What County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister Meant to San Diego

The news this week that longtime San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister had passed away has led to a lot of praise about him from among his colleagues in government.

You’ve heard some of it here on the radio, something he probably would find especially appropriate because his early career included time in radio sales.

But you might wonder why a tax collector, not a glamourous occupation, and one going back to Biblical times and American revolutionary times that can be the target of disfavor among taxpayers, is getting so much attention.

That’s because he wasn’t just a Treasurer Tax Collector for nearly a quarter of a century.

He also was a leader in charitable community efforts.

As Dan McAllister’s son put it to the San Diego Union Tribune, he was a man of the people and wanted to help people,

When someone passes away, it is often said that while no one is perfect, and none of us is, we remember what was really important about that someone.

And having known Dan McAllister for many years, going back to the 1980s, he was a news junkie with a love for his community.  

If he could write his own obituary, it probably would not be about him, more about the community that he loved and cared about.

(Photo San Diego County Newscenter)