Martha Layne Collins

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Martha Layne Collins
Collins in the early 1980s
56th Governor of Kentucky
In office
December 13, 1983 – December 8, 1987
LieutenantSteve Beshear
Preceded byJohn Y. Brown Jr.
Succeeded byWallace Wilkinson
48th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office
December 11, 1979 – December 13, 1983
GovernorJohn Y. Brown Jr.
Preceded byThelma Stovall
Succeeded bySteve Beshear
Personal details
Born
Martha Layne Hall

(1936-12-07) December 7, 1936 (age 87)
Bagdad, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Bill Collins
​
(m. 1959)​
EducationLindenwood University
University of Kentucky (BS)

Colonel Martha Layne Collins (

John Y. Brown, Jr. Her election made her the highest-ranking Democratic woman in the U.S. She was considered as a possible running mate for Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale in the 1984 presidential election, but Mondale chose Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro
instead.

After graduating from the

U.S. Senate campaign in 1972. In 1975, she was chosen secretary of the state's Democratic Party and was elected clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. During her tenure as clerk, a constitutional amendment restructured the state's judicial system, and the Court of Appeals became the Kentucky Supreme Court
. Collins continued as clerk of the renamed court and worked to educate citizens about the court's new role.

Collins was elected lieutenant governor in 1979, under Governor

John Y. Brown, Jr. Brown was frequently out of the state, leaving Collins as acting governor for more than 500 days of her four-year term. In 1983, she defeated Republican Jim Bunning to become Kentucky's first woman governor. Her administration had two primary focuses: education and economic development. After failing to secure increased funding for education in the 1984 legislative session, she conducted a statewide public awareness campaign in advance of a special legislative session the following year; the modified program was passed in that session. She successfully used economic incentives to bring a Toyota manufacturing plant to Georgetown, Kentucky
in 1986. Legal challenges to the incentives – which would have cost the state the plant and its related economic benefits – were eventually dismissed by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The state experienced record economic growth under Collins's leadership.

At the time, Kentucky governors were

Saint Catharine College near Springfield, Kentucky. The 1993 conviction of Collins's husband, Dr. Bill Collins, in an influence-peddling scandal, damaged her hopes for a return to political life. Prior to her husband's conviction it had been rumored that she would be a candidate for the U.S. Senate, or would take a position in the administration of President Bill Clinton. From 1998 to 2012, Collins served as an executive scholar-in-residence at Georgetown College.[1]

Early life

Martha Layne Hall was born December 7, 1936, in

Baptist church.[3] Her parents were active in local politics, working for the campaigns of several Democratic candidates, and Hall frequently joined them, stuffing envelopes and delivering pamphlets door-to-door.[4]

Martha Layne attended Shelbyville High School where she was a good student and a cheerleader.

Baptist Student Union, and the home economics club, and was also the president of her dormitory and vice president of the house presidents council.[5]

In 1957, Hall met Billy Louis Collins while attending a Baptist camp in Shelby County.

Louisville.[7] While living in Louisville, the couple had two children, Steve and Marla.[6]

In 1966, the Collinses moved to Versailles, Kentucky, where Martha taught at Woodford County Junior High School.[4] The couple became active in several civic organizations, including the Jaycees and Jayceettes and the Young Democratic Couples Club.[5] Through the club, they worked on behalf of Henry Ward's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1967.[5]

Early political career

A man with gray hair and glasses wearing a black jacket and tie and white shirt
Wendell Ford; Collins worked on his 1971 gubernatorial campaign

By 1971, Collins was the president of the Jayceettes; through her work there, she came to the attention of Democratic

U.S. Senate.[2]

In 1975, Collins won the Democratic nomination for Clerk of the

Friendship Force.[2]

In a field that included six major candidates, Collins secured the Democratic nomination for

John Y. Brown, Jr., who disliked such formal events and often chose not to attend.[8] By the end of her term, she declared that she had visited all 120 counties in Kentucky.[8] Governor Brown was frequently out of the state, leaving Collins as acting governor for more than 500 days of her four-year term.[9]

As lieutenant governor, Collins presided over the state Senate. Members of both major parties praised Collins for her impartiality and knowledge of

National Conference of Lieutenant Governors, becoming the first woman to hold that position.[8] In 1982, she was named to the board of regents of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.[10]

Gubernatorial election of 1983

Main article: 1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election

Nearing the end of her term as lieutenant governor, Collins announced her intent to run for governor in 1983.

Harvey Sloane and Grady Stumbo, the former secretary of the state's Department of Human Resources.[4] Collins had the support of many leaders in the Democratic Party, but just before the primary, Governor Brown endorsed Stumbo, charging that both Sloane and Collins would use their gubernatorial appointment power to dispense party patronage. Although this was a common practice at the time, Brown notably shunned it during his term.[6][11] With 223,692 votes, Collins edged out Sloane (219,160 votes) and Stumbo (199,795 votes) to secure the nomination.[6] Sloane asked for a recanvass of the ballots, but ultimately decided it would not change the outcome and conceded defeat.[12]

A color portrait of a gray-haired man in his seventies wearing a suit
Jim Bunning was Collins's Republican opponent in the 1983 gubernatorial election.

In the general election, Collins faced Republican state senator

Catholicism was a political liability among the majority-Protestant voters.[14] Collins won the election by a vote of 561,674 to 454,650, becoming the first, and to date only, woman to be elected governor of Kentucky.[2][6]

Following her election, Collins donated the surplus $242,000 from her campaign coffers to the state Democratic Party. When Collins's husband was named state treasurer for the party – at an annual salary of $59,900 – the state press charged that the move was a plot to funnel Collins's campaign funds into her personal account. (The previous Democratic state treasurer had received no salary during his tenure.) Following the media criticism, Dr. Collins resigned his post as treasurer. All of the involved individuals insisted that Governor Collins had not been briefed on the details of her husband's appointment. The media's criticism of Collins continued as many of the appointments to her executive cabinet went to what they characterized as inexperienced personnel who had held key positions in her past campaigns. When newly appointed Insurance Commissioner Gilbert McCarty approved a 17% rate increase requested by

Blue Cross Blue Shield – a request that his predecessor had denied a few days earlier – Collins quickly countermanded the approval pending a public hearing on the matter.[15]

Governor

Collins speaking in 1986 during the commissioning of the USS Louisville

In her first address to the legislature, Collins asked for an additional $324 million from the Kentucky General Assembly, most of it allocated for education.[6] The additional revenue was to be derived from Collins's proposed tax package, which included increasing the income tax on individuals making more than $15,000 annually, extending the sales tax to cover services such as auto repair and dry cleaning, and increasing the corporate licensing tax.[16] After opposition to her proposal developed among legislators during the 1984 biennial legislative session, Collins revised the tax package. She retained the corporate licensing tax increase, but replaced the sales tax and income tax modifications with a flat five percent personal income tax and phasing out the deductions for depreciation which corporations could claim on their state taxes.[17]

With the state still recovering from an

drunk driving law, and a measure allowing state banking companies to purchase other banks within the state.[6]

Consideration for vice-president

A man with dark hair, wearing a gray jacket, white shirt, and black striped tie
Walter Mondale interviewed Collins as his potential running mate in 1984.

By virtue of her election as Kentucky's governor, Collins became the highest-ranking Democratic woman in the nation.

weekly radio address.[20] At a news conference following her speech, Collins was asked again if she would be willing to be considered as the Democrats' vice-presidential candidate in the upcoming election; she replied "No, not at this time."[20]

In mid-1984, the

The Miami Herald later opined, based on interviews with Mondale advisers, that Collins was never given serious consideration by Mondale. He reported that she was included in his list of potential running mates primarily to blunt potential charges of "tokenism" in considering other women and minorities.[22]

Education proposals

In January 1985, Collins renewed her push for additional education funding and changes by appointing herself secretary of the state Education and Humanities Cabinet.[23] Following the announcement, Collins and several key legislators held a series of meetings in every county, advocating for her proposed changes and seeking information about what types of changes the state's citizens desired.[24] At the meetings, Collins was careful to separate the issues of her proposed education plan and potential tax increases. She believed that opposition to increased taxes had prevented her previous package from being enacted.[24]

Collins announced a new education package in June 1985 that included a five percent across-the-board pay raise for teachers, a reduction in class sizes, funding for construction projects, aides for every kindergarten teacher in the state, and a "power equalization" program to make funding for poorer school districts more equal to that of their more affluent counterparts.

gasoline tax to finance other spending.[28]

Collins followed up her success in the 1985 special session with a push for more higher education funding in the 1986 legislative session. Lawmakers obliged by approving an additional $100 million for higher education in the biennial budget. They also approved implementation of a pilot preschool program and the purchase of new reading textbooks, but failed to act on Collins's request for an additional $3.9 million to improve the state's vocational education system.[29] Legislators approved calling a referendum on a constitutional amendment – supported by Collins – to make the state superintendent of education an appointive, rather than elective, office.[29] The amendment was defeated by the state's voters in November 1986, despite a Collins-led campaign in favor of it.[30] The increased corporate tax intended to cover the cost of the increased education budget was, however, inadequate. In 1987, a plan to increase revenue through changes in the state income tax was abandoned when Wallace Wilkinson, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee who would go on to succeed Collins, announced his opposition to it.[6]

Toyota Assembly Plant

In March 1985, Collins embarked on the first of several trade missions to Japan.[31] She returned there in October 1985, and also visited China – a first for any Kentucky governor – to encourage opening Chinese markets for Kentucky goods and to establish a "sister state" relationship with China's Jiangxi province.[31] Collins's efforts in Japan yielded her most significant accomplishment as governor – convincing Toyota to locate an $800 million manufacturing plant in Georgetown.[32] According to published reports, the Kentucky location was chosen over proposed sites in Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kansas.[33]

The agreement with Toyota was contingent upon legislative approval of $125 million in incentives promised to Toyota by Collins and state Commerce Secretary Carroll Knicely.[32] They included $35 million to buy and improve a 1,600 acres (650 ha) tract to be given to Toyota for the plant, $33 million for initial training of employees, $10 million for a skills development center for employees, and $47 million in highway improvements near the site.[32] The incentive package was approved in the 1986 legislative session.[29] State Attorney General David L. Armstrong expressed concerns that the incentives might conflict with the state constitution by giving gifts from the state treasury to a private business, but concluded that the General Assembly had made "a good-faith effort to be in compliance with the constitution".[34]

Given Armstrong's concerns, the administration employed general counsel J. Patrick Abell to file a friendly test case to determine the constitutionality of the incentive package.[35] While the suit was pending, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that the administration had failed to include the interest on the bonds used to finance the expenditures in its estimation of the cost; this, plus the cost overruns reported by the Herald-Leader, had already pushed the total cost of the package to about $354 million by late September 1986.[36] In October, Toyota agreed to cover the cost overruns associated with preparing the site for construction.[37]

Opponents of the economic enticements for Toyota joined the state's test suit.[38] In October 1986, Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Ray Corns issued an initial ruling that the package did not violate the state constitution, but both sides asked the Kentucky Supreme Court to make a final decision.[38] On June 11, 1987, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled 4–3 that the package served a public purpose and were therefore constitutional.[38]

Shortly after the announcement that Toyota was moving to Georgetown Collins, in her capacity as governor,

Louie B. Nunn. This was also the first time in the history of Kentucky that two former governors represented opposing parties in a legal action.[41]

Later, Toyota set up several assembly plants across the state; near the end of Collins's term, the state Commerce Cabinet reported that 25 automotive-related manufacturing plants had been constructed in 17 counties since the Toyota announcement.[6][42]

In 1987, Collins promised $10 million in state aid to Ford to incentivize the company to expand its truck assembly plant in Louisville.[43] The state experienced record job growth under Collins's economic development plan, which included attempts to attract both domestic and international companies.[6] The state's unemployment rate fell from 9.7 percent in October 1983 to 7.2 percent in October 1987; according to the administration's own figures, they created a net increase of 73,000 jobs in the state during Collins's tenure.[42]

Other matters during Collins's term

On October 7, 1987, Collins called a special legislative session to close a deficit between state contributions to the

black lung, a breathing disease common among coal miners; consequently, it was opposed by legislators from heavily coal-dependent counties.[45] Nevertheless, after nine days of negotiations, a bill substantially similar to O'Daniel's original plan was approved by the legislature and signed by Collins.[45]

Collins chaired the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway Authority and held that position when the waterway opened to the public in 1985.[46] On May 10, 1985, she was named to the University of Kentucky Alumni Association's Hall of Distinguished Alumni.[2] She also chaired the Southern Growth Policies Board, Southern States Energy Board, and was co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.[46]

Activities after leaving office

Collins's term expired on December 8, 1987, and under the restrictions then present in the Kentucky Constitution, she was ineligible for consecutive terms.[47] In 1988, she accepted a position as "executive in residence" at the University of Louisville, giving guest lectures to students in the university's business classes.[47] She also started an international trade consulting firm in Lexington.[6][47] When Western Kentucky University president Kern Alexander resigned to accept a position at Virginia Tech in 1988, Collins was among four finalists to succeed him.[48] Some faculty members publicly expressed concerns about Collins's lack of experience in academia, and she withdrew her name from consideration shortly before the new president was announced.[48]

A multi-story red brick chapel with a stream in front of it
St. Catharine College; Collins was its president from 1990 to 1996.

After fulfilling her one-year commitment to the University of Louisville, Collins was named a fellow of the

Catholic college who was not a Dominican nun.[51] College officials stated that Collins was recruited for the presidency to raise the college's profile.[51]

In 1993, Collins's husband, Bill, was charged in an influence-peddling scandal. The prosecution claimed that while Collins was governor, Dr. Collins exploited a perception that he could influence the awarding of state contracts through his wife.

U.S. Senate, a bid which never materialized following her husband's conviction.[54] The Collinses reunited following Dr. Collins's release from prison on October 10, 1997.[55]

In 1996, Collins resigned as president of Saint Catharine College to direct the International Business and Management Center at the University of Kentucky.

Eastman Kodak.[60]

Awards and honors

Women Leading Kentucky, a non-profit group designed to promote education, mentorship, and networking among Kentucky professional women, created the Martha Layne Collins Leadership Award in 1999 to recognize "a Kentucky woman of achievement who inspires and motivates other women through her personal, community and professional lives"; Collins was the first recipient of the award.

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for her contributions "to strengthening economic and cultural exchanges between Japan and the United States of America".[63] Martha Layne Collins High School in Shelby County was named in her honor and opened in 2010.[64]

See also

References

  1. ^ "An Emotional Day at GC: Hello to Barlow Park, and So Long, Thanks to Former Gov. Martha Layne Collins!". News Bureau. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Martha Layne Collins". Hall of Distinguished Alumni
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Ryan, p. 229
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Bean, "Collins Prides Herself on Hard Work"
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Jones, "Collins's Rise in Politics Credited to Hard Work"
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harrison, p. 214
  7. ^ a b Ryan, p. 230
  8. ^ a b c Ryan, p. 231
  9. ^ Harrison and Klotter, p. 417
  10. ^ a b c "Ex-Governor Loses Board Post," The Kentucky Post
  11. ^ Osbourne, "Brown Gives Endorsement to Stumbo"
  12. ^ Jester, "Harvey Sloane Concedes Loss in May Primary," 1983
  13. ^ Smith, "Mondale Stays Neutral on Female Running Mate"
  14. ^ a b Harrison and Klotter, p. 418
  15. ^ Halsey, "Woman Ky. Governor is Off to a Rough Start"
  16. ^ Osbourne, "Collins Urges Tax Increase to Aid Schools"
  17. ^ Osbourne, "Collins Says 'I've Got to Have' Proposals on Revenue, Education"
  18. ^ a b Ryan, p. 233
  19. ^ a b c York, "Victory Gives Collins Spot in the National Political Arena"
  20. ^ a b York, "Collins Delivers Democrats' Reply to Reagan Speech"
  21. ^ a b Osbourne, "Collins's Son to Head Convention Delegation"
  22. ^ Eichel, "How Mondale Decided on Ferraro"
  23. ^ Roser, "Collins Picks Self as Chief of Education"
  24. ^ a b Osbourne, "Collins, Legislators Begin Campaign"
  25. ^ Roser, "Governor Urges Legislators to Back Plan"
  26. ^ Brammer, "Session Call Includes More Than Expected"
  27. ^ Roser, "Education Reforms to Begin Gradually"
  28. ^ Brammer, "Roads, Prisons, Child-Abuse Issues Linger"
  29. ^ a b c Roser, Duke, and Brammer, "'86 Legislature Called Both Independent, Cautious"
  30. ^ Rugeley and Wagar, "Rural Areas Killed Effort to Appoint School Chief"
  31. ^ a b "Collins's China Trip to be First for State". Lexington Herald-Leader
  32. ^ a b c Truman, "Toyota to Get $125 Million in Incentives, Collins Says"
  33. ^ "Toyota Site Delegation is Given Real Bang-up Welcome by Collins". Lexington Herald-Leader
  34. ^ Brammer, "Collins Signs Final Accord With Toyota on Incentives"
  35. ^ Duke, "State Files Test Suit on Toyota"
  36. ^ Miller and Swasy, "The Wooing of Toyota: Kentucky Adds Up the Bill"
  37. ^ Swasy, "Toyota Promises to Help Pay Cost Overruns"
  38. ^ a b c Brammer and Miller, "Toyota Incentives Legal, Court Rules"
  39. ^ "Com. Transp. Cabinet v. Taub". Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  40. ^ "842 F2d 912 Taub v. Commonwealth of Kentucky | OpenJurist". openjurist.org. F2d (842): 912. December 11, 1987. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  41. ^ "Kentucky New Era – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  42. ^ a b Rugeley and Brammer, "After Shaky Start, Collins Converted the Skeptics"
  43. ^ "Ford to Expand Plant in Louisville". The New York Times
  44. ^ a b Rugeley and Brammer, "Lawmakers Summoned on Workers' Comp Woes"
  45. ^ a b c d Brammer and Miller, "Lawmakers Compromise, Pass Workers' Comp Plan"
  46. ^ a b "Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins". National Governors Association
  47. ^ a b c Berman, "Out of the Mansion, Back in the Classroom"
  48. ^ a b Pack, "Owensboro Native Picked to Lead WKU"
  49. ^ Fortune, "A Time to Reflect, A Time to Choose"
  50. ^ "Midway College Elects Trustees". Lexington Herald-Leader
  51. ^ a b Lucke and Mead, "Collins Named College President"
  52. ^ a b c Wolfe, "Bill Collins Sentenced to 5 Years and 3 Months in Prison, Fined"
  53. ^ "Former Governor's Husband Gets Jail Term for Extortion". The New York Times
  54. ^ a b c d Ryan, p. 235
  55. ^ "Ex-governor's Husband Takes Job at Georgetown". The Kentucky Post
  56. ^ "Collins going to UK". The Kentucky Post
  57. ^ "Former Fellow: Martha Layne Collins". Harvard University Institute of Politics
  58. ^ "Ex-Governor Trades UK Position for Georgetown". Lexington Herald-Leader
  59. ^ Honeycutt, "Japan Names Ex-Governor Collins to Consul Post"
  60. ^ a b c "Martha Layne Collins". Education Hall of Fame
  61. ^ "Eastern Kentucky University's Shain Receives Martha Layne Collins Leadership Award". U.S. Federal News Service
  62. ^ Kocher, "Parkway to be Named for Collins"
  63. ^ "2009 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals". Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  64. ^ "Our Schools: Martha Layne Collins High School". Shelby County Public Schools. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010.

Bibliography

Further reading

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Legal offices
Preceded by Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
1975–1979 		Position abolished
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
1979 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Y. Brown, Jr.
nominee for the Governor of Kentucky
1983
 Succeeded by
Wallace G. Wilkinson
Preceded by Permanent Chairman of the Democratic National Convention
1984 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
1979–1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Y. Brown, Jr.
 Governor of Kentucky
1983–1987 		Succeeded by
Wallace G. Wilkinson
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Senator
Order of precedence of the United States

Within Kentucky 		Succeeded byas Former Governor
Preceded byas Former Governor
Order of precedence of the United States

Outside Kentucky
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