Roy Butler (American politician)

Roy Butler
Born	Roy Anderson Butler, Sr. (1926-03-31) March 31, 1926 Greenville, Texas, U.S.
Died	November 13, 2009(2009-11-13) (aged 83) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Businessman, politician
Years active	1950s–2000s
Known for	47th Mayor of Austin; owner of Roy Butler Lincoln-Mercury dealership; Coors beer distributor for Central Texas; co-founder of Cellular One Austin; owner of KVET and KASE-FM radio stations

Roy Anderson Butler, Sr. (March 31, 1926 – November 13, 2009) was an American businessman and political figure who held the position of the 47th Mayor of Austin from 1971 until 1975.

Butler holds the distinction of being Austin's first mayor to be elected directly by the city's electorate. Before his election in 1971, the mayoral office was filled through appointments made by the Austin City Council.

Personal life

Born in Greenville, Texas, Butler was the sole child of his mother, a homemaker, and his father, who served as an officer in the United States Army.

During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. After completing his military service, Butler graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1951. He then pursued legal studies at the University of Texas School of Law for three years but did not complete his law degree, opting instead to embark on a career in the automobile industry.

While attending the University of Texas, Butler met Ann Showers on a blind date; they married six months later.

He was known to have had a close personal relationship with former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Business career

Beyond his involvement in municipal politics, Butler managed and owned multiple successful enterprises in the Austin region. His initial venture was a car dealership located at 45th and Lamar in Austin. This enterprise evolved into the Roy Butler Lincoln-Mercury dealership. From 1960 until 1976, Butler maintained ownership of this dealership, which grew to become the largest Lincoln dealership across Texas and Oklahoma.

In 1976, Butler secured the Coors Beer franchise for Central Texas, prevailing over roughly 2,200 competitors. His Coors beer distribution franchise, now operating under the name Capitol Beverage, distributed more than forty different beer brands across four Texas counties as of 2009: Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson.

Butler was a co-founder of the local branch of Cellular One, which has since become AT&T Wireless. This company was the pioneer cell phone provider in Austin. Additionally, he owned two radio stations in the Austin vicinity, KVET and KASE-FM. Under his leadership, these stations expanded into a multi-state radio network before being sold in 1999.

Former Austin Mayor Bruce Todd acknowledged Butler as one of the key real estate developers instrumental in reshaping Downtown Austin. Butler initiated some of the earliest and most significant commercial projects in the area, which played a crucial role in attracting new residents and enterprises. Notably, he leased a building he owned at Sixth and Lamar to both Whole Foods Markets and the GSD&M Idea City advertising agency, both headquartered in Austin. With the addition of Book People as a tenant, Butler’s property became a vital hub drawing visitors to downtown Austin.

Political career

Before his initial election as mayor in 1971, Butler dedicated nine years serving on the Austin independent school District board.

In the mayoral race, Butler decisively defeated incumbent Mayor Travis LaRue, garnering 65.3% of the vote compared to LaRue’s 15%. He secured a second two-year term as mayor in 1973 with nearly 44,000 votes—a record that remains unbroken for any Austin mayoral candidate as of 2019.

During his administration, Butler undertook significant modernization and expansion of the Austin Police Department. He also championed initiatives to develop a nuclear power facility in South Texas and to construct the Texas State Highway Loop 1 (MoPac Boulevard) on Austin’s western side. These proposals led to political clashes with environmental advocates who had become influential in Austin during the 1960s and 1970s.

While mayor, Butler enlisted former United States First Lady Lady Bird Johnson to collaborate with his wife, Ann Butler, in founding the Town Lake Beautification Committee. Prior to their efforts, Town Lake in Austin suffered from neglect, litter accumulation, and overgrowth of weeds. According to KTBC, Town Lake was once considered an "eyesore." Thanks to Johnson’s and Butler’s initiatives, Town Lake along with its adjacent Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail transformed into one of Austin’s premier recreational destinations. The lake was renamed Lady Bird Lake in 2007, and in 2012 the Hike and Bike Trail was dedicated as Butler Trail.

Despite some misconceptions, Austin’s Butler Park is not named after Roy Butler.

Later life

Butler was a dedicated supporter of law enforcement. On August 28, 2009, the Austin City Council alongside the Austin Crime Commission honored Butler’s commitment to law enforcement by renaming a police academy the Roy Butler Police Training Academy.

In early November 2009, Butler sustained fractures to two vertebrae after a fall. He was admitted to the University Medical Center Brackenridge and classified as being in critical condition. Approximately one week later, on November 13, 2009, complications arising from his injuries led to his passing at age 83.

He is survived by his wife Ann, to whom he was married for 61 years, three children—Roy Butler Jr., Edward Butler, and Beth Granger, as well as grandchildren Sheridan Butler, Grant Butler, Charles Granger, Louis Granger, and Roy Granger.

Butler’s funeral service took place on November 19, 2009, at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin.

Notably, Mayor Travis LaRue—whom Butler defeated in the 1971 election—passed away on November 14, 2009, just one day following Butler’s death.

In memoriam

On November 3, 2011, the Austin City Council formally recognized Roy Butler’s public service and impact on the community by approving a resolution to designate the "hike and bike trail" encircling Lady Bird Lake (previously known as Town Lake) in downtown Austin as the "Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail."

External links

• My FOX Austin: Former Austin Mayor Roy Butler Has Died
• Roy Butler Coors Beer spoof from Texas Archive of the Moving Image 1976