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Matthew S. CollierAmerican politician, speaker and businessman
Date of Birth: 15.11.1957
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Matthew S. Collier
Matthew S. Collier is an American politician, orator, and businessman, best known as the youngest "strong" mayor of a major city - his hometown of Flint, Michigan - in the United States. He held this position from 1987 to 1991, starting at the age of 29.
Early Life and Education
Matthew S. Collier was born on November 15, 1957, in Flint, Michigan. He was the fourth of five sons of Florence and Charles Collier. He grew up in the northwest area of Flint, near Gundry Elementary School. Collier attended Luke M. Powers High School, where he was a captain of the hockey team and the president of the student government. He then went on to attend the United States Military Academy, West Point, where he played hockey and earned a bachelor's degree in general engineering in 1979.
Personal Life
In 1980, Collier married Ann Marie Hughes. They had two sons, Ian (born in 1982) and Charlie (born in 1985), and a daughter, Amy (born in 1989). After two years of separation, Hughes and Collier divorced in 1995. A year later, Collier married Mary Hernandez Simon, who had served in the Flint Board of Education and had practiced law for 11 years. They welcomed a son, Sam, in 1996. Collier currently resides in Thousand Oaks, California, with his family.
Political Career
In 1987, Collier won the mayoral election in Flint, defeating the incumbent mayor, James Sharp, with 54% of the votes. On November 9, 1987, he began his eventful first day in office. Collier immediately fired all mid-level management officials who remained from the previous administration after learning about a major oil spill in the Flint River.
At the beginning of his tenure, Collier was often seen as a "rookie politician" with insufficient experience to be the mayor. Although conditions in Flint improved during his time in office, it was still considered insufficient by some. Collier focused on issues of crime, budget, and the economy. He successfully reduced the unemployment rate in the city from 23% in 1988 to 11.3% by December 1990. The unemployment rate in the Flint Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) dropped to 7.7% in September 1990. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the construction permit rate increased by over 149% in 1989, the largest jump among the 202 major American cities.
After serving one term as mayor, Collier decided not to seek re-election, stating that he had not "tooted his own horn" enough to be re-elected. He then transitioned into the business world, moving from Michigan to Massachusetts, then Georgia, and finally settling in California, where he focused on developing his business career.
Business Career
In 1997, Collier became the president (and later co-owner) of SAFER Systems in Camarillo, California. The company specialized in developing software that graphically displayed gas releases and other hazardous material spills, calculating the spectral directional emissive power of combustion products, and more. The software was primarily used for cleanup and evacuation purposes.
In May 2005, Collier served as the president and CEO of Electronic Sensor Technology. In 2009, he became the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Symark Software (now BeyondTrust Software) in Los Angeles.
Currently, Collier works as a business operations consultant, residing with his family in Thousand Oaks, California.
