# Randolph Collier

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Collier
> Source revision: 1350706933
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{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Randolph Collier
|image = Randolph Collier, 1963.jpg
|caption = Official portrait, 1963
|state_senate = California
|term_start = January 2, 1939
|term_end = November 30, 1976
|predecessor = [Henry M. McGuinness](/source/Henry_M._McGuinness)
|successor = [Ray E. Johnson](/source/Ray_E._Johnson)
|constituency = [2nd district](/source/California's_2nd_senatorial_district) {{small|(1939–1967)}}<br />[1st district](/source/California's_1st_senatorial_district) {{small|(1967–1976)}}
|birth_date = {{birth date|1902|07|26}}
|birth_place = [Etna, California](/source/Etna%2C_California), U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1983|08|02|1902|07|26}}
|death_place = [Sacramento, California](/source/Sacramento%2C_California), U.S.
|resting_place =
|party = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) {{small|(1959–1983)}}<br />[Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) {{small|(before 1959)}}
|spouse = {{marriage|Aida|1945|1970|end=div}}<br />Barbara Ferris Hamoui
|children = 7
|occupation =
|alma_mater = [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley)
}}

'''Randolph Collier''' (July 26, 1902 – August 2, 1983) was a member of the [California State Senate](/source/California_State_Senate).  He was Senator from [California's 2nd senatorial district](/source/California's_2nd_senatorial_district) from 1939 to 1967, and from the [First District](/source/California's_1st_State_Senatorial_district) from 1967 to 1976.<ref>{{cite web|title= Join California - Randolph Collier|url=https://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/2267|website=joincalifornia.com}}</ref> Initially a member of the [Republican Party](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)), he moved to the [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) in 1959.<ref>California Blue Book, 1963</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/03/obituaries/randolph-collier-father-of-coast-freeways.html New York Times - Obituary of Randolph Collier]</ref>

Collier served as chairman of the California Senate Transportation Committee and was the sponsor and co-author of the Collier–Burns Highway Act of 1947, which laid the groundwork for the [California Freeway and Expressway System](/source/California_Freeway_and_Expressway_System). He was chairman of the Senate Interim Committee on Highways, Streets and Bridges. Collier was an opponent of [rapid transit](/source/rapid_transit).<ref>[https://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf267n99qg/ Inventory of the Randolph Collier Papers, bulk 1945-1955]</ref> A rest stop in [Siskiyou County](/source/Siskiyou_County%2C_California), where he lived nearly all of his life, is named after him,<ref>[http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/maint/ra/ra29.htm California Rest Stops]</ref> as is a tunnel on the Redwood Highway, [U.S. Route 199](/source/U.S._Route_199).

In 1976, Collier was defeated for re-election by former state Assemblyman [Ray E. Johnson](/source/Ray_E._Johnson) and moved to [Sacramento](/source/Sacramento%2C_California), where he spent the remainder of his life until dying of chronic pulmonary obstruction at the age of 81.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/03/obituaries/randolph-collier-father-of-coast-freeways.html|title = Randolph Collier, 'Father' of Coast Freeways|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 3 August 1983|last1 = Turner|first1 = Wallace}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|before=[Henry M. McGuinness](/source/Henry_M._McGuinness)
|title=Member of the [California Senate](/source/California_State_Senate) from the [2nd district](/source/California's_2nd_senatorial_district)
|years=January 2, 1939 – January 2, 1967
|after=[Fred W. Marler Jr.](/source/Fred_W._Marler_Jr.)}}
{{succession box
|before=[Stanley Arnold](/source/Stanley_Arnold)
|title=Member of the [California Senate](/source/California_State_Senate) from the [1st district](/source/California's_1st_senatorial_district)
|years=January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1976
|after=[Ray E. Johnson](/source/Ray_E._Johnson)}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Randolph}}
Category:1902 births
Category:1983 deaths
Category:Place of birth missing
Category:Place of death missing
Category:California state senators
Category:California Republicans
Category:California Democrats
Category:People from Siskiyou County, California
Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni
Category:20th-century members of the California State Legislature

{{California-CASenate-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Randolph Collier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Collier) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Collier?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.