Good riddance to Chris Collins

Good riddance to now-ex-Rep. Chris Collins, who finally quit Congress as he admitted guilt in the insider-trading and securities-fraud case that’s dogged him for over a year.

Of course, the Republican should have quit long before — at the latest, when the FBI arrested him and prosecutors filed the charges in the summer of 2018. The evidence was overwhelming, as even Collins has now admitted.

Instead, with the indictment hanging over his head, he decided to run for re-election, nearly losing what’s normally a safe Republican seat by a paper-thin margin. (A rarity: We endorsed the Democrat.)

The 27th District lost out, and not just because the case surely gave Collins less time for his day job: The GOP leadership booted him from his committee seats.

Maybe Collins convinced himself he’d somehow beat the charges; maybe he thought dropping out would be too close to admitting guilt.

Or maybe he figured it gave him more leverage to cut a better plea deal. (After all, Eliot Spitzer escaped prosecution for his crimes entirely by agreeing to resign as governor.)

The people of the 27th are still losing, with no House representation until Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls a special election. Even then, the candidates will have to be tapped by party leaders, rather than in open primaries.

New York’s entitled politicians sure give new meaning to the term “public servant.”

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