For a short hour, my
home turned into a dog and pony show starring Tim Hudak.
Interestingly
enough, it was off-camera that was most fascinating.
Details of when the
cameras were rolling; http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4523020-hudak-touts-income-tax-cuts-at-breslau-stop/
I intend to offer an
analysis on my time with Mr. Hudak for the purpose of informing Ontario voters
what it is like to engage with him.
My bias:
I am an owner of an
Aerospace machine shop. My job as CEO in
a 25 employee company is to soak in as much data as possible then make sound
and accurate judgments for the purpose of better serving clients and employees.
Increased profits/wages and productivity is my means of survival (especially coming
off of 2 very challenging years in which a few ventures that did not work out).
Contray to @WendyGoodes
suggestion -that the free Kobo bought our vote- please note: ever since I was
13 years old and witnessed the horror or Bob Rae, I have had disdain for
socialism and appreciation for the free market.
I have only ever voted conservative. With this being said, the
Kobo did however make my wife smile (therefore made me smile). Several of my
blogs are quite hard on the conservatives. My bias is “free market is good,
family is good and (any aspect of) socialism is bad”. Of note, this entry is of my own initiative
and has not been edited by the PC party and therefore may not reflect their
views.
Guts of my time when the
cameras were off:
1. Tim made excellent
eye contact, had a firm handshake and his smile was genuine.
2. My wife said she
felt quite comfortable with his mannerisms; they were confident, yet humble and
respectful knowing he is in our home.
3. His interaction
with our children was natural and affectionate. He seemed relaxed and
engaged. I got the sense he was glad to "be himself" with my kids.
4. When my daughter
went to hug him, Tim hugged Alexis like she was his own. This surprised me
a bit as I did not expect Tim to be so engaged "off the camera".
Alexis is a hug-giver, and it seems Tim is too. You may have
observed the photo above, Brent Davis from the record captioned Alexis being
very relaxed and “un-fazed” by the attention.
I submit I can show you why she was so relaxed. When the media was not in our home, Tim was
able to connect with my daughter(s) and make her jitters calm down (seen in pic
below)
5. Tim asked
questions...and surprisingly to me...he asked follow up questions. His
interest was authentic.
6. His tone and
personality was the same regardless if the cameras were on or off. I have been
told that I speak to customers the same way as I do suppliers and employees. I explain it is easier to live life this way.
I believe Tim agrees with this mindset. When you see Tim on camera, you
are getting the "real Tim".
7. He is astute, smart
and flows with conversation very well; he adapts to topics and can reference
multiple data points in a short time.
Here is what surprised
me the most:
I observed compassion
is at the center of his plan for Ontario; contrary to twitter and a good
portion of the media.
When the cameras were
off (afterwards), and we left the sofa, I asked to speak plainly with him.
He said, "no problem". I said, "I read your platform
and I believe it seems you made a concerted effort to demonstrate compassion to
each Ontarian.” His response floored me. His body language spoke
volumes. His head swiveled directly to mine and his arm came in front of his
body, as if to express a pause or halt in our walking direction (or at minimum
a flow in our conversation). Tim leaned in and said with an expression of
inquisition, "You got that from reading the plan? How did you see that?”
I said, “Certainly I
did. Your plan speaks about leaving no Ontarians behind; you seem to have a
passion for increased wages through increased skills in Ontario. You speak of
improving education, particularly in math. Your desire for lower taxes appears
to stem from a respect for Ontarians hard work. The plan comes across as frustrated
with 290 billion of debt. Out of that
frustration, it seems you seek to control that by eliminating a deficit and
making government services more efficient. You tie that deficit elimination and
improved efficiency of government services to giving Ontario hope. Tim,
compassion is rooted in action and it appears your plan sees the action
required to help improve Ontario”.
He looked at me square
in the eyes and said, “You captured the essence of what we are trying for”…and
shook my hand.
I then made another
comment. “You are accused of not having
compassion.”
I then proceeded to
make an argument to Tim, I said:
“Kathleen Wynn is
going nuts that you are hurting the economy by giving 100 000 public sector
employees their pink slips. What appears
to be missing from her analysis is that the government is large, some portions lethargic
and there is unproductive employees who could better release their skills
elsewhere. People like to be productive and contribute. If they are not being
productive and contributing, the most loving and compassionate thing you can do
is release them into the job market where they can be productive. By her criticizing
you for allegedly pushing the fragile economy into recession through the proposed
layoffs, she is accusing those 100 000 people of being unable to find suitable
jobs at good pay within the free market (for if each one found an equal paying
job…the net loss to the economy is obviously $0.) I find this to be a devaluing
accusation by Kathleen towards those 100 000 people. Is she admitting they have low skills not
needed in the free market, therefore the economy will contract and recession
ensues? It seems the argument for
lacking compassion should be directed towards Kathleen Waynn in failing to serve
Ontario with efficient services. She is also failing any unproductive civil
servant by refusing to release them into
a more efficient work environment. The notion that “the left” has the corner on
compassion is illogical and weak. There is nothing compassionate about doubling
our provincial debt to 290 billion and having the nerve to call that “investments”. Tim, by simply acknowledging the debt exists
and is a problem that should be fixed…you are marked by the left as reckless
and heartless.”
I will not give Mr.
Hudak’s response to this but I will say he agreed that the left does not have
the corner on compassion.
I have observed that Mr.
Hudak’s passion and bold plan stems from his love for Ontario’s families. It is
evident in his eyes, observable in his plan and consistent with how he related
to my children. His heart is great. His
plan is open to scrutiny. Just because a conservative views compassion
differently than the left, it does not follow that conservative’s lack
compassion: it simply means he is choosing to show it differently. Mr. Hudak’s plan is compassionate because it
upholds the family through:
1.
Tackling debt by
getting it under control
2.
Improving education
standards through increased accountability
3.
Improving wages
through developing skilled trades and lowering red tape
4.
Making government more
efficient (civil servants, hydro rates)
5.
Valuing time of families
by reducing gridlock in the GTA
6.
Lowering taxes—motivated
by respect for hard work and families spending where they see fit
7.
Eliminating red-tape,
allowing business to flourish and releasing government to do what it does best.
8.
Recognizing the
foolishness of skyrocketing hydro rates and how so many behind that mess make
over 100k/year (in the real world if you make 100k, you create value…not
destroy it by charging more).
Keep in mind when you
see tweets or left wing media making fun of Tim’s economic plan (or my daughter
for simply existing within 5 feet of him),
just remember, it is unlikely they have rolled
up their sleeves and taken risk to build a business or hire people. It is unlikely their risk took a turn for the
worst and money was lost…and they are fighting to get their business back on
track and keep people employed. For if
they had, they would rally behind debt control, tax savings and re-directing
and streamlining unproductive civil servants (or unproductive systems) in the public
sector. It is therefore fair to surmise many of these low-information tweets
echo the same ignorance of Kathleen Wynne when it comes to building the
economy. Strengthening the family is the
most compassionate action any politician can facilitate to grow the
economy.
Mr. Hudak, before
meeting you, I intellectually stood with you.
After seeing the consistency of how you speak to the media, constructed
your million jobs plan and related to myself, wife and children… my heart now stands
with you.
Readers, let’s
articulate a message of hope for Ontario’s families, business and economy. Some of Mr. Hudak’s vision and passion rubbed
off on me and I truly hope…a bit rubbed off on you. Let’s get passionate about a better Ontario;
if this entry finds favor, please share it and let’s start a conversation!
