Collins to maintain prosecutor's office
The Highland County Press
With 68 percent of the vote count, at 10,609-5,086, Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins is the general election winner over Independent Kimberly McGuire-Haines.
Collins was appointed prosecutor by the Highland County Republican Party Central Committee on June 15, 2011 after former prosecutor Jim Grandey retired from the office last year.
Collins was hired as an assistant prosecutor in 2006.
"I want to thank everyone for their support in electing me to be your Highland County prosecutor," Collins said. "It will be an honor and a privilege to continue to serve the citizens of Highland County to the best of my ability. I am excited to continue in this service. I want to especially thank my family, my staff, and my loyal friends for their support and dedication."
Upon being appointed as prosecutor last year, Collins said she has a strong passion for the position.
"I knew it the first week I was here," Collins said. "I loved it. I would come in on my days off to do paperwork and discovery, just to learn how to do things. I just had a passion for it, and I wanted to learn everything as quickly as I could. I would learn everything about a case so they would need me to help try it."
Collins grew up in Highland County, attending Greenfield Schools until she was a freshman. She then attended Hillsboro High School, graduating in 1997. She graduated from the Ohio State University in just over two years, and then came back to Highland County and worked for the Highland County Probation Department. She then attended the University of Dayton Law School, graduating and passing the bar exam in 2005.
In addition to the criminal prosecution, the Highland County prosecutor is also the legal counsel for the townships, and all county agencies, such as the county commissioners, and the Highland County Fair Board.
"I have a very serious dedication to Highland County," Collins said. "My heart is here, and I am 100-percent dedicated to this county. I want to make this a better place. I want my kids to grow up here, and then to raise their kids here. I know how awesome this county is."
She and her husband, Josh, have two young daughters.
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Haines has been an attorney for the past 15 years. She is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.
She works as a general practice attorney on civil, domestic, criminal, personal injury and juvenile cases.
She has worked as an assistant Highland County prosecutor under former prosecutor Jim Grandey, and in the prosecutor's office in Fayette County. She has taught at Southern State Community College, been the solicitor for the city of Greenfield, and worked as a public defender in Franklin and Clark counties.
She and her husband, Wesley, an Air Force veteran, have four children.