Ray Collins III
Republican Ray Collins III has filed his official candidacy paperwork for state representative in Connecticut’s 117th District, which includes parts of Milford, Orange and West Haven.
Collins said in a release that he is entering the race because the current state Rep. MJ Shannon has failed to take meaningful action on the rising costs affecting families throughout the district.
“Families are getting hammered by one bad Hartford policy after another, leading to increased taxes, higher electric bills, and state mandates that strip away our local control,” he said. “I hear the growing frustration everywhere I go, and this madness has to end. I’m running again because I’m done watching our state representative side with the people who keep making life unaffordable for the rest of us.”
Collins cited rankings that have continuously given Connecticut low marks for affordability in recent years, blaming Democratic control in Hartford.
“Those rankings are a slap in the face to every family in this district,” he said. “One-party control has made Connecticut unaffordable, unretireable and unbearable for parents. Our freshman representative’s voting record has led us deeper down the wrong road and produced zero results for families getting crushed.”
Collins, who ran in 2024 when the seat was open and lost to Shannon, laid out his campaign’s priorities, including increasing the property tax credit; eliminating the public benefits charge on electric bills; restoring full local control over zoning; stopping unfunded mandates placed to towns; and repealing the highway-use tax on trucks.
“These aren’t radical ideas, they’re plain common sense solutions that put money back in your pocket,” Collins said. “Many of the policies Rep. MJ Shannon supports in Hartford hit homeowners and families the hardest, while the day-to-day impact feels very different for him. I pay those taxes. I feel the same pain you do. It’s time to send someone to Hartford who actually understands what families are going through every single day.”
A lifelong resident of the district, Collins is the former chairman of the West Haven Police Commission, a past member of the West Haven Board of Education, a union shop steward at Brescome Barton Distributing, and a longtime youth sports coach.