Brint Ryan stood outside a Walnut Hill Lane polling station on the first day of Dallas' early-voting period, the City Council candidate exasperated after reading an opposition ad effectively deeming him a tax cheat.
NAN COULTER/Special Contributor
"It was a low point, and it was at that point that I'm thinking, 'You made a mistake. What are you doing here running for office?' " Ryan recalled this week after investor Ann Margolin soundly defeated him in a historically expensive District 13 council race.
But Ryan, who spent more than $1 million on the race - mostly his own money - to lose by 14.5 percentage points, says he'd do it again even after enduring the tumult of a most contentious political campaign. And he's not ruling out continued involvement in Dallas government - or a run for some other office.
"I'd consider doing it again if the right conditions present themselves. I'd never say never to it," Ryan said. "By doing this, I learned a ton from the experience. I made hundreds of new friends. I even lost 10 pounds. Most importantly, I went from being a very isolated CEO to a very well-connected local leader."
Indeed, Ryan's demeanor and style softened as he morphed from the low-profile leader of the Ryan Co. tax firm to an omnipresent political presence, his face plastered on billboards and voice filling radio and TV airwaves.
Early in the campaign, for example, Ryan parried a report of receiving, then successfully fighting in court, numerous traffic citations with the icy response: "I'm innocent until proven guilty. If I felt like I was doing something wrong, I would have paid the tickets."
By the campaign's end, he apologized to voters for his speeding habits, jokingly pleading that they judge him on his stellar business record, not his driving record.
But he hardly lost his competitive fight, ultimately suing Margolin for slander, libel and defamation over claims in the ad that had so troubled him outside the polling place on the first day of early voting. (The two would settle their differences out of court a week later.)
"I was not the perfect candidate. And she clearly had experience and is very bright, and clearly had command of the system and the process," Ryan said. "It didn't go my way, but together, we got some really important issues out about the city. I wish Ann the best of luck. We got a record number of people involved. There is victory in that."
His contest with Margolin attracted more voters - 14,525 - than any district-level race in a non-mayoral year in recent memory, and perhaps in city history.
That Ryan through April spent more than $170 for each vote he received doesn't faze him much. He's independently wealthy and says such spending is justified because he faced "an uphill battle against a strong candidate with a lot of support before I ever entered the race."
Ryan added that he doesn't believe his unprecedented spending will set a new standard for money in Dallas politics.
"It's probably more than an anomaly," Ryan said. "I don't think you'll see a lot of City Council races where there's spending of $1 million."
What's next for Ryan?
He hasn't ruled out working with Dallas City Hall in some capacity, official or otherwise.
One of his key campaign pledges - helping Dallas government become more fiscally responsible - remains in play.
Although he hasn't spoken with Margolin since his loss last Saturday, Ryan says he's talked briefly with Mayor Tom Leppert and outgoing District 13 council member Mitchell Rasansky and has offered his expertise.
"If somebody asks me to help," Ryan said, "I wouldn't turn them down."
