It is a very real pleasure to introduce our guest columnist on Art's History today. He's a fellow political history nerd and really needs no introduction. I speak, of course, of David Herle. David is a veteran strategist and pollster, known simply as Herle to many, loves all things music and sports but nothing fills his heart more than his Border Collie, Ryder (gleefully named after the Saskatchewan Roughriders). David's unique laugh pierces most boardroom walls and his stature makes it easy to find him in a crowd. His podcast, The Herle Burly, is one of Canada's leading public affairs pods and can be found at www.theherleburly.com. Today David celebrates his friend, former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on this, the anniversary of her 2014 majority victory.
By David HerleKathleen Wynne likes to make fun of me. There is much about me that she finds easily mockable. My clothes, especially my collection of concert t-shirts and team jerseys. My passion for fast food and alcohol. My redneck ways. We are a little different. When we first met in 2013, we circled each other warily as two species that had never encountered the other before. I think the moment when she realized that the autographed Guy Lafleur jersey I was wearing in a meeting had never been washed was the moment when she became comfortable just regularly taking the piss out of me.I love it. She makes me laugh like hell. It's one of many things people don't know about her. When you are a “First” you have to be correct in every way when in public. So, the fact that she has a sharp and caustic wit, a temper (absent tantrums), a great sense of humour, and no ability to cook anything beyond bran muffins, are all among the endearing aspects of her that I got to know. One of the great things about being involved in politics is the opportunity to meet amazing people and to really get to know them through very long hours and periods of great stress.When Kathleen won the majority in 2014 her leadership skills were on full display. The public knew that a person of great competence and character had become Premier. But I also knew what a great person had been elected. Shortly after the election I had a gathering at my home. One of the people there said it was the happiest 1500 square feet in all of Toronto. Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's 25th Premier.[caption id="attachment_566297" align="aligncenter" width="524"] Hon. Kathleen Wynne and David Herle, at the unveiling of the former Ontario Premier's official portrait at Queen's Park[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney's best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen's Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.__________