I often get the question: who is Tim Hudak or where is the real Tim?  Most pundits thought he lacked authenticity. Some even called him robotic, or nicknamed him “Robo Tim.”  So perhaps it is worthwhile to share with readers the Tim Hudak I have known for years.

The first ever conversation I had with Tim Hudak is still etched in my mind.  I attended an event at Bingeman’s in Kitchener that he also attended way back in the early part of 2007.  I don’t remember what the event was for, whether it was partisan or policy, but there I was standing in line trying to get a drink and Tim extends his hand and introduces himself.  I introduced myself and we started to chat.  I told him that I was working on my PhD and that I was interested in policy, public management and democratic reform.  With most people, that’s the conversation ender, but with Tim, he proceeded to ask me for my thoughts and opinions on the referendum on electoral reform.

I remember all of this not because I was in awe with meeting a real life politician – by that point, I had encountered many.  I remember this event because a few weeks later, when I arrived at my office at McMaster University, I had an envelope from Tim Hudak waiting in my mailbox.  Inside that envelope was a handwritten note from Tim Hudak acknowledging our conversation and thanking me for my insights.  Of all the politicians I had ever met – even ones I had helped elect – none had ever done that, and I didn’t even give him a business card.

In another moment, I remember heading into the budget lockup of 2012.  Let me lay the rumours to rest.  We actually did read the budget before we decided to vote against it!  We held a caucus meeting in that lockup to confirm we were voting against it since the budget deficit wasn’t improving at all.  It was a pretty serious moment being the opposition in a minority parliament.  Tim comes and sits beside me.  He asks me what I think we should do, and I told him.  I then said that “I think I need a gin and tonic.”

Tim – who earlier this year introduced the Free My Rye Act – took an immediate interest in trying to assess my conservative pedigree.  He recited some survey results he had encountered some years before and asked me questions from it.  On most of the questions, my answers fell in line with the typical conservative except for my choice of alcohol.  According to Tim, surveys show that conservatives enjoy the dark liquor while liberals enjoy the clear liquors. I have no idea whether Tim was serious or not, but the point is that the real Tim was one you could enjoy even the serious moments with.

The final story I’ll share comes a week before election 2014.  I get a text message from Tim who asks for my input.  After providing that input, his response was “pithy.”  I then proceeded to mock him for using a very academic word.  Tim, who recently revealed that he is a pro-wrestling aficionado on his radio show on AM 1010, then related all of this to Damien Sandow, whose character on WWE comes off as somewhat of an intellectual.  Accompanying that message was a YouTube video showing Sandow at his finest.   I thought to myself that I wish I could somehow make that text conversation public.  It was witty, funny, and personable.

That’s the real Tim Hudak – a family man and a guy who loved ordinary things.  However, that private persona was something that the public never really got to see.  He is witty in the legislature. He is the kind of guy who remembered to call his staff on their birthday.  When my wife was hospitalized after our third child was born, he and his wife, Deb Hutton, made sure a pot of homemade stew got to my home.  And he had an uncanny ability to remember obscure conversations with people he had met along the way.  That’s in large part why Tim Hudak became the leader of the Ontario Tories, and it is why he continues to have a loyal following.

The going thesis on why we didn’t see the real Tim is that he needed to look premier-like.  We were told that ‘Tim wasn’t the neighbour on the block you’d want to barbecue with, but he needed to be most trusted to fix the economy.’  The great irony in that idea is that no leader probably liked to barbecue more than Tim.

Therein seems to lie the tale of two Hudaks.  There is the guy he is and the guy who wanted to be premier.  For most people, they wanted some congruence between the two, and many more left longing for more.

This juxtaposition of personality seemed to carry with him everywhere.  Sometimes, in caucus, he’d be the guy he is that wanted to listen to everybody’s opinions.  Other times, he would feel the need to be decisive and ruffle some feathers. It wasn’t exactly harmonious and perhaps it could never be.

Leading the Ontario Tories, much like most modern brokerage parties, is a tough job. There will always be some faction of the party unhappy with a course of action.  These factions tolerate decisions they don’t agree with so long as the team is winning.  When the team is losing, problems magnify in a hurry.  Once stuck in a losing rut, approval ratings take a hit which perpetuates the problems even more.

There was a logic that to correct the course, the Tories needed to be dramatic and bold.  Unfortunately for Tim and the Ontario PCs, voters saw flaws in the execution of that logic.  As a result, Tim Hudak’s time in politics will come to an end this September after more than 20 years in public life. He accomplished so much, but short of his ultimate goal.

This article appeared in Queen’s Park Briefing.  Visit QPBriefing.com to subscribe to this publication and stay on top of all things related to Ontario government and politics!