Saturday October 5, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC [Posted at 5:30 pm / Updated 6:52 pm]
BC ELECTION CAMPAIGN DAY 15 of 28
Political campaign news coverage by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Your 28-day voter’s guide for BC Election 2024
Local Langford folks dropped by to chat with Mike Harris at Poncho’s Cafe in Langford today.
Harris is the BC Conservative candidate for Langford-Highlands.
This is his second run at becoming an MLA. He previously ran in the June 2023 Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election in which he achieved a strong second-place finish.
Today in casual conversations with folks who dropped by, Harris discussed health-care, the cost of living, and the dynamics of how government makes decisions. He is concerned about what he calls NDP ‘overreach’.
He was seated outdoors in front of the coffee shop on this cool Saturday afternoon. Poncho’s is centrally located on Langford’s downtown main street, Goldstream Avenue, near the fountain roundabout.
Harris was accompanied by his campaign manager Jeff Fiddler who is guiding his candidate to win with “better ideas” than the competition, instead of name-calling and finger-pointing as some campaigns might get into. People are finding this refreshing.
Harris already knew some of the people who dropped by. “They are excited to see a new government,” he said about people who support his campaign.
That’s presuming the BC Conservatives win enough seats on October 19 to form government. People are telling him: “We don’t want to vote out a government we want to vote in a new government.”
Health-care system:
When it came to discussing health-care Harris pointed out that some of the health-care delivery is already “somewhat privatized” (e.g. eye care clinics, lab testing, and some of the urgent primary care clinics) but that things could be run better.
He refutes the BC NDP claim that the BC Conservatives would cut health-care by $4.1 billion if elected. The BC Conservatives would “put more more money into the system if needed, because the system has to work”.
Back in July, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad announced a Patient’s First approach as a ‘new model’ for health-care.
“We would streamline the health-care system,” said Harris, pointing out that more health-care spending is needed on the the front line and less on administration in a system that is “now administration heavy”.
Ready for the ride:
At age 63 and with a business career on his resume, Harris is ready for the new job of being an MLA. He and his wife Debbie have been married 41 years and she is fully supportive. “I’m going into politics to make a difference,” said Harris, comparing that to people who choose elected office as a job or career.
He first got involved to help out the Conservative Party of BC in its formative stages, then he was asked to run as a candidate. He admits that in the by-election campaign in 2023 (his first-ever political run for anything) that it was all very new. This time around his has learned the ‘language’ and better understands “the arena and the players” and how to navigate through all that. “I’m more confident now.”
“I’m ready for this role. It’s going to be hard and a lot of hard work,” he said in chatting with Island Social Trends today. “But I’m excited about having a BC government with new and fresh ideas,” said Harris. “We can’t do worse.”
Next event:
Mike Harris will be at Poncho’s again on Friday October 11 for another meet-and-greet, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. That will be two days into a series of days during which people can vote in the advance voting (October 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16).
These events are helpful for people to meet candidates in person, to ask questions, and explore ideas. One person at today’s meet-and-greet said she and her husband vote in opposite directions; she was looking for more information to support her choice.
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