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Former Visalia mayor Greg Collins, right, is pictured in 2005 after being elected to the City Council after a 14-year absence. Collins who served on the council for about 30 years, died Thursday in Visalia. He was 76.<\/p>\n
Fresno Bee Staff Photo<\/p>\n
VISALIA<\/p>\n
Greg Collins, a former Visalia mayor who served on the City Council for about 30 years, died Thursday in Visalia. He was 76.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was our longest-serving council member,\u201d Visalia City Manager Leslie Caviglia said. \u201cHe served three different periods of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins\u2018 tenure on the City Council started with his first appointment on March 4, 1975. He served from 1975 to 1991, then from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2011 to 2022 before retiring, according to the city of Visalia.<\/p>\n
When Collins first was elected and for most of his tenure, Visalia didn\u2019t have districts. The city didn\u2019t adopt district boundaries until 2015, and those were implemented in the 2016 election, Caviglia said.<\/p>\n
Then Visalia City Council candidate Greg Collins celebrates with supporters during an election party at Tazzaria Coffee and Tea in downtown Visalia on Nov. 8, 2005. Collins, who served on the council for about 30 years, died Thursday in Visalia. He was 76. CRAIG KOHLRUSS Fresno Bee Staff Photo <\/p>\n
\u201cGreg was very much an advocate for good planning,\u201d Caviglia said. \u201cIn the city of Visalia, he was part of several general plans and he really pushed for concentric growth in the city, and that has just been a pillar of our general plan, of our planning. It has been an important aspect of why our community has developed in the way it has. Concentric growth commitment to good planning was just a pillar of his belief.\u201c<\/p>\n
Tulare County Board of Supervisors Chair Amy Shuklian, who served with Collins on the Visalia council during two different times, said he was a good man who \u201creally loved Visalia.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Visalia is the city it is today because of Greg,\u201d Shuklian said. She served with Collins from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2016.<\/p>\n
Shuklian said Collins\u2018 vision of concentric growth helped maintain Visalia\u2019s downtown, which is very vibrant and \u201cthe envy\u201d of a lot of other cities.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was not a politician. He was there because of his love for Visalia. He spoke his mind. He wasn\u2019t afraid to say how he felt,\u201d she said, adding that Collins always had Visalia\u2019s best interest at heart.<\/p>\n
Shuklian said she remembers a time when a shopping center was coming to the city and how Collins advocated for a design that was more in tune with the history and culture of Visalia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d get a lot of flak from a lot of people, developers, folks like that, but he didn\u2019t really care because he believed in his heart what was good for Visalia,\u201d Shuklian said.<\/p>\n
Caviglia said Collins was a strong advocate for parks, oak trees and all trees in Visalia, and believed in being \u201cgood stewards of the city\u2019s finances.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud of the fact that we were Tree City USA and have been for close to half a century. That was important to him,\u201d Caviglia said.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Collins was named Visalia Chamber of Commerce\u2018s Man of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreg has spent decades shaping Visalia \u2014 not just through his professional work in planning and land use, but through a lifetime of civic leadership and volunteerism,\u201d the Visalia Chamber<\/a> wrote in a social media post in 2025. \u201cFrom serving on the City Council to mentoring future leaders, Greg\u2019s passion for preserving Visalia\u2019s unique character and empowering its people has made a lasting impact.\u201c<\/p>\n Collins is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and their two adult children.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones<\/a><\/p>\n The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones is a reporter and photographer for McClatchy\u2019s Vida en el Valle and the Fresno Bee. She covers issues that impact the Latino community in the Central Valley. She is a regular contributor to La Abeja, The Bee\u2019s free weekly newsletter on Latino issues. | Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones es reportera y fot\u00f3grafa de Vida en el Valle de McClatchy y el Fresno Bee. Ella cubre temas que impactan a la comunidad latina en el Valle Central. Es colaboradora habitual de La Abeja, el bolet\u00edn semanal gratuito de The Bee sobre temas latinos.
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