That story was generating headlines even before Collins defeated four-term incumbent Jim Smith in 2017 to become the first black mayor of a Montana city since statehood.

“When I flew into Helena and saw the community with open arms ready to embrace me, when I looked into the eyes of my wife, when I looked into the eyes of my nearly 2-year-old daughter who ran into my arms for the first time, I knew at this very moment that this road was in fact meant for me,” Collins said Monday, “and I was simply coming home.”

Collins interwove that story with what he saw as the power of a “collective voice” favoring his platform.

“I want you to join me as one collective voice to make it heard loud and clear that no longer, I repeat, no longer is it acceptable for a young mother to have to make a choice between paying her bills and getting to see a doctor,” Collins said. “Health care is a right for all.”

Collins also called on that collective voice to help tackle “the many faces of economic insecurity,” protect collective bargaining and fight for reform of lobbying and campaign finance in the wake of the Citizens United decision, something the city itself addressed in recent months.