Knox County Tennesee

Commissioner Collins is serving his second term, representing the Second District. He was first elected in 1998, winning with 61% of the vote.  Commissioner Collins was reelected without opposition in either the primary or general election in 2002.

Commissioner Collins serves on the Intergovernmental Committee and the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals.

From September 2002 to September 2004, Commissioner Collins served as Chairman of the Knox County Commission. During his term as Chairman, Collins streamlined the Commission's committee process and was instrumental in bringing about a settlement of the lawsuit brought by the Board of Education against the county. Also, in response to Mayor Ragsdale's appeal to all County Departments to look for efficiencies and savings within their budget, Commissioner Collins, leading by example, reduced the Commission budget by 7%.
 
Commissioner Collins is a Principal and Vice-President with McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects.  Prior to joining MHM, Commissioner Collins was the City Architect for the City of Knoxville and the mayor's designated representative on several major development projects, including the new downtown convention center and the waterfront development.

Commissioner Collins has been a guest lecturer at the University of Tennessee's School of Architecture, Graduate School of Planning, and Political Science Departments and Tulane University's School of Architecture.  He has served as a lead resource person at Mayor's Institute on City Design workshops in Lexington, Kentucky and New Orleans, Louisiana.  Mr. Collins recently gave a presentation on sustainable urban development at an international conference in Piura, Peru .

David Collins graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Tennessee in 1979 as Valedictorian of his class.  Commissioner Collins has also practiced architecture in Montgomery, Alabama and Houston, Texas .

David Collins is a member of the American Institute of Architects and was President of the East Tennessee Chapter of the AIA in 1995.  Collins is also very active in our community, currently serving on the board of directors of Keep Knoxville Beautiful, Habitat for Humanity , the Northside YMCA, Edsouth and the Knoxville Zoo. He was a member of the Leadership Knoxville Class of 2000.

A native of Knoxville, Commissioner Collins is married to the former Karen Ann Simsen and has two sons, Ryan and Brit and two stepdaughters, Vera and Gracie. They are active members of Church Street United Methodist Church.