John Collick

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

John Collick

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Campbell University, 2003

Graduate

Northcentral University, 2011

Military

Years of service

1981 - 2001

Personal

Birthplace

Weymouth Town, Mass.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Intelligence specialist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

John Collick (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 3rd Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

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

Biography

John Collick was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1981 to 2001. Collick earned a bachelor's degree from Campbell University in 2003 and a graduate degree from Northcentral University in 2011. His career experience includes working as a federal government employee, intelligence specialist, and analyst.

Elections

2020

See also: Virginia's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020

Virginia's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)

Virginia's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 3

Incumbent Robert C. Scott defeated John Collick in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 3 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert C. Scott (D)	68.4	233,326
		John Collick (R)	31.4	107,299
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	736

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 341,361
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kyle Roberts (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Robert C. Scott advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 3.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 3

John Collick defeated Madison Downs and George Yacus in the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 3 on June 23, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Collick	39.7	9,004
		Madison Downs	34.5	7,816
		George Yacus	25.8	5,853

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,673
= 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

• Geoffrey Burke (R)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Disabled/Retired Marine First Sergeant and retired Federal employee. Served over 35 years in various agencies in the Intelligence Community, including over 15 years as both a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East Subject Matter Expert.

As a youth, my family was poor so, in order to attend a Catholic high school, I had to earn the money for tuition, myself. So, I started my working when I turned 14 and paid for not only my high school tuition but also completed my graduate degree without going into debt.

I have been married for 34 years, have 4 children and two grandchildren.

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?

• Every American deserves the opportunity for a financially secure life.
• Education is the only way to achieve real opportunity in America.
• We must have vocational technical high schools to teach the trades to youth who may otherwise not graduate.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about equal opportunity for everyone, not necessarily equal outcomes. The only way to offer equal opportunity is through education. Children must be able to receive a high quality education without regard to their ethnicity or economic status. Any child assigned to an unaccredited school, must have the right to choose the school they want to attend, even a private school. School choice will guarantee that schools compete for students, increasing the quality of education in their school districts.

Furthermore, many students have no intention of attending college; many of them leave school before graduation. To get the graduation rate up and help students develop marketable skills in the trades, we need Vocational Technical high schools. More students will enjoy going to school; they'll be learning trades, knowing they will have marketable skills when they graduate, so most will stay in school until graduation and then be able to get good paying jobs. This will not only reduce poverty, but also reduce the number of young people becoming criminals.

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

I have had the good fortune of having a number of men who have influenced me in my life. One in particular was Jim Buckley, from Bridgewater, MA. In early 2002, Jim died at age 97. His entire life was one of service and love for his fellow man. What I remember most about Jim is a phrase that he emphasized to everyone he met; that is, "to know one is to love one." As a teen, Jim would tell me that all people are different and I should treat everyone with love, even if they acted differently than I was.

Even when he met people who were prejudiced, he would talk to them, explaining that we're all made in God's image and none of have any reason to hate; only to love, as God loves each of us.

Since meeting Jim when I was about 12 years old, I have treated everyone I meet with dignity and respect, without regard to any differences that may exist between us. Even today, I have a number of friends with whom I disagree on political and social issues but we have honest conversation, respecting each other's views.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My political philosophy has been influenced by the history of the United States, not a single book, essay, or film. As a student of history, I read everything that I can find on any historical events in the U.S.

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

Integrity is most important. We live in a country where Americans expect candidates to lie so they can get elected; sometimes I think even when the lies are obvious, voters will ignore them as long as they hear what they want. Sadly, many Americans have historically voted for incumbents based on new promises, not previous successes.

Honor is vital for anyone in positions of authority. If an incumbent (or challenger, for that matter) is asked for help because a candidate for another office assaulted that person - or committed any crime - it's imperative that the incumbent (or challenger) immediately report the allegation to law enforcement. This happened in this District and the incumbent did absolutely nothing because he wanted to ensure the accused won his election. The incumbent, Congressman Bobby Scott, puts politics over his personal honor.

Justice is another important principle. Without justice, we cannot treat everyone fairly and impartially. Every American must always be treated with dignity and respect, even when accused of misdeeds. Otherwise, we'll have a populace that believes an accused person is guilty or innocent, based solely on their political ideology, not the facts.

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

1. Ensuring the annual budgets are passed on time and funding only items contained within the Constitution or directly benefits the American people.

2. Assisting their constituents in applying for government benefits for which they're eligible, particularly Veterans Administration and Social Security benefits.

3, Actively participating in oversight hearings, asking difficult, adversarial questions, even when questioning employees of the Executive Branch that is in the same political party of the Congressman.

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

I vaguely remember the landing on the moon, when I was about 6 years old.

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

My first job was working at my church so I could go to a Catholic high school. I started working by answering phones and by the end of my Freshman year in high school, I was helping with all aspects of maintenance for five buildings in my parish, as well as working in the parish cemetery. I continued working there throughout high school and left when I joined the Marine Corps.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I don't really have a favorite book but I really enjoy books concerning American history and the history of U.S. Intelligence.

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

Superman. I believe in "Truth, Justice, and the American Way." With the American Way being equal opportunity for everyone, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or any other discriminator.

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

Amazing Grace was stuck in my head for nearly six weeks when my son was in a coma, as a result of chemotherapy. I heard it and hummed it constantly the entire time he was fighting for his life.

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

The biggest struggle in my life has been living and caring for family members with severe disabilities. When I was 8 years old my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and her condition deteriorated very quickly until she had to start using a wheelchair. When I was 10, she started losing the use of her hands and couldn't move herself in her wheelchair. During the summer, I would push my mother to the park so we could go swimming; my sisters would walk with our younger siblings.

Later in life, we had a son with Downs Syndrome who also survived leukemia. Although he's 15 years old, his mental capacity is about that of a two year old. Every day is a challenge but we have learned so much about caring for him, the help that's available, and the many false perceptions of the help that is available to people in this situation. Additionally, not every intellectually disabled child can or should be mainstreamed into classes with non disabled students.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The House of Representatives is unique in the fact that it was designed to have consistent turnover, giving average Americans a voice in their governance. This was to ensure the average Americans were well represented when the House of Representatives drafted bills concerning taxation. It was also meant to ensure that anytime war was declared, it was done so by the direct representatives of the American people.

Unfortunately, we now have a House of Representatives that represents the parties rather than their constituents. This needs to change; I believe that Term Limits is the only way to get it back to the way it was intended.

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

It's definitely better to have some experience in the matters that could come before you. For instance, my experience in the Intelligence Community will make my questioning of witnesses more effective than someone who has had none. More important than experience is to have the trust of one's constituents to do the right thing on their behalf, not what's politically convenient.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Our greatest challenge is to return to being Americans first with party affiliation being secondary. It seems that no matter the issue, as soon as one politician makes a statement about that issue, the other party will immediately reject any support as wrong. The opposition party to the President always seems to fight anything he proposes, even when they have previously proposed the exact same thing.

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

Intelligence Committee

Homeland Security Committee

Education

If you are a current representative, why did you join your current committees?

N/A

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

Yes. I also believe in term limits. I believe that a Congressman should serve no more than three 2-year terms.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I have signed a pledge to co-sponsor legislation to enact term limits for both houses of Congress.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Yes. Wherever I can have the most positive impact for the country.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Walter Jones, (R-NC), who passed away shortly after I decided to run. I knew him and provided his staff with the information to remove restrictions on disabled veterans receiving both VA disability compensation and military retirement pay.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

The most common comments have to do with the quality of education, especially for students who don't want or can't attend college. Many young adults have commented that they wish they could have an opportunity to learn a trade in high school. As adults, many have to compete for apprenticeship programs but those in poverty often don't have access to transportation to participate, if selected.

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.

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Footnotes

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Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tim Kaine (D)

Mark Warner (D)

Representatives

District 1

Rob Wittman (R)

District 2

Jennifer Kiggans (R)

District 3

Bobby Scott (D)

District 4

Jennifer McClellan (D)

District 5

John McGuire (R)

District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline (R)

District 7

Eugene Vindman (D)

District 8

Donald Sternoff Beyer (D)

District 9

H. Morgan Griffith (R)

District 10

Suhas Subramanyam (D)

District 11

James Walkinshaw (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (5)