1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,480 Welcome to the second episode of Dan Time. 2 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:10,720 Hey, I'm your host, Dan McCardell. 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:12,640 It is good to have you here. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:14,840 Nice to have you as a listener. 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,080 You've got a lot to choose from. 6 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:21,840 You've got your, your own top three, top five favorite podcasts. 7 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:27,120 But for right now, you're, you're wedging us in, you're taking a shot, 8 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,480 working Dan Time into your rotation. 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:30,400 I appreciate it. 10 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:37,400 Last week, Jim Powell kicked us off unexpectedly, but that was a blast. 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,600 Uh, we talked a lot of nonsense, but hopefully it was worth your while. 12 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:47,960 And this week we get to the Dan's Dan Weinreb, just a standup guy. 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,960 I had the pleasure of working with them a little over 10 years ago in Birmingham, 14 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,120 my last stop in Birmingham, Alabama. 15 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,040 And he and I connected briefly and we kept in touch. 16 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,520 And it has been so nice to reconnect with him. 17 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,680 Dan has been a public servant in Alabama for over 20 years. 18 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:15,160 Uh, back way back in 2003, he ran an extremely close race for tax assessor 19 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,560 for Jefferson County, and we get into that in this episode, you're 20 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:25,200 going to love the story, um, a lot of cool details about Dan Weinreb. 21 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:30,720 He is the chief records officer, the city clerk for trust fill Alabama. 22 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,720 Trust fill is about 20 minutes outside of Birmingham. 23 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,600 And let me tell you, it is a hot spot. 24 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:43,360 This, uh, this particular city in the state is one of the fastest growing 25 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:51,480 between 2010 and 2020, I believe they've experienced over 30% population growth. 26 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:57,480 And worth a look, worth a visit, great schools and a really 27 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:58,880 cool entertainment district. 28 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:05,520 But, uh, that's, that's Dan's role and you're going to love his background, his story. 29 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,280 I'm so excited to bring it to you. 30 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,880 Um, little information on Dan time and I'm going to check out of this. 31 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,480 I'm not going to talk for 10 minutes, but if you'd like to reach the show, 32 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,000 dantimepod at gmail.com is how you reach me. 33 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,640 I'm also on X at Dan time pod. 34 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,160 We got the Facebook page and Instagram. 35 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,360 Enjoy this episode with Dan Weinreb and have a great week. 36 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,520 Hey, Dan, so great to have you here today. 37 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:33,040 Oh, thank you, Dan. 38 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:34,920 It's an honor to be your guest. 39 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,640 Well, you are the very first Dan out the gate. 40 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:44,560 So nice distinction for you to have and to put on your wall of accolades, I guess. 41 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:49,560 Well, thanks. This is a, this is a, this will be a highlight for one of us and 42 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:51,480 hopefully not a low light for both of us. 43 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,560 So, uh, but thank you. 44 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,680 It's an honor and, uh, it's great to reconnect with you. 45 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:58,200 Well, I'm glad to have you on. 46 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,520 And obviously we've, uh, we made our connection a little over a decade ago 47 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,840 and, um, became good friends for a brief period. 48 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,360 And I'm just really glad to be back in touch with you. 49 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:14,320 You're another great example of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, of, 50 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:20,640 of not just a Dan, but a, um, a person that, you know, I think more people should 51 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:25,080 know about, and especially in the role that you're currently in and, and your 52 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:32,240 background, Dan Weindrup is the city clerk for Trustville in Jefferson County. 53 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,680 And, uh, has a, just a rich background of, of public service. 54 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:41,640 So hopefully this episode will be a, um, will be informative for our listeners 55 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:47,720 on just what, you know, a brief overview of, of what a city clerk position entails. 56 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:52,960 Uh, cause maybe the average citizen doesn't know some of the ins and outs of 57 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,000 that role and what, how you contribute to your community. 58 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:02,680 So I guess just give us a brief rundown of what you do day to day in a nutshell. 59 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:04,840 That's a great question, Dan. 60 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:10,720 Uh, and thanks for, uh, asking me to be your, uh, guest on your show. 61 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:16,200 Uh, the city clerk and, uh, in Alabama city governments is basically, they are 62 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,400 basically the chief records officers for the towns or cities that they serve in. 63 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:26,960 And in my role in Trustville, I'm responsible for, uh, keeping records, 64 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,400 whether it's the minutes of city council meetings, the resolutions and ordinances 65 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:36,840 they pass, there's also the planning and zoning commission, uh, that decide or 66 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:41,040 help or make recommendations on various matters like annexations, rezoning, 67 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,640 subdivisions, and so on the recording secretary for them. 68 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:50,480 I keep track of, uh, contracts and other city documents on behalf of the city. 69 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:51,880 I'm the chief records officer. 70 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:57,160 And so I'm responsible for the preservation and retention and hopefully 71 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,440 destruction of various records, uh, from time to time. 72 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:06,440 Uh, also as a city clerk, my office that is responsible by state law for the 73 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,320 issuing of business licenses. 74 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,440 And if that weren't enough every four years, when we have a municipal election, 75 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:19,520 it's up to the city clerk to put on the city election for mayor and city council, 76 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,240 much like what the secretary of state does for the state of Alabama. 77 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,000 That's what city clerks do for their respective cities. 78 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000 So it's a lot of, uh, project juggling and, uh, in my role, I interface a 79 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:37,760 lot with not just internally with other departments, but also with the public 80 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,640 at large, so there's a lot of juggling going on. 81 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,720 And Dan, I would, I would just take a guess that there's a lot of 82 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:49,160 diplomacy or diplomatic skills that you've got to kind of have in your 83 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,600 pocket to help different factions work together and do you get to bring 84 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:55,160 different types of people together? 85 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,760 And if so, do you enjoy that part of your role? 86 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,240 Uh, thankfully I'm an extrovert. 87 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,720 Otherwise I would be absolutely miserable on this job. 88 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:11,720 No, you have to, uh, communication and relationship, uh, skills are an app 89 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,240 or a must in order to be successful in this job. 90 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:21,920 I mean, if you are great with writing and record keeping, but you dread 91 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:28,080 dealing with people, the city clerk job can be a mismatch for anybody in the 92 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:28,720 profession. 93 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:30,240 Now there are, don't get me wrong. 94 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:35,680 There are many introverts among my peers, uh, throughout the state, but 95 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,880 definitely you gotta love what you do and you gotta love the community you 96 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:41,600 work for and the people you serve. 97 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:48,000 And so yes, having those people skills are a must and, uh, thankfully, 98 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:49,240 I'm, I'm blessed with that. 99 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:54,920 Uh, I'm, I'm trying to be modest here, but I, I really love interacting with 100 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:59,160 the public as well as, uh, with my colleagues throughout city government. 101 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:00,320 Yeah. 102 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,680 And don't ask me where I pulled this quote, but I really love it. 103 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:09,080 And I think more people can hopefully take some inspiration here. 104 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,640 I do what I love and love what I do. 105 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:18,040 My smile on Monday mornings matches matches my smile on Friday afternoons. 106 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:20,880 Geez, that sounds like something I would say. 107 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:31,640 It's a, it's a, it's an absolute awesome blessing when you, uh, have a, a job 108 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:33,880 that you do, it doesn't feel like a job. 109 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:39,440 It, uh, you know, there, there are times where I go to work and I think to 110 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:48,080 myself, I can't believe they actually pay me to do this, but also by the same 111 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,760 token, you know, I come from, uh, the working world and we've experienced jobs 112 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:57,400 where we did not enjoy what we were doing, or maybe we enjoyed, we enjoyed 113 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:02,320 what we were doing, but we did not enjoy the place where we worked at. 114 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,760 And that's when that happens. 115 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:10,600 That's when your nine to five may feel like a grind, but I'm, I've been 116 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:15,680 lucky for the last seven years, uh, the last seven years since really October 117 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:22,880 2016 to, uh, find a job and employers, uh, that I absolutely, uh, have 118 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:24,920 enjoyed hanging my hat at. 119 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:26,960 So it's awesome. 120 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,240 Well, and, um, you've had prior, uh, stops. 121 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:35,160 I mean, your public service, uh, you know, you're, you're, you're 122 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,640 service record goes back, uh, let's just say 20 years. 123 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:43,440 So before the city of trust fill, you're in the same role with the city of 124 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,240 Tarrant and, um, I, I, I'm sure I don't have to just guess that you left that 125 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:53,800 position in a better place and you found it and form some great relationships 126 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,680 that I'm sure you still carry to this day. 127 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:57,000 Uh, correct. 128 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:58,120 Uh, correct. 129 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,120 Uh, I, uh, I was lucky. 130 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:05,720 Uh, I had a, before Tarrant, I had a seven year hiatus from public service 131 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:07,840 where I was back in the private sector. 132 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:12,720 And then Tarrant, this is under mayor Loxhill Tuck, uh, mayor Tuck and the 133 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:18,600 city council, uh, hired me to be their city clerk in October 2016. 134 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:24,120 And, uh, at that time, their city clerk had to take medical retirement. 135 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,800 She had a heart condition that was preventing her from being able 136 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:28,760 to continue on with the job. 137 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:34,720 When I came into office, uh, as city clerk over in Tarrant, uh, there were a 138 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:42,120 lot of files to go through and to reorganize an office that my predecessor, 139 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,720 her, her, her health and stamina just didn't allow for her to be able to 140 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,920 stay on top of the work like she had done before. 141 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,480 And so there was some, some backlog cleanup to do. 142 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:58,960 And on top of that, I, uh, as city clerk over there, I had to quickly learn 143 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:04,400 how to supervise municipal court magistrates and I had never done 144 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:05,800 magistrate work myself. 145 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,840 And so I had to quickly immerse myself in the Alabama magistrate training 146 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,880 so that I could learn how to be two employees supervisor on that side of 147 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,920 the municipal, municipal court side of city government. 148 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:24,080 And it was a, it was a very hard crash course, but it was a very enjoyable one. 149 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:29,720 And what you find down is that in smaller cities like Tarrant and even smaller 150 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:36,080 cities like that, uh, the city clerk is, uh, juggling even more balls. 151 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:42,880 They may in a way act like the city spokesperson responsible for social media. 152 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,560 They may be responsible in other towns, at least not Tarrant. 153 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:49,600 Of running the city finances. 154 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,560 Fortunately for me, there was an accountant on board who served as the 155 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:56,080 chief finance officer, so I didn't have to do that. 156 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,920 Uh, but anyway, but when I was over in Tarrant, I was in as many as 10 157 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:06,280 different lanes of management traffic, but I immersed myself in the job and 158 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:11,880 loved it and four years later, yes, I like to think I left the office in 159 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:13,120 better shape than I found it. 160 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,240 But when, uh, trustful came a calling and offered me a job that I would 161 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:22,360 be an idiot to refuse, uh, they are a bigger city with more resources and 162 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,560 they have their own, for instance, their own finance department, their own 163 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:30,200 HR department, the mayor's assistants responsible for social media and 164 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,200 municipal court is its own department. 165 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:37,880 And so I went from 10 lanes of management traffic to about three or four lanes. 166 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:44,840 And my work life is a bit more simpler, more concentrated now that I'm working 167 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,400 for trustful compared to Tarrant and it's no knock on Tarrant is just that. 168 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,320 As I said, trustful gave me an offer that was too good to pass up. 169 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:59,960 I think that's a really good comparison where somebody listening that is at a 170 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:03,640 certain point in their career that may be wearing, like you said, a lot of 171 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:08,120 different hats and they're thinking, ah, yeah, I don't know why they don't have 172 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:13,000 somebody designated for all these other roles that I seem to be feeling. 173 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:19,320 Uh, day to day, but, um, you know, the city clerk's role in Detroit is 174 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,840 probably a lot Detroit, Michigan, or St. 175 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,360 Louis, Missouri is probably a little bit different than when you can drill 176 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,040 down, you know, to a hyper local area. 177 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:29,400 Uh, correct. 178 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:34,800 And that, that's why, you know, I always, I often refer to our profession 179 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:40,320 as we're just, we're, we're, uh, we're jugglers and, uh, the smaller the city, 180 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,840 the more, the more balls you have to juggle and conversely, the larger 181 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,040 the city, the fewer, so that's just how the nature of the beast. 182 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:48,880 That's how it works. 183 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:53,640 Uh, Dan, I'm gonna, I always like to jump off the train for a second. 184 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,720 When I have a thought, do you, um, with the, with the, with the, with the 185 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:03,600 community, do you, um, with your personality and your interest in 186 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,880 obviously serving your community, but, but impacting those who just 187 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,120 happen to be around you, maybe happen to be passing through that office 188 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,320 for a period of time and they're working a role, they may not be there forever, 189 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:18,840 but have you, have you had people that you've been able to kind of light a 190 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:23,040 fire underneath and, and maybe because of your involvement in their life, 191 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:27,360 uh, they've kind of gotten more out of themselves than they were inclined to do. 192 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,280 Um, is that something that you just generally enjoy doing? 193 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:37,080 If you see someone in the corner at a cubicle across the way that just looks 194 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:38,520 like no one's really speaking to them. 195 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:40,640 Do you, do you like to reach out to those folks? 196 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:47,520 I, I'll leave it up to my coworkers, uh, to answer, uh, how much of a 197 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:52,240 difference I may or may not have made on their work lives, but, you know, 198 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:57,520 I, I just, my inclusive nature, I like to try to get to know as many people 199 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,240 as possible, uh, wherever I go, wherever I work. 200 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,400 And, and I, I like to think that I have done that. 201 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:11,240 I do know that whether it was here and trustful or in Tarrant or previously 202 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:16,120 in Jefferson County and my public sector roles that I tend to have developed 203 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,640 great rapport with the folks I work with most frequently. 204 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:24,880 And I remember going back to my Jefferson County days, when I was a tax 205 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:29,160 assessor, that there were some employees who, whether they were in the 206 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:35,480 assessment section of property tax or in tax mapping, who did their jobs, did 207 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:42,640 it well, and in my six plus years there, I had an opportunity to promote a large 208 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:49,000 number of them, uh, up one rung up the hierarchy ladder in some cases too. 209 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:54,920 Uh, something I'm proud of is that during my time as County tax assessor, 210 00:14:54,960 --> 00:15:02,360 over 60% of my promotions went to people from the minority demographics, more 211 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,240 often than not African-Americans, but also two thirds of those 212 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:07,560 promotions went to women. 213 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,240 And it talking about, you know, opportunities and diversity in the 214 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:15,120 workplace, I'd like to think that for some time made a difference in those 215 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:20,240 folks' lives over in, uh, Tarrant and in Trustful, I've yet to have an 216 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:25,440 opportunity to offer such promotions just because such few, there, there 217 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:30,600 aren't really any supervisory roles underneath the city clerk that I have 218 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:31,360 experienced. 219 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:39,600 Uh, I have had two hiring opportunities and as far as positions, and one was 220 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:41,760 in Tarrant, the other one here in Trustful. 221 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,320 And I know that those folks certainly appreciate the opportunity I've given 222 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,200 them to not only get the job, but train in the job. 223 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,080 And, you know, as their supervisor, I want them well trained. 224 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:58,200 So, uh, whenever the state of Alabama or one of these government associations 225 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,920 offers training, I make sure that they go. 226 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:07,160 Well, Dan, uh, speaking of the Jefferson County tax assessor role from, uh, 227 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,720 wow, I'm sure you can't believe it's been 20 years ago. 228 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:10,600 No, I cannot. 229 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:17,560 Uh, this was, uh, we've, we've talked about this briefly in the past, but, um, 230 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:22,840 that election cycle and that campaign was, you weren't destined for success. 231 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:24,680 You probably weren't sure. 232 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,120 I'm sure I know you weren't sure until the 11th hour that you were even 233 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:29,240 going to win the race. 234 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,320 Um, Dan, we could probably dedicate an entire episode and maybe we need to do 235 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:38,200 a part two, just, just to that, that time period in that race, but tell me about 236 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,160 the, the early start of that campaign and then just kind of run me up to election 237 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:43,400 night and then we'll do that. 238 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:44,160 Okay. 239 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:44,640 Wow. 240 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,320 Uh, and you're right. 241 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:51,880 This could be a, a, a standalone conversation for another time, but I'll 242 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,920 try to give you the, the background, uh, the reader's digest version. 243 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:02,600 When I first moved to the Birmingham community in 1996, I was doing political 244 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:04,520 work for the Alabama democratic party. 245 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,640 This was after I finished getting my degree. 246 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,040 This was after I finished getting my master's degree and public 247 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:11,400 administration at Alabama. 248 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,840 I worked for the Alabama democratic party back when there was a meaningful 249 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:17,440 Alabama democratic party. 250 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:21,800 And my focus at the time was on local elections, helping the state party 251 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:27,560 when the hotly contested races, like the top 50 courthouse races across the state. 252 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:30,920 And so I guess you can say that's where the seed was planted. 253 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,800 Uh, fast forward to 1999. 254 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:35,800 I'm living in Birmingham. 255 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,720 I'm in back, I'm in the private sector as an investments advisor, but I still 256 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:41,960 have a hand in political activism. 257 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:47,360 A local judge, Pete Johnson, the district judge on the criminal side, who knew me 258 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:51,840 from the state party came up to me and said, you know, Dan, I've got a 259 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,040 friend who is retiring. 260 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,280 He's the longtime tax assessor. 261 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:57,840 You'd be perfect for this job. 262 00:17:57,920 --> 00:17:59,320 You already consider running for it. 263 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:03,880 And here he is like three years before the bad election and he's 264 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,080 planting the seed in my head and I tell him at the time, Pete, I'm 265 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:08,720 going through a divorce right now. 266 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,600 My mind is just not in the central time zone right now. 267 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,200 He goes, I'll tell you what, get your divorce behind you, get, get things 268 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,680 straightened out and let's talk again next year. 269 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:19,160 And it's like, okay, 2000. 270 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:20,920 So we talked in 2000. 271 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,520 He said, just follow the courthouse races, help some local candidates. 272 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,040 See where you're at after the 2000 election. 273 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:27,800 I said, yes, sir. 274 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,440 And so I volunteered here and there for a couple of local candidates. 275 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:37,640 Like at the time, uh, Alan King was running for probate judge place too. 276 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,560 And there was David Lichtenstein who was running for district 277 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,840 judge, uh, for the first time. 278 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,880 They both won their races in 2000. 279 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:53,040 And once I went through the 2000 numbers, uh, uh, precinct returns, I 280 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:57,680 realized after studying it, wow, 2002 can be a winnable race. 281 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:04,600 And so I spent 2001 planning it, trying to develop, uh, what was going to be my 282 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:09,200 shtick, what was going to be my theme for, for promoting, you know, why Dan 283 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:14,240 Weinerib and why for this particular little known courthouse office. 284 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:20,920 And, uh, it also meant, you know, dialing for dollars and leaning on really close 285 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,600 friends and family for initial seed money. 286 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:29,880 And then 2002, uh, was when, uh, well, actually at the end of 2001, November, 287 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:35,880 2001, it was when I made it known, I declared before the qualifying season even started. 288 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:42,440 And then 2002 was when, uh, the election cycle got going. 289 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:43,440 I qualified. 290 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:48,240 It was at the same election cycle as the governor's race, which at the time was 291 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:53,760 Siegelman running for reelection and, uh, you know, state legislatures, county 292 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,160 commissioners, uh, races were going on. 293 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:02,240 And at the end of the qualifying period in spring of 2002, I had no primary 294 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:03,000 opposition. 295 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:07,520 I had gotten my name out there among democratic circles, which, you know, 296 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,840 considering I wasn't even from Birmingham, I'm born and raised in Montgomery. 297 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,320 I've only, I'd only lived at Birmingham for at that point, five to six years. 298 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:16,800 Uh, that was something. 299 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:22,520 And, and so I got to spend basically April through early November, focused on 300 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:27,320 the general election and where I knew I needed to get my name out all across the 301 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,760 county, uh, every nook and cranny possible. 302 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:35,680 And yes, I had to basically as a candidate, I learned quickly that your job 303 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,920 as a candidate is to find money and find votes. 304 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,760 And Dan in, in that cycle. 305 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:47,760 So this is that political climate, you gotta be walking into businesses for 306 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:53,440 knocking on doors where going in there, did you think, Hey, I'm walking into 307 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:57,280 enemy territory, but I'm just going to try to shake some hands and see what 308 00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:58,680 kind of impression I can make. 309 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:01,600 Dan, that's a great question. 310 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:09,400 Um, initially I thought that, but when I, when it came down to it, you know, the, 311 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,360 the, the tax assessor's office is not a policy making position. 312 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:15,680 It's really just an administrative role. 313 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:21,440 And what I found was that very few people had ever heard of the office or even heard 314 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,840 of the incumbent who actually held the job. 315 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:28,040 And so it wasn't a case of going into enemy territory. 316 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:33,880 I was just going in and meeting people who needed to be aware that this is a 317 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,720 position that they, where their vote could make a difference that, and, uh, 318 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,280 they get to actually meet a candidate for this office for the first time. 319 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:48,360 And so I saw it as just a, uh, every day is an opportunity to sell 320 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,080 myself to potential voters. 321 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:53,360 Never felt like I was going to enemy territory. 322 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:56,800 I was just going into unknown territory and I get to make a good first 323 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:00,240 impression on whoever I get a chance to meet. 324 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,640 That's a great point where you, you probably had the luxury of just 325 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,520 talking about the role as opposed to, let's say, if you're running for a 326 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:14,280 house district or state Senator, and then you really got to start talking 327 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:18,960 about the Clinton administration or the boogeyman on whatever side and you get, 328 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,000 and then you just get lost and wrapped up in all that. 329 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,800 You don't really get to talk or educate that person about what 330 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,200 you'd actually be doing for them. 331 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:28,600 Uh, correct. 332 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:33,960 And here, one of the things I did, Dan was, you know, I looked, I studied 333 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:39,840 the office and looked at who, who does this office, uh, touch on, touch 334 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:44,000 regularly that makes a difference in their, in the work they do. 335 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:50,360 And I, and what first struck me was anyone who's tied to the real estate 336 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,920 community, you know, whether it's realtors, whether it's title companies, 337 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,000 whether it's praisers folks like that. 338 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,840 And so I've made it a point to reach out through close friends to various 339 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,280 members of the real estate community, realtors and such. 340 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,640 And I lost track of how many times people said, Dan, this is the first time 341 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:13,280 anyone has ever come to us and to introduce themselves. 342 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,600 This is, this is new for us. 343 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:16,640 This is awesome. 344 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:22,440 And, uh, I remembered that and, uh, and thankfully they remember that too. 345 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,480 So yeah, so it worked to my advantage to be able to start making inroads 346 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,920 with various parts of that business community. 347 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:35,040 At this time, I guess, when you're in the campaign season, you were 348 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,400 engaged or had recently married. 349 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,840 And I just remember you telling me a funny story about election night. 350 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:46,600 So obviously the day of the election, you go cast your vote and you really don't know. 351 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,280 I mean, did you expect to win? 352 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,640 Did you think, well, I feel good, but I'm just not sure. 353 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:53,480 How did you feel? 354 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,720 And then tell me about when, when the results came in, 355 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,680 we can look back on that night and laugh now. 356 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:03,440 All right. 357 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:09,120 Well, first of all, you know, keep in mind the climate you've got. 358 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:10,000 George W. 359 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,560 Bush had been elected president in 2000. 360 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:17,920 This is the midterm election and Siegelman was in a dog fight of a 361 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,120 reelection rates, which she turned out he would narrowly lose. 362 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:25,440 And we also knew that he was pouring a lot of get out the vote, uh, dollars 363 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:29,640 into Jefferson County, cause he needed Jefferson County to turn out big for him to win. 364 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:36,480 And, uh, that morning, I election day, I wake up and it is raining and it is 365 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:42,720 raining heavy through the morning and the clouds matched my mood. 366 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:48,480 And I'm thinking, I saw, Oh no, it's cause the rain's going to depress our, our 367 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:50,920 turnout and I was just fearing the worst. 368 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:56,280 And, but then the cloud, uh, the rain broke by midday and, uh, and, uh, you 369 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,400 know, the sun started breaking out through the sky and, you know, the rest of 370 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:01,320 the day was going fine. 371 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,320 I go to Glen Iris elementary school. 372 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,960 I was living in Southside Birmingham at the time to cast my vote. 373 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:11,160 I shake hands with my neighbors, uh, and thank them for working the polls. 374 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:17,440 And during the day, my, my moods started to pick up and I was, I was 375 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,680 checking in with the Sigelman campaign and we were, and I was finding out that, 376 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,680 you know, numbers were healthy, not quite as healthy as 1998, but they were still 377 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,720 healthy enough that they were confident they could win the county comfortably. 378 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,320 I'm thinking to myself, well, hopefully there's enough coattails there. 379 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:37,040 And, uh, basically by six o'clock that night, while I opened up my house to my 380 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:43,280 fiance and my friends to occupy my house and have the election night party, I 381 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,560 hung out at the downtown courthouse to watch the returns come in. 382 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,760 Nowadays, you can just go on the internet and just refresh your laptop 383 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:54,440 to see what the precinct returns, you know, what the county returns are saying. 384 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:59,680 But, you know, we didn't have that luxury in quite yet in 2002. 385 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,040 I'll always remember this with about 65 or so percent of the precincts 386 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:10,800 having already reported the difference in number of votes between my Republican 387 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,040 opponent and me, and there was a third party in the race, a Libertarian. 388 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:19,720 The number of votes separating him and me was four votes. 389 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:26,200 And I thought to myself, oh my God, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. 390 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:31,120 And the, and I remember thinking to myself, okay, does Alabama have a recount law? 391 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:33,760 How do we do recounts if the margin is this close? 392 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:40,440 And anyway, the lead flipped again, this time I was ahead after 393 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:42,200 some more boxes trickled in. 394 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:47,560 And that night it got down to like the final 10 boxes. 395 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:54,920 I was ahead by a few thousand votes, call it maybe four to 5,000 votes. 396 00:26:55,560 --> 00:27:00,360 But I saw that the last seven precincts had yet to report and six of them were 397 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:04,400 from Republican suburban areas, and I'm thinking to myself, uh-oh. 398 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:11,280 And then, you know, with each subsequent box that reported, I still had a lead, 399 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,520 but it was narrowing and narrowing and narrowing and narrowing. 400 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,320 And then it got to one box left. 401 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:26,320 And I was up by 701 votes out of over 200,000 cast. 402 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:27,920 Damn, I kid you not. 403 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:32,920 And I'm thinking to myself, where is that last precinct? 404 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:34,040 Where is it? 405 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:42,640 And, uh, I forget who at the courthouse told me this, but it was from this area 406 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:49,480 near Ross Bridge, but unincorporated Jefferson County that, uh, where the 407 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:54,520 number of voters for that total precinct was smaller than my lead. 408 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:59,200 And that's when I could breathe a sigh of relief that I knew I had, uh, I was 409 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:00,800 going to finish the night on top. 410 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:05,200 And I figured if I was the happiest person in Jefferson County that I won, 411 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,320 my future mother-in-law had to have been the second happiest. 412 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:17,200 Her son-in-law was going to be gainfully employed for at least the next six years. 413 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:18,600 And so, yeah. 414 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:23,080 So I won the narrowest race in the county, but I was the second happiest. 415 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,080 Race in the county by 701 votes. 416 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:31,240 And, you know, which comes down to like maybe two votes per precinct countywide. 417 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:38,120 And I thought back to all, you know, all 22,000 plus miles I put on my car, all 418 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:44,280 those hands I shook, every effort that I made, and I can't put my, Dan, I can, I 419 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,800 cannot put my hand on any one thing that I did that made a difference in the race. 420 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:52,520 But I knew that all the hard work that, that I did with help from friends and 421 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:57,560 friends of friends to get me over the top, I, you know, it was a life learning 422 00:28:57,560 --> 00:28:59,080 experience I'll never forget. 423 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:05,320 And it was, you know, I still get chills thinking about that, that experience. 424 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,440 It was very humbling and- 425 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:09,600 Just incredible. 426 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:10,800 Yeah, it is incredible. 427 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:16,600 And all, it was incredible because, you know, for somebody who was not originally 428 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,960 from the community to come in and six years later get elected countywide was 429 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:28,640 amazing and I'll always remember that night as my parents left to go home. 430 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,400 My mom said, you know, Danny, I'm always Danny to her. 431 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,160 So Danny, I want you to remember this. 432 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:38,840 I want you to remember all the people who were your friends long before you 433 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,000 became a political candidate. 434 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:45,240 Then you need to remember all the people who became your friends during the 435 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,800 campaign and helped you get to this point. 436 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:52,080 And then remember all the people who suddenly become your friends after 437 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,680 tonight, make sure you always remember that the difference and, you know, that 438 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:58,120 it really is true. 439 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:02,640 And, you know, there's certain people in your life who will stay with you 440 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:06,120 throughout and there are other people who will be in your life temporarily. 441 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,280 And then there are people who will come in and well, they'll pretend to be your 442 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:15,720 friend and that's just the nature of life as well as, you know, politics, 443 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:17,080 magnified. 444 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:17,480 Yep. 445 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:19,720 As they say, everybody loves a winner. 446 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:24,360 So it's real easy to get on board with a winner and say, yeah, that's my guy. 447 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,400 Or to hang around that person. 448 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,480 But that what great advice from your mom. 449 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:29,960 Yeah. 450 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:31,960 Well, you know, look, it's no surprise. 451 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:36,840 I mean, I look, I grew up in Montgomery where government is part of, I mean, 452 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:39,160 it's central to life down there. 453 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:44,440 And, you know, I remember going with my mom as a kid to city hall or to state 454 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,800 government, whenever she had to lobby on certain issues. 455 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:54,080 And, you know, something that she impressed upon us, boys, the Young 456 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:58,440 Son of Three Boys was, you know, everybody who's in elected office works for you. 457 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:03,080 And so you deserve to know, you know, what they are doing on your behalf and 458 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:08,520 how they are conducting the public business, because this affects you and me. 459 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:15,160 And so fast forward from that early childhood lesson to when I took office 460 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:22,280 in January of 2003 and I show up at the courthouse and I see my name over the 461 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,240 front door of the tax assessor's office. 462 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:27,480 And I'm thinking, wow, that looks cool. 463 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,560 And then there goes my mother's timeless advice. 464 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,200 And that's when I, you know, I remembered. 465 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:36,680 Now I'm being watched. 466 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:41,800 And so, yeah, once again, another humbling moment, but, but still, you 467 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:47,400 know, it's another timeless lesson for anybody who wants to get into public 468 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:48,200 services. 469 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:53,400 Remember what you're doing, you're being monitored and so conduct yourself 470 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:53,960 accordingly. 471 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:56,120 That's great stuff, Dan. 472 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,440 We've talked a lot about your career and your past experience. 473 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:05,000 Dan, just from me to you, thank you for your years of public service. 474 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:10,040 I haven't lived in Jefferson County in over 10 years, but I appreciate what 475 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:10,600 you do. 476 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:16,200 I think oftentimes on a municipal level, a lot of the hard work that goes on 477 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,040 behind closed doors, just the average person going about their day doesn't 478 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:25,320 realize that there are people working very hard to make a difference in 479 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,880 their communities in roles like yours. 480 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,320 But then again, there are a lot of people who do know what you do and the 481 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:38,840 people who know you, I hope I'm not getting too gushy here, Dan, but, but to 482 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,640 know Dan Weinrib is probably to love Dan Weinrib. 483 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:46,680 You give me too much credit, but I'll take it anyway. 484 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:51,320 But hey, look, Dan, look, I appreciate folks like you who, who understand and 485 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:56,680 appreciate the work that the behind the scenes public servants do, because, 486 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:00,200 you know, we're, we're here to make a difference in the way that we're 487 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:01,240 here to make a difference. 488 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:08,440 And more often than not, not get in front of the cameras and not do it for 489 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:13,000 notoriety, but we're just doing it just to get the job done and move our 490 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:13,960 communities forward. 491 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:18,760 And anything we can do to help the cause is what stirs us. 492 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:19,880 That's what motivates us. 493 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:24,040 So as we alluded to earlier in the conversation, when you do what you love 494 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,600 and you love what you do, it never feels like work. 495 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:30,120 Well, Dan, if you will come back to do a part two, I'm going to 496 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:31,080 tease something here. 497 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:36,600 Cause I want to do a baseball episode with you, or that's primarily all we 498 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:37,160 talk about. 499 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,360 So if you're up for it, we'll schedule, twist my arm. 500 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:48,200 No, no, no, but as much as I love public service, baseball has had my 501 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,160 heart far longer than public service ever had. 502 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:56,520 And I'm happy to talk about baseball, my relationship with baseball. 503 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:01,560 And I understand that you've been a high school baseball umpire. 504 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:05,640 You attended the Harry Wendelstedt school of umpiring, if I'm saying 505 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:06,280 that correctly. 506 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:07,080 Correct. 507 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:12,840 And, and also people that, if you're not familiar with Rickwood field, you 508 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,240 probably will be familiar with Rickwood field. 509 00:34:15,240 --> 00:34:19,080 I think next season when they do the classic with two MLB teams. 510 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:20,760 I, well, right. 511 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:26,040 The Rickwood classic is coming back to Rickwood field after a few years 512 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:26,760 absence. 513 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:31,320 Uh, uh, the Birmingham Barons are playing the Montgomery biscuits. 514 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:33,880 I want to say at or around June 18th. 515 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:38,280 And then two days later, we have San Francisco giants and the St. Louis 516 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,320 Cardinals playing a regular season game at Rickwood field. 517 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:42,760 Oh, that's right. 518 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,000 It's the, the, the field of dreams game. 519 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:45,480 Correct. 520 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:46,520 Wow. 521 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,320 And you've been involved with, is it friends of Rickwood? 522 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:54,440 Friends of Rickwood started in 1996 and my involvement with friends of 523 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,040 Rickwood started as a scoreboard volunteer. 524 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:01,240 I want to say around 2004 or 2005. 525 00:35:01,240 --> 00:35:04,920 And I've been on the friends of Rickwood board since I want to say either 526 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:06,840 Oh six or seven, something like that. 527 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:12,120 So yeah, I've been involved with Rickwood for, for 20 years, uh, pretty 528 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:12,440 much. 529 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:17,720 Uh, okay, Dan, let's, I would have moved to just some random, some wacky 530 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:18,840 rapid fire questions. 531 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:20,520 Um, okay. 532 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:25,080 Name a movie that makes you either cry or well up, and it does not have 533 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:26,040 to be a chick flick. 534 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:30,280 It doesn't have to be, uh, an automatic tearjerker. 535 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:33,080 What's a movie that you watch it and you're like, man, that just gets me 536 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:33,560 every time. 537 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:38,600 For the love of the game. 538 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:39,960 Wonderful. 539 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:41,000 Wonderful. 540 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:45,880 When you sit down at a Mexican restaurant, are you getting a usual 541 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:46,200 plate? 542 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:47,400 Are you getting tacos? 543 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,480 Are you getting burritos and gelatos? 544 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:53,000 Or do you sometimes go to a Mexican restaurant that has an expansive menu 545 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,080 and you're like, well, shoot, I need to go. 546 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:56,120 I need to try this. 547 00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:58,040 Uh, I need to go with this specialty. 548 00:35:58,040 --> 00:35:58,920 Do you have a go to? 549 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:03,160 And if, if Mexican's not, uh, one of your, that's a fair question. 550 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:05,960 And I love, I love Mexican next text food. 551 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:13,000 I, uh, I tried to branch out and get a different dish, but my standby is, uh, 552 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:20,280 if I, if my wife is with me, I'll order a Margarita so that she can drive. 553 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:23,800 When you go to the store, when you go to Walmart or Publix or wherever you 554 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:29,000 shop for just stuff, um, are you one of those drivers or shoppers that 555 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:34,600 you're going to hunt for the absolute closest open space or do you just say, 556 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:35,480 you know what? 557 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:36,600 I'm going to shoot to the back. 558 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,440 I'm going to get a spot and I'll be in the store here in a few minutes. 559 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,160 No, I, I have a plan of attack. 560 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:47,800 And it starts with my wife's grocery list, which she, she groups things 561 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:53,720 in sequence, uh, and so that I can get through the grocery store and out 562 00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:55,320 of there as quickly as possible. 563 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:57,240 I got to ask you another question. 564 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:00,520 I don't know if you're a rock and roll music fan, but between these two 565 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:06,040 songs, which one would you rather hear two times in a row Huey Lewis, 566 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:10,600 harder rock and roll or Bob Seger old time rock and roll. 567 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:21,560 And along those lines, uh, who's, do you have a favorite artist or do you have. 568 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:27,320 Somebody that's in the top three that just after a long week or, or a great 569 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:29,800 day that you're like, Oh, I got to hear that song. 570 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:35,080 It depends on the kind of week, but I would say my, my default music 571 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:38,120 choice are, uh, classic blues. 572 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:40,840 So we're talking muddy waters. 573 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:48,200 Uh, we're talking, uh, BB King, Coco Taylor is some great names folks like that. 574 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:52,360 I, I, that's my, uh, that's my default music when I leave work. 575 00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:57,960 Dan, have you ever not prepared well enough for a rainy day and shot out 576 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:02,440 the house without an umbrella, without proper shoes and just gotten soaked. 577 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:07,240 Before, before you get to the office last week, I got drenched, uh, my mid 578 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:14,840 afternoon walk, uh, I left the office ill prepared and got drenched on, uh, on 579 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:16,360 my return to city hall. 580 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:20,760 And, uh, let's just say that my coworkers laughed at my expense and I deserved it. 581 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,080 Well, Dan, we're just about out of time here, but I would love to have 582 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:28,760 you back for a second episode. 583 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:30,600 Is that a, that a deal? 584 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,680 You got, that's a sure thing. 585 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:33,240 That's the deal. 586 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:34,200 Okay. 587 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,560 Well, Dan Weinripp, it has been a pleasure folks. 588 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:39,320 I hope you got something out of this episode. 589 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:44,200 Remember when you leave the house in the morning, make a sweep, make a quick 590 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:48,120 sweep, do not leave that exhaust fan on in the guest bathroom. 591 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:49,640 Turn all your lights off. 592 00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:52,680 Turn the AC, don't turn the AC off. 593 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:53,960 Do not turn it off. 594 00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:57,160 Put it on an appropriate temperature, um, for the day. 595 00:38:57,160 --> 00:38:59,160 It'll be, you'll be happy that you did. 596 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:03,240 Okay guys, have a great week and, uh, Dan time is out. 597 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:04,200 We'll see you next week. 598 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:29,160 Thank you, Dan.