HELENA — In an office on the third floor of Helena’s City-County Building, Wilmot Collins could point to a case full of mementos, collected over the last eight years. But this month, he was ready to start putting them away.
“My boxes are coming, and I will start packing up and getting ready to get out of here,” he said.
After eight years as Helena’s mayor, Collins, 62, is stepping away from the job.
“It's been a pleasure working with the people of Helena,” he said. “I've enjoyed every minute of it, even though there's been some trying times.”
(Watch the video to hear more from Collins.)
Collins got his start in city politics in 2017, when he challenged Mayor Jim Smith, a 16-year incumbent.
“I was not confident, because I know Jim well, Jim is a likable person, he's well-known in the community,” he said. “I knew that our election was serious, I think, after our first-quarter reporting, when we had outraised the incumbent, and I said, ‘Oh my God.’”
Collins narrowly defeated Smith, 51% to 48%. But whatever surprise there may have been over the result, it was immediately dwarfed by what came in the hours and days that followed.
“I don't know how Huffington Post got my cell phone number, but I got a call from them, and they said, ‘Hi, Mr. Mayor-elect, how does it feel to make history?’” he said. “And I'm like, ‘What are you talking about? This is just a small-town election.’”
That was just the first of dozens of interviews Collins would do in the days after his election, with news outlets across the country and around the world. The coverage focused on his unique personal background: A refugee from a civil war in the West African nation of Liberia, he came to the U.S., served in the Army and Navy Reserves and became the first black mayor officially elected in Montana. It came at a time when President Donald Trump’s first term had made issues like race and immigration national flashpoints.
MTN asked Collins if he thought all the attention distracted from the work he was trying to do on the local level.
“I don't know if it distracted me,” he said. “I think it exposed Helena on a better level, because more people were looking at Helena and saying, ‘Where's this place? Where's this place?’ And people started coming here to visit, because the amount of people that visited this office was unbelievable – how many people wanted to meet me because of the election.”
Collins made increasing police and fire department staffing the centerpiece of his 2017 campaign. He says he was proud the city was able to take action in his first year in office, securing a voter-approved levy and federal grant to support new firefighters. But he says some of the work that connected most with Helena residents was addressing everyday issues, like updating snowplowing plans.
“I always tell people: I say, ‘Helena is a very informed community, they take pride in participation,’” said Collins. “So when you get in there, you know that they're watching.”
During his tenure, Collins made one attempt at higher office. In 2019, he announced a run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines. After ten months on the campaign trail, he withdrew from the race when then-Gov. Steve Bullock made a late entrance.
MTN asked if Collins still thought about running for another office.
“You know, the world is open,” he said. “I'm not going to close up my opportunities. But, for now, I just want to finish this on a high note.”
It was during his Senate campaign that Collins was charged with leaving the scene of a traffic crash. He told MTN he was driving home early from a commission meeting because of a backache. He said his foot slipped off the brakes and his car lurched forward, but that he didn’t realize he had hit another vehicle until the driver followed him honking. He admitted to careless driving and paid a fine, but he went to trial to defend himself against the accusation of leaving the scene of an accident – and a jury found him not guilty.
Collins says he was confused by what he considered an unreasonable prosecution.
“I'm happy there was a camera that caught the lady and myself shaking hands,” he said. “Why would we be shaking hands if we had not concluded, you know what I'm saying? I think the people saw through that.”
Collins also presided over the city through contentious periods like 2020, when leaders had to deal with the COVID pandemic and the nationwide debate over policing that followed the death of George Floyd. In Helena, that led to questions over whether police should continue placing uniformed school resource officers in Helena Public Schools campuses.
“For me, I felt that with things so uncertain in the country, I don't think I could live with myself if we had pulled the SRO from the schools because I think they play a very important role – not only on safety, they do counseling, they talk to the kids,” said Collins.
Collins won a second term in 2021. But when the time came for candidates to file in the 2025 election, he says he decided it was time to move on.
“You know, I'm not getting younger, and I’ve got this beautiful grandbaby in Seattle, Washington,” he said. “Every day, we FaceTime. I want to be able to for her to see us face to face.”
Collins endorsed City Commissioner Emily Dean, who has served as mayor pro tem for several years, to be his successor. Last month, Dean won a narrow victory of her own to become Helena’s next mayor-elect.
“Emily is a straight shooter,” said Collins. “She knows what she's doing, and she doesn't deviate. If this is the way it should be done, that's the way she would do it. She's a real detail-oriented person, and she knows the job.”
Collins’ full-time job has been with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. When he became mayor, he was a child protection specialist. Today, he’s the compliance and communications specialist for DPHHS’ Aging Services Bureau. He says he plans to spend a few more years with the department before considering retirement.
However, his biggest goal after leaving office is to continue tackling an issue he believes the city hasn’t successfully addressed during his time in office: homelessness.
“That is my most important regret right now: We were not able to fully alleviate it – and I don't think we could ever fully do it, but my regret here is we didn't put in the time and energy that needed to be put in,” he said.
Collins believes Helena can’t simply put money toward dealing with homelessness, and that the city needs to get more directly involved.
“I'm not sure what we're doing yet, but I will get a team together when I'm done,” he said. “There's money around; it's just that we need to be able to access this money for the right purpose. And I think getting a facility for our unsheltered neighbors will be the best way to go, even if we run half the year, during the cold months.”
As he leaves the mayor’s office, Collins says he’s grateful.
“I knew the job was going to be difficult, but we still did it, and I want to thank the people of Helena for allowing me the opportunity to serve them,” he said. “I'm moving on, but I'm still here in Helena. Helena is home for me, and I'll still be available.”
