Episode Forty-Five - Wilmot Collins

The State of Montana

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Episode Forty-Five - Wilmot Collins

From Liberian Refugee to Mayor of Helena, Montana

Russell Rowland

Nov 25, 2024

Transcript

One of the last meals that Wilmot Collins had before migrating to America from his home country of Liberia was a tube of toothpaste he shared with his fiancé, who has since become his wife. By the time they left their war-torn country, Wilmot weighed less than 100 pounds. After two and a half years of vetting, he finally became a US citizen, and after working several government jobs, his son convinced him to run for mayor of Helena in 2017. He won reelection in 2021.

I want to thank Wilmot Collins for joining me for this episode, and also Buchanan Capital for sponsoring this podcast. And as always, thanks to Phil Aaberg for his musical accompaniment.

Discussion about this episode

The State of Montana

Montana has a long history of very complicated politics, often influenced by major corporations, as with the Copper Kings in our early history, or oil money. But we also have a strong track record of very progressive milestones, the most significant of which was the election of the first woman to ever serve in Congress, Jeanette Rankin. We also have what most constitutional historians consider one of the strongest state constitutions in the country. We have always boasted a very significant balance of power as well, but recently that has changed, and I want to understand why, and what can be done about it. So I'm going to interview some of our more high-profile citizens, not necessarily politicians, to explore this issue. My first guest will be Dorothy Bradley, who was the first woman to run for governor of the state. Dorothy just barely lost to Marc Racicot in 1992.

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