Mike Morris - The Man Behind the Mustache
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The Honorable Mike Morris was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 election. Before going into politics Morris served in the RCMP for 32 years. He was stationed in different parts of Northern BC throughout his career, and ended his time in the RCMP as superintendent for the Northern District. Morris was appointed Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General in December of 2015 and has also been involved in the Drug Benefit Council for BC since 2009. He previously worked as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Observation.
Mike Morris got involved in politics because of Pat Bell, the former MLA to the Prince George-Mackenzie riding. Bell convinced him to join his riding association executive, which was Morris’ first foray into the world of politics. In January of 2013 Pat confided to Mike that he would be unable to run for re-election due to health and requested that Mike take his place. After consulting his family about it Morris decided that he would go up for election in Pat Bell’s place, and was subsequently elected in the Prince George-Mackenzie riding.
Morris had no political experience before joining the BC Liberal Party, though he did have experience in the RCMP, when asked about this Mike Morris responded:
“I had no formal political experience prior to becoming a MLA, however what I have found is that work in general, particularly as a senior manager, has a type of political aspect to it. As I progressed through my first few months as a MLA I was amazed at the similarities between being a police officer and a politician. Both professions deal with people, people problems, policy, legislation, budgets, and life issues. I didn’t realize it as I was going through my career but the RCMP career I experienced provided excellent foundational training for my current political career.”
The BC Liberal Party is a coalition party which means that it is made up of people from both sides of the political spectrum and it believes in balanced budgets, as well as smaller government. This is part of what attracted Mike Morris to the party when he joined. Morris grew up in poverty and was on welfare until he graduated high school, so poverty reduction is a hot topic for him, and he likes that the Liberal party is working on that, as well as strengthening our economy. When asked why he chose the Liberal party he said
“The BC Liberals more closely represent the values that I hold dear to my heart, but at the same time, also understand the realities of life and the fact that government is not the answer to all the problems society presents.”
Morris and his wife have been married for over 35 years, with 2 children and 5 grandchildren.
Sources:
Hon. Mike Morris, MLA
https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members/40th-Parliament/Morris-Mike
Posted Apr 26, 2017, 5:52 PM UTC · edited