Michael Harris announces candidacy for Waterloo region council

A familiar face entered into the race to become a Waterloo regional councilor.

Former Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris officially filed his paperwork Wednesday morning to run.

Harris, who has three young children, is looking forward to being able to spend more time with his family. He says working as a provincial MPP kept him out of the house five nights a week.

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“I think this will allow me to continue to serve my community,” Harris said, while also noting that if elected, the position will allow him to be “close to home with my young family who have been very supportive of me.”

It had been rumoured that Harris would seek to replace Ken Seiling as regional chair, who stepped down after 30 years. He said Wednesday that he prefers the flexibility of still trying to help the Kitchener community while also being able to pursue interests outside of politics.

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He says he is hoping to focus on key infrastructure issues such as Go Transit and roundabouts while also trying to make certain to “keep an eye on taxpayers dollars.”

READ MORE: PC MPP Michael Harris won’t run for re-election due to eye condition

Harris initially announced he would step down as MPP in April for health reasons but was later cut loose by the PC Party amid a texting scandal. He was later replaced by Mike Harris Jr., son of the former Ontario premier of the same name.

The Michael Harris scandal broke just days after the former premier’s son was handily defeated in the PC nomination vote in the neighbouring Waterloo riding. After the loss, Mike Harris Jr. entered the newly open Kitchener-Conestoga riding.

READ MORE: Mike Harris Jr. wins tight race in Kitchener-Conestoga

Harris is not the only provincial politician to recently enter into local politics.

Last week, former Cambridge MPP Kathryn McGarry entered into that city’s mayoral race.

The former transportation minister had served as Cambridge MPP from 2014-18.