JOHNSTOWN - Standing in front of the doorway his mother once passed through on her way to work, Harry Wilson officially opened the door to his bid for the state comptroller's office.
The Fulton County native first announced his intention to run for comptroller in February. Wilson, the Republican candidate for the office, made it official Saturday as he delivered his formal campaign kick-off speech to a crowd of family and supporters in front of what was once the Johnstown Knitting Mill where his mother worked as a sewing machine operator before the factory closed in 2000.
Wilson, 38, was raised in the city and now lives in Westchester with his wife, Eva, and their four children.
Wilson said he chose the mill as his campaign kick-off site to highlight the fiscal challenges the state faces and the hope needed to overcome them.
"It represents both the promise in small towns and the challenges at stake," he said.
After the mill shut down, the building was reopened and now houses a variety of spaces, including offices, a radio station and some machinery.
Wilson called the mill, which was a family-owned business for about a century in the Easterly family, a "longstanding pillar of the community" that provided many people - including his mother who was an immigrant from a small village in Greece -with jobs.
"I remember her coming home, so proud of how many T-shirts she had sewed that day," Wilson told the crowd.
Wilson's sister, Susan Mitchell, a former teacher and now full-time mother and her husband, Aaron Mitchell, a probation officer, traveled from the Boston area to watch Wilson's kick off.
"I've known him for the last 10 years and I always knew he was destined for something," Aaron said.
Susan said she looked up to her older brother when she was younger. She said the city was like a "Happy Days" kind of community.
"We were all very close knit," she said. "We always knew this was the direction he was headed in."
Mayor Sarah Slingerland, who never taught Wilson, but was a teacher at Johnstown High School when he was a student, said she remembered that after he graduated he personally thanked every instructor at the school for teaching him.
James-Riley Hannahs, 15, said he sees Wilson, his second-cousin, as an inspiration.
"If I had the chance I'd probably run for office some day. It's a great honor," Hannahs said. "I could see myself being a future politician."
Wilson's cousin and Hannahs' father, James Hannahs of Johnstown, said he remembered when Wilson made his speech as the valedictorian of Johnstown High School.
"People in the crowd were commenting that he sounded like he'd run for president some day," he said.
Wilson's uncle, Russ Wilson, said when he was running the cafe at the Auriesville Shrine, Wilson worked his way up to a manager position while he was still in high school.
Wilson graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Business School. He worked at Goldman Sachs, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Blackstone Group, and Silver Point Capital. In 2009, he served on the President's Auto Task Force - the group responsible for the overhaul of General Motors and Chrysler.
Amanda Whistle can be reached by e-mail at montco@leaderherald.com
