HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf began and ended his eight years in the state’s top job with the same mantra: He was not a conventional politician.

Talk to his allies and opponents, and that reputation rings true in at least one way: The Democrat never demonstrated the enthusiasm for backroom dealmaking or hands-on horse-trading that some previous governors did.

“That part of the job was the thing he saw as a challenge,” said political observer and good-government advocate David Thornburgh, whose father was governor of Pennsylvania in the 1980s. That approach, in many ways, served Wolf well.

As he prepares to hand the reins of government to Democrat Josh Shapiro, Wolf leaves behind a long list of policy wins, from boosting education funding to legalizing medical marijuana.