Jacqueline Michelle Butler, listed as such by the Texas Secretary of State, on her campaign finance reports, and on her El Paso County timecards, has been campaigning as “Jackie Arroyo Butler.”
She married Lorenzo A. Arroyo in 2010, just before she began work at the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. She was employed there full-time in various positions for nearly seven years, and then worked at two different medical non-profits for five years.
In August 2022, Commissioner Carlos Leon of Precinct 1 hired her to be his Senior Policy Advisor at a salary of $102,315. She earns 15% more than the Mayor of El Paso–not bad for a rookie County staffer!
About three months ago we spoke to Ms. Butler, who kindly answered our questions and discussed her policy positions. It became clear to us right away that she supports expanding County government and issuing more debt, which would result in higher taxation.
She told us she favors creating a County child care program to help working mothers as well as a job placement program for the unemployed, growing the County administration by scores of employees.
INTERVIEW WITH HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Her recent interview with the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was bland and uninteresting, with few details about her actual plans for El Paso County.
Asked how she would create jobs and stop the “brain drain,” she talked about building partnerships with the business community and higher education, and informing the public about existing resources for seeking work…
She talked about “providing opportunity for lower cost child care” and about the need to expand medical services for El Pasoans, as if these were within the purview of the County Commissioners Court.
Desirae Manzanares of the Hispanic Chamber asked her only one substantive question, about the failed effort to issue certificates of obligation (non-voter-approved debt) in support of University Medical Center. She replied:
“Um, I understand taxpayers’ concerns about bonds. Um, I think, um, you know, the last thing that, um, the Commissioners Court or any elected official would want to do, I imagine, is to increase taxes, um, and increase that burden on the taxpayer.”
Yes, she feels that certificates of obligation, which are extremely unpopular with the voting public, can be “the fastest and the best option” for County projects.
Butler made clear that she is partisan: “I am through and through a Democrat.” She took a jab at her Democratic opponent Pete Faraone, who is more conservative fiscally, for daring to vote in two Republican primaries in his lifetime, as if that were somehow a dark stain on his soul.
CAMPAIGN WEBPAGE
And then there is her webpage, which emphasizes investment in transportation infrastructure and expansion into “public health efforts,” such as working to “provide healthcare coverage for the uninsured and underinsured.”
She is in favor of County incentives for tech startups and small businesses and is “committed to creating an economy that prioritizes social impact and helps people live better, healthier lives.”
She also supports empowering women, including “increasing access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare, improving access to quality and affordable childcare for infants to preschool-aged children, and creating pathways for women and working mothers to access high-impact and STEM-related workforce opportunities.”
Finally, she “will ensure that efforts to enhance quality of life and develop downtown El Paso benefit all residents throughout the County.”
91% OF CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OUTSIDE PRECINCT 1
As of December 31, Jackie Butler received $53,602 in campaign contributions, with only $4,900 (9.1%) coming from within Precinct 1, which she is campaigning to represent!
Her July 15 and January 15 campaign finance reports show that she would actually represent El Paso’s business and political elites, including Randall Bowling ($1,000), Adam Frank ($1,000), the Mary Gonzalez Campaign ($1,000), Stanley Jobe ($1,000), the Joseph Moody Campaign ($1,500), the Carlos Leon Campaign ($500), Steve Ortega ($1,000), Gary Porras ($1,000), Gerald Rubin ($1,000), Douglas Schwartz ($1,000), Carlos Bombach ($3,000), Robert Bowling ($1,000), Edward Escudero ($2,000), Leonard Goodman ($500), Woody & Gayle Hunt ($1,000), Marjorie Jobe ($2,500), Deborah Kastrin ($1,000), Leila Melendez ($1,000), Amy O’Rourke ($200), Judith Robison ($250), Emma Schwartz ($2,000), and Kelly Tomblin ($2,000).
Apparently the developers and their moneyed allies are convinced she will act in their best interests if elected, but what about the residents of Precinct 1?
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, Jackie Butler is a committed progressive who envisions an expanded County administration and would likely vote with County Judge Samaniego and Commissioners Stout and Coronado on taxes, spending, and social welfare.
She believes in big-government solutions and that the County should incentivize growth and invest in large capital projects in order to catalyze economic development.
She wants to implement the same tired Keysnesian policies that have been proven to fail time and again.
Her campaign webpage and interviews with both the Hispanic Chamber and the El Paso Taxpayer Revolt reveal absolutely no concern about the economic plight of the taxpayer.
She attended Vassar, a private East Coast college where tuition alone costs $66,870 per year, so we would not expect her to understand the crushing taxation that has been inflicted upon the common masses.