Candidate for Kenton County Sheriff;
Party: Democrat;
Status: Challenger;
Tom Collins is the lone Democratic candidate for the Kenton County Sheriff. He will not appear on a primary ballot in May, but will face off against whoever wins the Republican primary between incumbent Jude Hehman and challenger Larry Shelton.
Tom Collins was born in Ludlow but moved to Morning View around 1990, where he still lives. He had a long career in law enforcement, notably as the chief of police in Ludlow, a position he retired from in 2001. He then went to work in the Newport Police Department and became the Newport Police chief in 2012.
He retired as the Newport Police chief in 2019. He’s a trained hostage negotiator and has worked with federal authorities on drug enforcement actions. These days, he serves as the chair of the managing board for the Piner-Fiskburg Fire District, which serves the southern reaches of Kenton County.
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“I was inspired to run by many citizens who reached out to me after witnessing political appointments based on friendship, rather than fitness for office,” Collins said, likely referring to the appointment of Jude Hehman to the sheriff’s seat last year.
Collins advocated establishing a civil disturbance team to provide training and guidance for handling crowded events that could get out of hand. He included both political demonstrations as well as public festivals and events as falling under this umbrella, emphasizing that dealing with large numbers of people in any context required know-how.
He also advocated for the establishment of a missing persons team.