Politics ‘in my blood’ Mike Harris Jr. says
MP Harold Albrecht says Kitchener-Conestoga PCs should have been allowed to pick own candidate
KITCHENER — Mike Harris Jr. had political aspirations. He had the famous name, and connections, thanks to his father. All he needed was a riding.
Harris, the eldest son of former premier Mike Harris, has catapulted almost overnight from a virtual unknown to front-runner in the local race for Kitchener-Conestoga in the June provincial election.
He did so in controversial fashion this week — appointed to the job by Ontario PC Party Leader Doug Ford, overriding local members’ plans to pick their own candidate. His appointment is also raising questions about how a path to the legislature was cleared for him so quickly.
Harris, 33, understands some people may be upset by his appointment, which followed after the sudden removal of Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris. But it was necessary, he said, with the election looming on June 7.
“The party was in a unique situation, so they had to move forward with what they thought was best,” Harris said, in a phone interview.
“It’s not maybe ideal for everybody, and there may be some broken hearts and some wounds to heal. But my focus going forward is rebuilding those bridges.”
Harris is a political newcomer running in his first election. He grew up in North Bay and moved to Waterloo about five years ago, briefly running a frozen yogurt business that has since closed. He’s now in charge of business development at Route1, a tech company chaired by his father.
Harris’ surprise appointment has raised eyebrows among more than a few Tories, since the candidate was trounced in his efforts to win the nomination in Waterloo just
two weeks earlier. But the father of five says he’s been around politics most of his life, and has learned a lot from watching his father.
“Politics is in my blood,” Harris said. “With my father being former premier, that gives my insight into what has happened, and what is happening in politics ... I’ve been a part of that leadership machine for many, many years.”
He said he’s offended by the suggestion he’s being parachuted into Kitchener-Conestoga, saying he lives a five-minute drive from the riding. Some point to Mike Harris Sr.’s influence as a major fundraiser for Ford and draw a line to the pre-election gift for his son. The former premier also played a big role in convincing former leadership contender Christine Elliott to drop her challenge in the contest that ultimately made Ford the party leader.
But Harris says he’ll be working hard to make sure voters know him for his own merits. He declines to talk about the circumstances
that caused MPP Michael Harris to be forced out by own party, over a sexting allegation from 2013.
“That situation is not something I’m going to get involved with. I don’t think it’s fair to answer that. Things are still pretty fresh,” Harris said.
“(Kitchener-Conestoga) has certainly always been a riding I’ve been interested in, but in no way was I looking to oppose Michael or step on any toes.”
After he lost the Waterloo nomination, Harris says he was planning to work for the party behind the scenes. Those speculating that strings were pulled to remove MPP Michael Harris and open up a spot for him are offbase.
“Absolutely, unequivocably, not true,” he said. “I can understand why people say that ... but I have no insight into what the party’s plan was, or how they handled it.”
“I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to Michael Harris.”
On April 5, Harris was soundly beaten in the Waterloo nomination by Dan Weber. The following afternoon, someone approached
the PC leadership with a five-year-old allegation against Michael Harris, the MPP who held the seat in neighbouring Kitchener-Conestoga.
Within hours, the MPP was told he would no longer be allowed to run for the party. While the local riding association scrambled to start the process to elect a replacement, the wheels were already in motion to give the job to Mike Harris Jr.
Michael Harris, the MPP, declined to comment for this story. But it’s clear he had little currency with the new leader — chairing Elliott’s leadership campaign, and helping lead the aborted legal fight that aimed to prevent Ford from winning.
The Ontario PC Party has also declined to say who brought the allegation against the local politician, and why it resurfaced so many years after the incident happened.
The woman Harris was texting with did not file a formal complaint, and did not go public with her story — instead, it was someone within his own party who outed him.
Others are questioning why an appointment was necessary in
Kitchener-Conestoga, at the risk of alienating local party members.
“My strong preference is that he, along with any others, would have been involved in contest for the nomination,” said KitchenerConestoga MP Harold Albrecht.
“A grassroots democracy is something we all believe in and talk about ... But when push comes to shove, we have to do everything possible to make sure that happens.”
Appointments are always a gamble, the MP said, especially when a parachute candidate doesn’t live in the riding.
“You can have some local people who feel they’ve been excluded. You always run the risk of them not being involved as enthusiastically as they otherwise might have been. That’s always the downside,” Albrecht said.
Harris, meanwhile, inherits a winnable PC seat, and a significant election war chest that outshines all other candidates in the riding, thanks to significant fundraising by his predecessor.
The PC constituency association in Kitchener-Conestoga had $147,000 in its bank account at the end of 2016, according to Elections
Ontario, far more than any other party in the riding. It’s only added to that amount since — all funds that Harris can now use to help him win in June.
The association was so flush with cash it actually gave $7,500 to each of the four PC riding associations in the region, to help with their election efforts.
Harris also inherits a ballot where some voters are likely to be confused by the distinction between the two-time MPP Micheal Harris and the new Harris on the card.
It’s all left people wondering how one politician’s career was ended so dramatically, while another was suddenly given such a significant boost.
“There’s a lot of unanswered questions there,” Albrecht said. “There’s a lot of speculation out there and a lot of ‘what ifs’ in this process.”
“All I’ll say is this: I’ve worked with Michael (the MPP) for more than ten years, and in all that time, I’ve never witnessed any evidence of inappropriate behaviour.”