In June 2011, Harms announced his intention to run for the state representative in the new 106th district.[3] During the primary election he was endorsed by Illinois State Representative Roger Eddy and retired Illinois State Representative William Black[4] On election day, Harms won 33% of ballots cast[5] in a five way primary that included the Chairman of the Parkland College Board of Trustees, Tom Bennett[6] and former Mayor of Pontiac Scott McCoy[3] to secure the nomination. Harms was unopposed in the general election as no Democratic candidate filed to run in the historically Republican area.[7] After winning the election unopposed, Harms resigned from his teaching position to become a full-time legislator.[2]
| Committee Assignments, 98th General Assembly[2] |
|---|
- Agriculture & Conservation
- Appropriations-Higher Education
- Business Occupational Licenses
- Cities & Villages
- Public Safety: Police & Fire Committee
- Economic Development
- Veterans' Affairs.
|
When Representative Harms was sworn into office in January 2013, he joined a bipartisan group of 21 other lawmakers who chose not to take a legislative pension.[8]
During the spring session of the 98th General Assembly, four of the ten bills he sponsored were signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn.[9]
His first bill, sponsored with his associated Senator Jason Barickman, amended the Illinois Finance Authority Act to require the next two appointees to the Illinois Finance Authority have agribusiness experience and that the Authority must have at least two members with such experience.[10]
The second, which was signed into law four days after the first, mandates that if a mobile home park owner knows from law enforcement that a mobile home has been used for the manufacture of methamphetamine then the information must be disclosed to the potential home buyer.[9] The third involving the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, to give parents with joint-custody the right of first refusal in the case where one parent needs to leave a child with a substitute child care provider for a significant period to lessen kids being used against the first parent.[9] The final bill allowed for veterans to have the requirement for an associate degree to enter law enforcement waived if they served for 24 months of honorable active duty to better enable veterans to enter the job market.[11]
In late June, Harms decided to retire and remove himself from the ballot for the 2014 general election citing a desire to return to teaching and spend more time with his family.[12] He has announced that he will serve out the remainder of his term.[13] A committee of party officials from Iroquois, Ford, Vermillion, Livingston and Woodford counties will select his replacement on the ballot by a weighted vote based on the number of Republican primary ballots pulled in each county during the 2014 Republican primary. Individuals speculated to replace Harms on the ballot include former State Senator Shane Cultra, Parkland College trustee and Ford County Republican Party chairman Tom Bennett and Susan Wynn Bence, an Iroquois County Board member who also is an aide to Harms.[14] He was replaced on the ballot by Parkland College Trustee Tom Bennett. Bennett defeated Democratic candidate and Watseka City Council member William Nutter.[15]