On The Record: Tim McCann

For this installment of On The Record, I spoke with Tim McCann, former deputy campaign manager for Chris Bell and current campaign manager for Dallas mayoral candidate Sam Coats.

How did you become interested in politics?

I was interested in it when it was on the news and we would discuss it at the dinner table. I definitely grew up with an awareness, but while I was going to school in D.C. there really was no way for me to avoid it.

What was your progression from activist to being a political professional?

While I was in college I interned for a Senator, but what really got me interested was when I got an internship working for Sutter’s Mill. It was a great place to learn about politics because they would let you sit in on meetings and such, and that is where I learned how campaigns work. From there I moved to Austin in order to work on the Chris Bell campaign, because he had hired Sutter’s Mill early on in his exploratory efforts.

What has been your favorite campaign to work on?

I have to say the Bell campaign. It was such a great group of people to work with and he was such a great candidate. Chris Bell is a genuinely good guy.

Do you have any plans to ever run for office?

No. I honestly have too thin of a skin. The way candidates have to put themselves out there to the public, it takes a certain kind of person and I’m not that person. I also feel that I can do more by actually working on the campaign.

Who are some of your political heroes?

Bill Clinton comes to mind first. I became of age politically within the 90’s, so naturally he's up there. Reading about Teddy Roosevelt, I really enjoy him, and Thomas Jefferson just from learning about him in school.

What would you say has been the single most defining moment in your political life?

When I decided to move to Austin and work for Chris. The experiences from that campaign have had a huge impact on my life.

What are you looking forward to in the coming cycle?

The presidential race because it’s so wide open. It’s going to be fascinating to see how it plays out. I’ll be interested to see how the candidates play things out. It will also be interesting to see how Democrats will act in the House since they are in power now. I want to see how much we are going to be able to get done. It will also be interesting to see how the presidential race is impacted by it.

What would you say the political breakdown of your family is? Is it mostly Democratic or are you somewhat unique?

My parents are both Democrats, and they are probably even a little more liberal than I am. It has been interesting, because as I’ve become more involved so has the rest of my family.

What advice would you give to young people just getting into politics?

To just go for it. Find anything close to you that you can feel personally invested in, and go for it. Don’t take no for an answer. Any campaign at any level, if you are willing to put in the hard work, they will find a use for you. You will learn so much from that, just in how it works, and then you could do it on a longer-term basis from there. You should just go in, roll up your sleeves, and jump in with both feet.

What one thing would you say a political organization never has enough of?

Money. I hate to be cynical, but when you see how important the small things are, you know that at the end of the day you have to have them. For all the technological things you have to have in modern, you must have money to pay for them.