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Liberian refugee elected mayor of Helena
http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/montana/liberian-refugee-elected-mayor-of-helena/653475208Along with all the other good news from yesterday's elections, this one is a real gem ... and a major victory.
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HELENA, Mont. - Voters in Montana's capital city have elected a Liberian refugee as their next mayor.
Wilmot Collins ousted four-term Helena Mayor Jim Smith 51 percent to 48 percent Tuesday in the mail-in election for the non-partisan post.
Collins campaigned for more affordable housing, addressing homelessness among military veterans and teens and for increasing staffing for the police and fire departments.
Collins is a state child protection specialist and an adjunct instructor at Helena College - University of Montana. He is also a member of the U.S. Naval Reserves. He fled the civil war in Liberia in the early 1990s.
Wilmot Collins ousted four-term Helena Mayor Jim Smith 51 percent to 48 percent Tuesday in the mail-in election for the non-partisan post.
Collins campaigned for more affordable housing, addressing homelessness among military veterans and teens and for increasing staffing for the police and fire departments.
Collins is a state child protection specialist and an adjunct instructor at Helena College - University of Montana. He is also a member of the U.S. Naval Reserves. He fled the civil war in Liberia in the early 1990s.
Congratulations, Mayor Collins!
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good news coming out of Montana for a change. I especially love this news in particular because I have a customer who lives in Helena and he frequently calls our shop in Missoula for business but will then complain to me over the phone about the refugee program in Montana and how awful it is and how it is ruining our beloved state...then, when I am dead silent on the phone he will say "oh yeah, you're one of those do-gooders aren't you? Let me talk to ______ why don'tcha." He must be fuming today and I am loving it! 
Of course, the Missoula, Butte and Helena areas are more blue than not. But this result is a stunner nonetheless!
