BarrieToday recently reached out to each candidate for city council in Barrie's 10 wards for a 300-word profile in their own words about their background and why people should vote for them.
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Raised in Barrie, my roots are firmly planted here in Ward 4, where my parents settled to raise our family, including my five siblings.
My father, Arthur (“Art”) Harris of Harris Flowers and my mother, Blanche (Green, a farming family from Ivy Township), along with all of my grandparents, invested heavily in the city of Barrie, beginning in the 1800s. Their legacy of focused, energetic, hard-working, 'roll up your sleeves' attitude, integrity and accountability continues in me today.
I live in Barrie and worked at Honda for 17 years, after which I chose the path of local entrepreneurship, owning four businesses at the same time (where I employed 60 Barrie-area residents) for 10 years in the city of Barrie.
Raised with a critical-thinking, hard-working mindset of listening and learning, I know that actively listening, continuously learning, and functionally communicating in person, with all stakeholders on behalf of the people I represent: You, the residents of Ward 4 - is the key for anyone to succeed in the role of councillor to effectively represent you.
To that end, I am the sole candidate for Ward 4 who will be treating this role as my full-time job.
I, Bryan Harris, submit my name ‘for the long haul’; if I am elected, and if you are happy with your vote for me, I intend to run for the following two elections after that.
I believe that it is my time to give back to the City of Barrie that has taken care of me, my family, and our future. That time is now because I want to be a part of the growth that is now happening in this city, and I want to work with the legacy of the incumbent, whom I respect for his past service.
My interests are: community safety, controlling taxes, preservation of park land and our heritage.
