Good news, Democrats. Claire Dewar is on your side. Since retiring six years ago, the real estate powerhouse has been channeling her energies into blue party politic — among an abundance of other things.
We caught up with Claire at home in Greenway Parks, her location of choice during the pandemic.
“I’ve always been interested in politics,” she says. “It’s the most important thing in the whole wide world right now. I can’t be that person that doesn’t do anything.”
The day before we spoke, Claire was on the phone for the Joe Biden campaign.
The staunch Democrat also remains a huge supporter of Beto O’Rourke. In addition to co-chairing a pop-up backing the politician’s senate bid, she joined his PAC, Powered by People. Claire is one of a group of 20,000 working to turn Texas from red to blue. A key effort is increasing the state’s number of registered Democratic voters.
“Over five nights, the group made over 600,000 calls. It’s pretty amazing,” she says.
Since retiring, Claire also volunteers with St. Philip’s School in South Dallas.
“We’re studying the neighborhood to make sure it can be revitalized without displacing the area’s current owners,” she says.
At the same time, real estate continues to be part of her wheelhouse.
“I hear from clients all the time. I guess you could call me a consultant,” she says. “A lot of people will talk to me about the process and who they should hire. The point being, I had a big book of business.”
We asked Claire how she differed from fellow agents. For starters, she attributes it to knowing her own neighborhood better than anyone. Another specialty: architecturally significant contemporary properties.
“I was an early adapter of some interesting marketing,” she says. Among them, an Excel spreadsheet-style of pricing homes.
“It’s an art, not a science — although I tried to put as much science behind it as I could.”
On the right brain side of things, Claire could walk through a house and instantly recognize its potential.
And then there’s the obvious. “I just worked really hard,” she says.
“I put in the hours because I loved it.”
In 2011, Claire bought a house in Aspen where she spends summers. Last year, she purchased an apartment in New York City’s Sutton Place.
“One of the things on my bucket list was to spend enough time in New York so I could pretend like I lived there. I wanted to go to the ballet or a dance performance every night and attend art openings and art fairs.
“The timing is terrible,” she adds. “The New York I was dreaming about is shut down. It’s going to be awhile.”
Also on her bucket list: traveling to all 50 states.
“I think I’ve been to about 43. I’m close enough that I should be able to get it done,” she says.
Now spending more time in Dallas, Claire adopted two brother kittens. She also reads three newspapers a day, exercises, joins in art and politically oriented Zoom calls, and works on long-term projects like promoting gun safety. And did we mention she helped her cousin start a children’s camp and perfected her quiche recipe? (A friend brings her fresh eggs straight from his West Texas chicken coop.)
“When you’ve been a really busy, very Type A agent, you just don’t retire and do nothing all day,” she says.
