History claims that the ancient Greek Diogenes spent his days walking the streets of Athens with a lighted lantern, looking for an honest man.
Had Diogenes come to Bayonne, his search would have ended with former Mayor Dennis Collins, who died Sunday, Dec. 6 after a long illness at the age of 85.
“Having watched and reported on politicians from Hudson County going to jail on corruption charges during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, it was refreshing for this then cub reporter to have the honor and privilege with scrutinizing and ultimately reporting on the performance of Dennis P. Collins, the mayor of Bayonne,” said Peter Lavilla, a former Guttenberg mayor who also once covered Bayonne for the local daily newspaper. “He was a man of intelligence, integrity, honesty and righteousness. I thought the guy was a saint; a saint sent from heaven to save Hudson County.”
“As a kid growing up in Bayonne, I didn’t even know we had elections. I assumed Mayor Collins was elected for life.” – Nicholas Chiaravalloti
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Long history
While on the City Council, Collins also served as legislative assistant to the state Assembly, as the assistant secretary of the New Jersey Insurance Commission, and as the director of the New Jersey Real Estate Commission. From 1972 to 1974, he served as secretary to representatives Dominick Daniels, Frank Guarini, and Robert Menendez. Collins also served as an aid to then-Assembly Speaker Tom Kean Sr.
A strong supporter of President John F. Kennedy, Collins led the New Frontier Democrats in Bayonne. He was also very involved in many civil groups, including the Knights of Columbus and various veterans’ associations.
Full of tales, Collins often talked about his father’s coming to the United States from County Cork in Ireland, meeting and marrying a Jersey City native, who later just missed being on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.
Collins was born in Bayonne into a family that included 12 siblings. He graduated from St. Vincent de Paul Grammar School and Holy Family Academy before attending St. Peter’s College and Rutgers University.
In World War II, he served in the Army in the Pacific. After the war, he worked for Colgate in Jersey City, and later for Tidewater Oil Company in Bayonne.
As mayor and councilman, Collins led the fight to establish fair treatment for municipal employees, built a new centralized garage, installed a new storm water system, modernized street lighting, and established new parks and playgrounds. His administration saw the construction of a new school, a new municipal pool, and a new ice rink. Under Collins, Bayonne had one of the few successful urban renewal programs in the nation, and he is credited with helping establish a food program for the needy in Bayonne.
Collins met some very famous people during his life, including Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Mary Tyler Moore, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Louis. He even visited President Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office.
“One of the few things people know is how strong he was,” said Edward Collins, one on the former mayor’s sons. “He taught me more about soldiering during his illness than I learned during two years in the military. Never once did I ever hear him complain, when he had more reasons than most of us.”
After that
Even after leaving office as mayor, Collins didn’t leave the political scene, serving in the mayor’s Office of Constituent Services, and as an advisor to former state Senator and Mayor Joseph Doria. Last year, the federal government renamed the Broadway Main Post Office in Collins’ honor.
“Dennis Collins has left a lasting impression on the people of Bayonne, this county, and this nation,” said U.S. Senator Bob Menendez last year. “It is not just his length of service that is remarkable, but the honesty, the integrity, and the compassion that he brought to his work each and every day.”
U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg has similar praise for Collins.
“He inspired the people around him,” Lautenberg said.
Edward spoke glowingly about his father during an interview last year.
“My father had a good sense of rhythm. He knew the give and take of life and of nature and always managed to balance things,” Edward said. “He was always good at civics, and understood what it means to be a good citizen. He always loved what he was doing and loved the people of Bayonne.”
Stopped on the street
Long after he left office, people still stopped Mayor Collins on the street.
“I never saw anything like it. People just gathered around him and hugged him. You could see the look of admiration on their faces,” Edward said.
Perhaps one of Collins’ closest friends and associates in Bayonne, Eleanor Tiefenwerth, executive director of the BEOF, was in near tears when interviewed this week.
“He was a very good friend and mentor,” she said. “He liked most people, but each in a special way. He tried to find the uniqueness in each individual. He will be sorely missed by the BEOF and personally. He played a part in everything we accomplished here, and I will miss his guidance and his knowledge.”
She said she spoke to Collins last Friday. “He wanted to know about how our Thanksgiving food program [for the needy] went,” she said.
‘A Ph.D in good government’
Former Freeholder Barry Dugan also praised Collins.
“Dennis Collins was one of my mentors. He helped me tremendously when I first ran for freeholder and many times since,” Dugan said. “ I learned a lot watching him over the years and tried to emulate him in my daily actions. He was always trying to help someone and called on me often when I was the freeholder I can only say that he made lives better for so many people that he will have no trouble passing the Pearly Gates. I have lost a treasured friend and will always miss him but never forget him. He will always be Mayor Collins to me and I will never forget him.”
Nicholas Chiaravalloti, former chairman to the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority, also had fond memories of Collins.
“As a kid growing up in Bayonne, I didn’t even know we had elections. I assumed Mayor Collins was elected for life,” he said. “Working with him from 1998 to 2002 was like receiving a Ph.D. in good government. He was a true gentleman. A man of incredible patience and integrity who showed wonderful tolerance for a brash 25-year-old. The way he conducted and presented himself on a daily basis was an example for those around him. Mayor Collins was able to accomplish more with his note cards, a yellow pad, pencil and telephone then three operatives with Blackberries and the latest software program. I for one will continue to think about him and how he influenced my life.”
Rep. Albio Sires said Collins was a well-respected man.
“When I started in politics, he was someone I looked up to. When I became mayor of West New York, I wanted to run the town as well as he did when he was mayor,” Sires said.
Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith described Collins as a quintessential old-school Irish politician who “could sing you a song that would bring a tear to your eye,” but always had a pen and index cards in his jacket pocket for writing down a constituent’s needs.
“If you had a problem, he would jot it down. The next day, he would call you back to see if the problem was fixed,” Smith said. “For the latter third of the 20th century, the names ‘Dennis Collins’ and ‘Bayonne’ were wed together, synonyms for honesty, frugality and good government. Mayor Collins was the epitome of a life well lived in service to others and in defense of those less fortunate. He will forever be remembered as Bayonne’s mayor, and we would do well to recall his common sense leadership style in these troubling times. My colleagues and I in government have lost a friend, a mentor and a shining example of how government can be a force for positive change in our lives. He will be sorely missed but never forgotten.”
Former City Law Director Jay Coffey said, “Mayor Fitzpatrick built Bayonne and then Mayor Collins defined it. An era and a community’s mindset have ended with his passing.”
Jersey City Freeholder Bill O’Dea said, “Mayor Collins was one of the great political leaders of our time. I often use his quote that he lived by: ‘Your word is your bond. There are no written contracts in politics.’ His word was his bond.”
Bayonne City Democratic Chairman Jason O’Donnell said, “Mayor Collins touched thousands of lives during his career in government. He was always there for the people of the city he loved so much and he will be sorely missed.”
Joseph Waks, former mayoral and state senate aide to Doria, said, “It’s the highest honor to say that I was able to work alongside of Mayor Collins and that I could call him ‘my friend.’ His innumerable parables about growing up in a large Irish family in Bayonne, about serving in Burma during WW II and about Hudson County and Bayonne politics are priceless. Most of
all, however, Mayor Collins taught me and all who knew him two things: that politics is a means to an end and not some kind of game. Secondly, that public service is a noble profession to be practiced with pride and honor. Dennis Collins is the last of a breed and although he made Bayonne a much greater place to live, we will all miss him dearly.”
“Hudson Reporter” columnist Matthew Amato said Collins was a kind man who would hug you when he met you, and he was also as tough as nails.
“He was from the old school,” he said. “That last time I saw him, he gave me a hug.”
Viewing
Collins leaves behind his wife, Mary, his sons Edward and Dennis Jr., and his daughter, Mary Jan Stanul.
Viewing for Collins will be held on Dec. 9 and 10 at the Bayonne Memorial Home, 854 Avenue C, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral mass will be held on Dec. 11 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary, Star of the Sea, 326 Avenue C.