LEXINGTON, Ky. — Martha Layne Collins, the first and only woman elected governor of Kentucky, died on Saturday. She was 88.

The Democrat's most visible legacy is a sprawling Toyota auto assembly plant — arguably the biggest industrial plum of its day and the linchpin of her economic-development strategy. She also worked for years to overhaul the state's public education system.

“When I became governor, you have lots of priorities, but when I’d sit down and think about it, education always came back as the first thing you have to start with,” the former teacher explained in a 1992 interview with the Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky. "I feel like I made an impact in education and bringing in new jobs; I hope we made the people of Kentucky feel good about themselve

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