Roy Butler (American Politician)
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Roy Anderson Butler, Sr. (March 31, 1926 – November 13, 2009), was an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th
mayor of Austin The mayor of Austin is the official head of the city of Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. The office was established in 1840 after Austin incorporated as a city in 1839. The mayor of Austin is elected to a four-year term and limited to serving ...
from 1971 to 1975. Butler was the first Austin mayor directly elected by city voters. Prior to his 1971 election, Austin mayors had been appointed by the Austin City Council.


Personal life

Roy Butler was a native of Greenville, Texas. He was the only child of his mother, a
homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...
, and his father, an
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. Butler served in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Following his departure from the Navy, Butler earned his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in economics from the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
in 1951. He attended the
University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...
for three years but left before earning his
law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...
. Instead, he entered the
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
business. He met his future wife, Ann Showers, on a
blind date A blind date is a romantic meeting between two people who have never met before. Both parties arrange a date with little to no information about each other, hoping for the possibility of making a lasting impression. Typically, a family member or ...
while at the University of Texas. The couple married six months later. Butler was described as a close friend of former U. S. President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
.


Business career

Outside of city politics, Butler owned and operated several prolific Austin area businesses. He opened his first
car dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...
at 45th and Lamar in Austin. The business grew to become the Roy Butler Lincoln-Mercury dealership. Butler owned the dealership from 1960 until 1976, during which Butler Lincoln-Mercury became the largest Lincoln dealership in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
. Butler won the rights to the Coors Beer franchise in
Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...
in 1976, beating out approximately 2,200 other applicants. His Coors beer distributor franchise, now called Capitol Beverage, currently distributes more than forty beer brands throughout four Texas counties, as of 2009 in
Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized First Nation in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, Ea ...
, Hays,
Travis Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...
, and Williamson counties. Butler co-founded the local branch of
Cellular One Cellular One is the trademarked brand name that licenses services (radio frequencies for telecommunications) used by several cellular service providers in the United States. The brand was sold to Trilogy Partners by AT&T in 2008 shortly after AT ...
, which is now known as
AT&T Wireless AT&T Mobility, LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. Formed in April 2000 as Cingular Wireless LLC, It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless serv ...
. Cellular One was the first cell phone provider in Austin. He also owned two Austin area radio stations, KVET and
KASE-FM KASE-FM (100.7 MHz "KASE 100.7") is a commercial radio station licensed to Austin, Texas, owned by iHeartMedia and airing a country music radio format. It shares studios and offices with four sister stations in the Penn Field complex in the So ...
. Under Butler, KVET and KASE-FM expanded into a multi-state radio group, which Butler sold in 1999. Former Austin Mayor Bruce Todd credited Butler as one of the
real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...
s most responsible for transforming
Downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. The area of the district is bound by Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Austin), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north, Inte ...
. Butler established some of the first, and most important commercial developments in the neighborhood, which eventually attracted new residents and businesses to the area. Butler was responsible for leasing a building he owned at the corner of Sixth and Lamar to both
Whole Foods Markets Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preserv ...
and the GSD&M Idea City
ad agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
, both of which are headquartered in
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
. With the addition of another tenant, Book People, Butler's property became an important site which attracted people to downtown Austin.


Political career

Butler served as a member of the
Austin independent school District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin, the neighboring municipalities of Sunset Valley and San Lea ...
board for nine years prior to being elected to his first term as mayor in 1971. Butler unseated Mayor Travis LaRue 65.3 to 15 percent. He was handily re-elected for a second two-year term as mayor in 1973, when he received almost 44,000 votes. This total from 1973 still holds the record for most votes ever cast for any Austin mayoral candidate in history, as of 2019. Butler expanded and modernized the
Austin Police Department Austin Police Department (APD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Austin, Texas. As of fiscal year 2022, the agency had an annual budget of $443.1 million and employed around 2,484 personnel, including approximately 1,809 officers. ...
. He also spearheaded efforts to build a nuclear power plant in South Texas and construct the
Texas State Highway Loop 1 Loop 1 is a freeway that provides access to the west side of Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. It is named Mopac Expressway (or, according to some highway signs, Mopac Boulevard) after the Missouri Pacific Railroad (or "MoPac"). Local residen ...
(MoPac Boulevard) on the west side of Austin. The two proposals brought Butler into political conflict with Austin's environmentalists, who had emerged as a force in the city during the 1960s and 1970s. During his tenure as mayor, Butler was able to recruit former United States First Lady
Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...
to team up with his wife, Ann Butler, to establish the Town Lake Beautification Committee. Before Ann Butler and First Lady Johnson began their work the lake, located in Austin, was in a state of neglect and
polluted Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...
with trash and overgrown weeds. KTBC described Town Lake before Butler's efforts as an "
eyesore An eyesore is something that is largely considered to look unpleasant or ugly. Its technical usage is as an alternative perspective to the notion of landmark. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas, a ...
". Efforts by Johnson and Butler transformed Town Lake and the adjoining Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, into one of the most important recreation areas in Austin. Town Lake was renamed
Lady Bird Lake Lady Bird Lake (formerly, and still colloquially referred to as Town Lake) is a river-like reservoir on the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado River in Austin, Texas, United States. The City of Austin created the reservoir in 1960 as a cooling pon ...
in 2007, and the Hike and Bike Trail was renamed Butler Trail in 2012. Contrary to some beliefs, Austin's Butler Park is not named for Roy Butler.


Later life

Butler was a strong advocate of
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...
. On August 28, 2009, the Austin City Council and the Austin Crime Commission renamed a
police academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...
to the Roy Butler Police Training Academy in honor of Butler and his work in support of the police. Roy Butler suffered two broken
vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...
in a fall in early November 2009. He was taken to the University Medical Center Brackenridge and listed in
critical condition Medical state is a term used to describe a hospital patient's health status, or condition. The term is most commonly used in information given to the news media, and is rarely used as a clinical description by physicians. Two aspects of the pati ...
. Butler died from complications of his injuries approximately one week later on November 13, 2009, at the age of 83. He was survived by his wife of 61 years, Ann,; three children, Roy Butler Jr., Edward Butler, and Beth Granger, and his grandchildren: Sheridan Butler, Grant Butler, Charles Granger, Louis Granger, and Roy Granger. Butler's memorial service was held at the
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, also known as the LBJ Presidential Library, is the presidential library and museum of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States (1963–1969). It is located on the grounds of ...
in Austin on November 19, 2009. Mayor Travis LaRue, whom Butler unseated in 1971, died on Saturday, November 14, 2009, just one day after Butler's passing.


In memoriam

On November 3, 2011, the Austin City Council, in recognition of Roy Butler's civil service and contributions to the community and City of Austin, including the revitalization and improvement of Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake), approved a resolution naming the "hike and bike trail" surrounding Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin as the "Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail."


References


External links


My FOX Austin: Former Austin Mayor Roy Butler Has Died

Roy Butler Coors Beer spoof
from
Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film ...
1976 {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Roy 1926 births 2009 deaths Mayors of Austin, Texas American automobile salespeople Businesspeople from Texas People from Greenville, Texas United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni Texas Republicans Accidental deaths from falls in the United States 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Texas politicians