- Gus Harris
Augustus John (Gus) Harris (July 1908 –
February 20 ,2000 ) was a Canadianpolitician . He was born inLiverpool ,United Kingdom . He was the mayor ofScarborough, Ontario from 1978 to 1988.He was first elected to Scarborough Township council following
World War II , and was elected reeve of the township in 1956. He served on theBoard of Control when the township became a borough and then a city.Although he was a relatively conservative, pro-development mayor, Harris' political roots were in the labour movement, the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and theNew Democratic Party . He was also progressive on social issues calling forgay rights at a 1979 human rights rally. [Way to Go: CLGRO 1975 - 2000: A Short History. Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario. [http://www.web.net/clgro/history.htm] ]Harris never accepted financial donations to his political campaigns from any source so that he would not be captive to any interests. Shortly before the nomination deadlines for the 1988 municipal elections in Ontario, Harris announced he would not seek re-election as mayor, and was officially succeeded by
Joyce Trimmer as mayor, in early December 1988.Although retired from active politics, Harris occasionally spoke on various municipal issues in the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as transit concerns and the proposal for the potential amalgamation of
Metropolitan Toronto . He died at the age of 91 due to complications from parkinson's disease. [Gus Harris was a no nonsense politician. "CBC News".Feb 21 2000 . [http://origin.www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/02/21/formermayor000200.html] ] A nature trail that passes through Warden Woods Park on Taylor-Massey Creek was named in his honour. [City of Toronto officially names the Gus Harris Trail. City of Toronto.May 30 2002 . [http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/it/newsrel.nsf/9da959222128b9e885256618006646d3/ff4318420cb0eff485256df60045f09b?OpenDocument] ]Memorable quotes
On December 11, 1973 during a debate on the fate of the community on the
Toronto Islands , Harris, a controller at the time, was firmly against the idea of retaining the houses. He said at one point, "These people have launched as vicious a propaganda campaign as I've ever seen. You can see the fine hand of Island public relations in this City proposal. I've had it with their heart-rending stories." [Jon Caulfield. The Tiny Perfect Mayor. 1974. John Lorimer & Company. Toronto. p. 88.]In July 1988, just prior to his retirement as mayor, he spoke about how Scarborough was maturing as a city. He said, "They won't be calling this place Scarberia much longer." [Robert Fulford. Accidental City. 1995. MacFarlane, Walter & Ross. Toronto. p. 112.]
References
Political office
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