Chris Collins says it's time to draw a line in the sand. And the Republican candidate for Erie County executive isn't talking about using his toe to mark his territory on a beach somewhere down in Florida.

In fact, chances are Collins won't have much time over the next five months to take any type of vacation out of state since his campaign to become the county's top elected official is now in full swing.

Touting what he calls a "bold and historic" campaign for reform, Collins is making it clear his concept of using a business-like approach towards running government is the best way to introduce more economic opportunities to our region.

"My campaign isn't just about me running for office," Collins said last week over a cup of coffee. "It's about the future, and it's about helping to get away from the ongoing bickering amongst our political leaders that led to the dark times we've recently experienced."

A long-time resident of Clarence, Collins says his 35 years of experience as a businessman helps make up the basis of a perfect resume that he plans to present to the general public as they prepare to head to the polls in November.

Collins helps turn around businesses that are on their last legs or have already gone bankrupt. A few years ago he cleaned up Buffalo China. Just last year he built a factory in North Tonawanda for two other of his turnaround companies. All told, Collins claims he's saved or helped to create over 600 jobs here in Western New York.

And now the 57-year-old wants to do the same thing for Erie County by using his expertise to fix a system that he says is fatally flawed.

"Erie County is broken, and I believe the taxpayers need a business-like approach to fix these problems," said Collins. "What we need to do is go back to the basics, which is why I'm calling for a county government that focuses on what I'm calling the three R's of reform. We need to reform, rebuild our economy, and reduce taxes."

Collins, whose only previous political experience was an unsuccessful congressional race against John LaFalce in 1998, says he openly admits and actually proudly proclaims that he's not a seasoned politician.

"I'm not a career politician, but what I am is a manager and a leader," he said. "I know people will try and tag me as just another Republican but my response to that is that it's politicians from both parties who created this situation. We can do politics as usual or we can take a business-like approach and lead by example."

Collins said critics who say he is simply a businessman and entrepreneur who won't be able to convert into an effective elected official need look no further than downstate to see that a "non-politician" can be a true leader.

"Take a look at Mike Bloomberg and the job he's done as mayor of New York City," said Collins. "He showed it can be done and it will be done here if the taxpayers believe in my message."

Collins said his tracking of actions taken by current County Executive Joel Giambra and the County Legislature show no sincere efforts towards true reform.

"We need to go back to focusing on the taxpayer," said Collins. "Every time someone in power goes to make a decision they need to ask if it's in the best interests long-term for the taxpayer or is it just a short-term Band-Aid that may or may not involve some people siding with certain special interests?"

Collins said other plans he would implement if elected would be to "eliminate the smoke and mirrors," stressing that transparency is needed.

"I want the budget to be posted on the county's Web site in an easy-to-read format," said Collins. "The patronage will stop."

Collins said the feedback he's gotten from residents and business owners he's met thus far on the campaign trail has been "100 percent positive." That, coupled with the recent decision by Amherst's Bill O'Loughlin to back out of the county executive race as a potential GOP candidate, has cleared the way for Collins to solely focus on the Nov. 6 election while Democratic hopefuls Jim Keane and Paul Clark pound away at each other as they inch closer to an eventual primary.

"If we want to solve our problems, we need a chief executive, not a chief politician," said Collins.