FRANCO DOK HARRIS
His website, Harrisfor6.com, is little more than a shell listing his educational credentials, a general summary of his work history since his 2009 mayoral run, and a quote saying he is the best candidate in the race for Pittsburgh’s district 6 council seat.
His Twitter and Facebook pages are equally bereft of detail. Still, the son of Hall-of-Fame Steelers running back Franco Harris said he can win his uphill battle—actually two uphill battles.
Not only is Dok Harris vying to defeat current Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, but also the woman who held the seat before him, Tonya Payne. In essence, he’s battling two incumbents.
So how does he convince voters he’s the best candidate when he has no record of legislative experience and both his opponents do?
“Well, can residents say they are better off having been represented by career politicians,” he said. “I have a successful record of creating solid small business legal policy. I think being a career politician is a detriment. I think not owing favors to the machine is a positive.”
Though born on the North Side, Harris, 33, grew up in the suburbs, attending Sewickley Academy, Princeton, then earning joint business and law degrees from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh. He now lives Downtown, and the law firm he recently founded with Alexis Wukich is located in his childhood home.
This led opponent Payne to call him everything short of a carpetbagger, saying he never had to work for anything and has no connection to the community.
“My family and I have been involved in the city politically and economically for some time,” said Harris. “Tonya has the mentality that the seat is only for the Hill District—it’s not. It’s for the North Side, Downtown, Oakland and Uptown too. Sure, Hill residents can say they always have local representation, but how has it benefited them?”
Asked why he’s running, Harris said he decided to jump into the race after Lavelle was indicted for election law violations last year.
“I’m an attorney. If I did that, I’m losing my license and maybe in jail,” he said. “Danny’s charges are magically reduced and he gets (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition) as if it were a summary offense.
“I don’t think he’s a bad guy, just trying to help out a friend. But you can’t do that in office. It’s not a foolish mistake it’s a crime. Look at where that mentality got us with Ravenstahl.”
Harris said the pay-to-play politics has to stop. Lavelle’s bill to have banks holding city funds invest in poor neighborhoods is great on paper, but in practice it just funnels money to cronies.
“And Carl Redwood’s dollar-a-car idea to fund Hill initiatives is a good idea,” he said. “But a huge unregulated pool of money—terrible idea. Here’s one; why not use that to fund highly subsidized, maybe free, daycare. How many mothers would be working at better, full time jobs if they didn’t have to worry about daycare?”
Harris also said he believes the Rivers Casino should continue to support its neighboring communities, though its official obligation is over. He also wants to insure that community redevelopment doesn’t result in tax increases that force seniors and lower income residents out of their homes.
“We’ve seen politics has done for the district,” he said. “I’m asking the voters, if you had a company and needed to hire someone to run it—to spend your money—which is essentially what this is, who would you hire? It’s time to put a professional in charge. Not a professional politician.”
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
Your comments are welcome.
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl