Survey: Ryan Scott Thompson

Position: Deputy chief of staff, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)
Age: 35
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Marital status/children: “Those are decisions for much later in life.”
Last job: Special assistant for Barton
First job: Construction, M.E. Thompson and Associates, Austin, Texas
Most unusual job: “My buddy and I were pool maintenance technicians — pool boys — for Oasis Pools, a company we started in College Station, Texas, my senior year of college.”
Most embarrassing moment: “Probably reading the story that comes out of this interview.”
Management style: “Still evolving.”
Number of cups of coffee you drink per day: 1-2
Religion: Lutheran
Favorite political TV show or movie: “I heart Jack Bauer [from ‘24’].”
Most inspirational figure: “[Former Dallas Cowboys coach] Tom Landry or my dad, Max.”
Dream job (not including present one): “Running Captain Ryan’s Boogie Board and Bicycle Rental Shop and Tiki Bar on a beach in Belize.”
College: Texas A&M ’01
Graduate School: “Maybe someday.”
Passion outside work: “Fishin’, huntin’, campin’, happy hourin’.”
Claim to fame: “I’ve got a bar called the Bluebonnet Inn in my backyard. Well, it’s more of a speakeasy, but it’s still a great place to watch a game with my friends.”

Ryan Thompson spent four years as a U.S. Marine and continues to rely on his military instincts to carve out his career path on Capitol Hill. Last month he became

Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-Texas) only deputy chief of staff in his Washington office.

“Probably the biggest thing that the Marine Corps can give you is an unwavering sense of self-confidence, and a sense that no job is too
big — the only job you fail at is the one you didn’t try your hardest at.”

Thompson applied that moxie when he came to Washington in August 2001 with little more than his new degree from Texas A&M University. He found a crash pad in a local attic, began moonlighting as a bar-back at the Pour House and convinced the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to let him work there for free. He proved himself quickly, and the committee soon hired him. But what Thompson really wanted was to work for a fellow Texan. So in January 2002, he moved to Ennis, Texas, to take his first job with Barton as his campaign’s political director.

He is now back in Washington but relies on his district experience to keep Barton’s office concentrated on issues that affect east Texas. Barton’s district contains a GM plant, for example, and its temporary shuttering this summer had “a ripple effect” through the district, Thompson said.

“I like to keep everybody focused on the real thing, which is jobs in the 6th district,” he said.