Frederick Collins (Alabama)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Frederick Collins

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, 1981

Personal

Birthplace

Mobile, Ala.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Real estate

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Frederick Collins (Democratic Party) (also known as Rick) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Alabama's 1st Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2020.

Collins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

2020

See also: Alabama's 1st Congressional District election, 2020

Alabama's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Alabama's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Alabama District 1

Jerry Carl defeated James Averhart in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jerry Carl (R)	64.4	211,825
		James Averhart (D)	35.5	116,949
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	301

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 329,075
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Alabama District 1

James Averhart defeated Kiani Gardner in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Alabama District 1 on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Averhart	56.7	15,840
		Kiani Gardner	43.3	12,102

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,942
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Alabama District 1

Jerry Carl defeated Bill Hightower in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Alabama District 1 on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jerry Carl	52.3	44,421
		Bill Hightower	47.7	40,552

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 84,973
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 1

Kiani Gardner and James Averhart advanced to a runoff. They defeated Frederick Collins in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 1 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kiani Gardner	44.1	22,962
✔		James Averhart	40.3	21,022
		Frederick Collins	15.6	8,119

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,103
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 1

Jerry Carl and Bill Hightower advanced to a runoff. They defeated Chris Pringle, Wes Lambert, and John Castorani in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 1 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jerry Carl	38.7	38,490
✔		Bill Hightower	37.5	37,283
		Chris Pringle	19.2	19,126
		Wes Lambert	3.1	3,102
		John Castorani	1.5	1,468

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 99,469
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Chase Anderson Romagnano (R)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Frederick Collins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Collins' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. Lifelong Catholic. Graduated St. Dominic's Catholic school and McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. Graduated Commerce & Business Admin., Univ. of Ala., Tuscaloosa.|Two children, three grandchildren ages 4, 2, and 8 weeks old. Seven siblings, 17 neices and nephews. My Dad was City Attorney of Mobile for approx. 25 years, serving under multiple administrations, originally with Mayor Joe Langan. 35 years in real estate. Serious health challenges and two disabilities have made me stronger and more compassionate. Have personal experiences with the pending loss of family health insurance coverage and the support of Social Security Disability.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Economic opportunities (jobs). Great job training model is the B.C. Rain-Airbus FlightPath9 training program for High School Juniors.
• Public education is an economic engine. Supporting parents & educators in our Congressional District is top priority, becomming a model for moving our schools into the top 5 and out of the bottom 5 in the U.S..
• Providing adequate healthcare for those most in need, joining 38 other States by expanding Medicaid. 90% of the cost to expand will come from federal government. Hospitals and local economies will benefit.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

U. S. Congress has abdicated their Constitutional authority for almost 70 years! The Constitution grants Congress the exclusive responsibility to declare war, the U.S. has not declared war since WWII. Korea was called a 'police action', approximately 3 million died. Vietnam was not a declared war, approximately 1.3 million died. Typically the decisions of one elected representative (the President) and his/her appointed cabinet place our troops in harms way with little or no input from members of Congress. If our troops are attacked, it opens the possibility for the escalation of military involvement. Except for rare situations that demand immediate military involvement, putting our men and women of the military in harms way should involve bi-partisan Congressional consent. Members of the House and Senate Intelligent Committees should be briefed at least weekly by the Executive Branch and Intelligence Communities regarding foreign affairs. Committee members should have the responsibility to communicate to House and Senate members before troops are deployed.

Congressional representatives must be accountable to troops and their families, if any action is not worth placing our sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews on the front lines, we should not take that action.. Any other standard of deployment is not acceptable!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

President Abraham Lincoln. Faced with virtually impossible circumstances, President Lincoln used grace and humility to keep our Country from a permanent divide.

America needs leaders like Lincoln, leaders who will rise above the 'noise' that dominates our political debate.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I seek representatives who are truthful, clear, and sincere. I am very tired of politicians and political consultants who seek to spin, trick, manipulate, and mislead the public. I think the 2016 election reflects the voters desire to elect 'anyone except a slick politician'! In different ways, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders offered voters something different. Several years ago a good friend who overcame addiction shared his daily practice; "each day I wake up and try and keep my agreements and tell the truth, and when I don't I make amends before I go to bed, the next day i do this all again." The simplicity and sincerity of this daily practice inspires me and I now practice this too!

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Humility, humor, calmness, & focus

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Regardless of party affiliation, members represent everyone including the most vulnerable and least powerful. Members must stay focused on the priorities of their District and not get distracted by the 'noise' in Washington D.C.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Helping to improve public education in the District, getting the State to increase the availability of health coverage (Medicaid) to those most in need in the District, helping to create jobs in the District, and protecting the quality of life that is so vital to south, Alabama.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Moon landing July, 1969. I was 10 years old and clearly remember watching it at friend's house.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Summer job at age 15 working labor in a nursery growing azalea bushes.

What is your favorite book? Why?

St. John's Gospel. I relate to this Gospel more than any other book in the Bible.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman or Aquaman

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Marvin Gaye; Mercy, mercy, me

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Serious health challenges & disabilities; bone cancer at age 18 and colon cancer in 2008. I am much more understanding and compassionate for others faced with similar issues.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Maybe. The character of the individual is the most important trait, prior service in government or politics is far less important. The U.S. House of Representatives is known as the 'People's House' and should be representative of the typical citizen of the United States. Members serving multiple terms often become more disconnected from the citizens they are supposed to represent, it takes a lot of focus and determination to prevent this.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I would like to be a member of the committees who have the most direct impact on priorities for the First Congressional District including House Committee on Energy and Commerce: This Committee has jurisdiction involving health care, Medicare, Medicaid, mental health, substance abuse, energy policies, environmental protection, and more.

House Committee on Education and Labor. House Committee on Transportation. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I support four year terms for members of the U.S. House of Representatives. With two year terms, House members legislate for one year and then spend a good portion of the second year campaigning for re-election.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support terms limits. I am in favor of 8 years total for U. S. House of Representative members and 12 years total for U. S. Senate members.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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Footnotes

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Alabama's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Katie Britt (R)

Tommy Tuberville (R)

Representatives

District 1

Barry Moore (R)

District 2

Shomari Figures (D)

District 3

Mike Rogers (R)

District 4

Robert Aderholt (R)

District 5

Dale Strong (R)

District 6

Gary Palmer (R)

District 7

Terri Sewell (D)

Republican Party (7)

Democratic Party (2)