to vacate his Senate seat and secure a position back in the Ohio House for the 1973 term. In 1974, he challenged incumbent Republican Harry Armstrong in the Senate primary, narrowly defeating him before winning the general election. Collins continued his Senate service with reelections in both 1978 and 1982.

During the 1986 campaign, allegations related to ethics issues undermined his support, resulting in an upset loss to Democrat Jan Michael Long and concluding his 22-year tenure in the Senate. After leaving office, Collins returned to Ironton to oversee his family's mining enterprise. He died on October 30, 1994, at the age of 82.