Jacqueline Michelle Butler (listed as such in the White Pages) turns 37 this month.
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 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 in order to… advise him. She is paid 15% more than the Mayor of El Paso, who earns $89,250.
About three months ago we spoke to Ms. Butler, who was kind enough to answer our questions and tell us about her policy positions. It was immediately clear to us that she supports expanding County government and issuing more debt, resulting 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 THE 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 about how she would create jobs and stop the brain drain, she talked about building partnerships with the business community and higher education, and informing El Pasoans about existing resources for seeking work…
She talked about “providing opportunity for lower cost child care.”
She talked at length about healthcare and the need to expand medical services for El Pasoans.
When asked how she felt about the failed effort to issue certificates of obligation (non-voter-approved debt) in support of University Medical Center, she replied, and we quote verbatim:
“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 can be “the fastest and the best option” for County projects.
Finally, Butler made clear that she is very much a party person: “I am through and through a Democrat.” She took a jab at her Democratic opponent Pete Faraone, who is far 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.”
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS
Her July 15 and January 15 campaign finance reports show that she has strong backing from the local business and political elite, 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).
In total, she has raked in $53,602 as of December 31–not bad for a person who had served as a staffer for only 16 months.
Apparently the developers and their bankers and political allies believe she will act as their loyal lieutenant if elected, because that is how things work in El Paso politics.
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, Jackie Butler is a standard progressive Democrat 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.
Her campaign webpage and her interviews with both the Hispanic Chamber and the El Paso Taxpayer Revolt reveal zero concern about the economic plight of the taxpayer and no plan to lower taxes.
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 masses.
Her mentor is her boss, Commissioner Carlos Leon, who taxed and spent his way through office and voted to raise his own salary five times, including by 16.2% this past August.
She will be the next Leon and will continue his pro-developer and anti-taxpayer policies.
All we can say is please vote for Libertarian Ryan Woodcraft for Precinct 1 on November 5.
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