Woody and Gayle Hunt are El Paso Inc.’s El Pasoans of the year, 2022.
Here are couple of things that Mr. Hunt had to say:
When you boil it all down, it’s really about a focus on the quality of life. To have good educational access, good health care, arts and culture, and good jobs, you have to have a quality of life. Those are all interconnected.
. . .
My focus is really on the data. We have to lead with quality of life. It’s something that’s very important for the private sector, both nonprofit and for-profit, working together with our city and county political leaders.
What do you suppose a multi-billionaire like Woody Hunt knows about your quality of life?
Probably all he knows about quality of life is stuff he learned from 90210 reruns. You know, Beverly Hills.
Mr. Hunt has never been to the Outlet Mall. He’s never shopped at Savers, or Food King, or even Albertson’s. (The last time he accidently stumbled into that store we called it Skagg’s. ‘member?)
The stuff that Mr. Hunt knows about quality of life, besides the stuff he learned from 90210 reruns, is stuff he learned from building houses for the Army, and those guys in the Army live where they’re told. He put a movie theater, a gym, and a swimming pool in one of those Army housing projects and call it quality of life.
He’s trying to do the same thing in El Paso, with a downtown arena, and a futbol stadium over the freeway, and that ballpark we can’t stop paying for. Except the Army’s not paying for it. We are.
Mr. Hunt doesn’t really care about your quality of life. He’s trying build some quality of life for those “young professionals” he’s trying to attract. He just wants us to pay for it.
Perhaps Mr. Hunt’s biggest problem is that he doesn’t have anyone that can tell him he’s wrong.
Not only does he have no clue about our quality of life, he talks out of both sides of his mouth at once, and comes off sounding like a Freshman English student trying to fluff up his first essay! “When you boil it all down, it’s really about a focus on the quality of life. ” “My focus is really on the data. We have to lead with quality of life.” Say what? What does data have to do with quality of life, and what date is he referring to? I am not impressed.
For what it’s worth, my Theory-of-Everything regarding El Paso is that it is largely an immigrant community and its focus should be on providing the ladders of social and economic mobility for that segment, not art studios for hipsters. Education, healthcare, citizenship, affordable housing, public transport. Then you can build an arena.
Why do y’all hate quality of life so much?
Ha!
I really hate me some quality of life.
Why some much focus on sports facilities? I would hold out for the professional pickle ball and corn hole stadiums.