Lockport residents had strong words for Chris Collins after hearing the news that he resigned Monday.

“He should be in prison,” said Bill Cunningham, who lives in Lockport.

“He got what he deserved if he asked me,” said Alec Maslowski, another Lockport resident.

The congressman’s resignation comes as he’s set to change his not guilty plea in a federal insider trading case. Some say it’s about time Collins stepped down.

Darlene Loffredo, of Lockport, said, “I think it’s a good thing, he did the right thing.”

Collins was first elected to the 27th Congressional District in 2012 and won re-election in 2016 and 2018. 

“At the beginning of his election, I think he really did a lot for the community. I think that towards the end, he got a little bit too big for his britches,” said Cynthia Hess, of Lockport.

“In the beginning, I was very supportive of him; he did do a lot of good things for our community. I got to say I’m a little disappointed hearing the accusations against him,” Jay Kubiak, a Lockport resident, said.

With a congressional seat now up for grabs, constituents are now looking for someone to step up to lead the district.

“I’d like to see somebody in the third party, independent, I’d really like an independent party start taking more precedence instead of this two-party system,” said Maslowski.

“I’m hoping that the people would actually make the right choice and decide to actually go with the better candidate whether it be Republican or Democrat — get somebody that’s right for this community,” said Kubiak.