Jodey Arrington

Jodey Cook Arrington (born March 9, 1972) is the U.S. Representative-elect for Texas's 19th congressional district. He was a member of both the gubernatorial and presidential administrations of George W. Bush.^[1] He was named appointments manager for Governor Bush in 1996. In 2000, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel.^[2] In December 2001, Donald E. Powell, the 18th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation hired Arrington as the agency's chief of staff.^[3]

He later served as deputy federal coordinator for the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding. In 2006, Arrington left the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding to return to his alma mater, Texas Tech University as its systemc Chief of staff and later as vice chancellor for research and commercialization. Arrington currently serves as president of Scott Laboratories in Lubbock.

Early life and education

Arrington was raised in Plainview in Hale County on the South Texas Plains to Gene and Betty Arrington. His father played basketball at Texas Tech,^[4][5] having lettered in 1958, 1959, and 1960^[6] under coach Polk Robison. In high school, Arrington was a multi-sport athlete, and was a state-ranked tennis player.^[7]

After graduating from Plainview High School, Arrington attended Texas Tech, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta men's fraternity. He also walked on to the football team under Spike Dykes. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, but remained at Texas Tech to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree, which he completed in 1997. In 2004, he earned a Certificate of International Business Management from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Governor's Office

In 1996, Arrington was hired by Governor George W. Bush as an appointments manager. During his tenure in the Governor's Office, Arrington was responsible for recruiting, vetting, and making recommendations for over 200 positions on state-wide governing, regulatory, and advisory boards and commissions.

White House

After Bush's election as president in 2000, Arrington was asked to join the White House staff as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel,^[8] where he served under Clay Johnson III. For the next year, Arrington briefed and made recommendations to the President, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Chief of Staff Andy Card. During his time in the Office of Presidential Personnel, Arrington managed an executive search team that helped the Office fill over 5,000 total executive level, board, and commission positions. He specialized in appointments relating to energy, the environment, and natural resources.^[9]

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

In late December 2001, at age 28, Arrington became one of the youngest chiefs of staff in the history of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,^[10] an independent regulatory agency with over 5,300 employees, eight regional offices, a budget over $1 billion, and the regulation of nearly 9,000 US banks,^[11] where he served under the 18th chairman, Donald E. Powell.^[12] As Powell's chief of staff, Arrington managed and oversaw the offices of the Chairman, Policy Development, and Public Affairs, all of which he reorganized to increase efficiency. In 2002, Arrington began chairing the FDIC Board Appeals Committee^[12] and served in Powell's place on the Audit Committee.

Arrington's assistance played a significant role in several of Powell's crowning achievements, including: helping pass the Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2006, reorganizing senior management, reducing agency staff by approximately twenty percent, modernizing technology systems, reforming personnel policies, and creating a state-of-the-art training and development center.

Gulf Coast Rebuilding

In 2005, in the wake of FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush established the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding by executive order.^[13] Bush quickly tabbed Donald E. Powell as Federal Coordinator, who appointed Arrington as Deputy Federal Coordinator and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Arrington worked with the Governors of the affected states, as well as military officials, local authorities and charitable organizations.^[1][14][3] Powell and Arrington were responsible for developing and executing the Federal Government's recovery efforts, as well as coordinating with local, state and federal officials. By the end of Arrington's first year in the Gulf Coast, he had aided Powell in the procurement and implementation of much of the $120 billion spent on infrastructure and assistance relief.^[1]

Texas Tech

After a year with the Federal Coordinator's post, Arrington decided to return home to his alma mater, Texas Tech, as its System's Chief of Staff.^[15] The Tech System includes Texas Tech University, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and Angelo State University. It has over 40,000 students and nearly 20,000 employees. The system has a budget of roughly $1.3 billion and has campuses throughout the state. He also served as the primary liaison to the Vice Chancellors throughout the System.

In 2011, Arrington was named Vice Chancellor for Research and Commercialization at Texas Tech University System. During his seven-year tenure with the Texas Tech University System, Arrington served as chairman on the Task Force for Enrollment Growth and was the chief architect of “Leading the Way,” the strategic plan for the universities within the TTU System.^[16]

One of Arrington's biggest contributions was his role in helping TTUHSC secure the naming rights to the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health.^[17] Since securing the naming rights in 2007, the institute has been responsible for raising nearly $10 million for healthcare issues affecting women.

Scott Laboratories

In 2014, Arrington became president of Scott Laboratories in Lubbock, Texas. As President of a healthcare innovation holding company, which includes a comprehensive health system, Arrington's primary role is launching and growing new ventures as well as supporting new revenue opportunities at the health system.

He is currently focused on developing a tele-health startup, launching an innovative insurance product, and establishing a digital marketing platform for the health system.^[18]

Political career

Arrington was elected to the United States Congress representing Texas District 19 in the November 2016 national election.^[19]

He ran unsuccessfully in 2014 in a special election for the Texas State Senate District 28. He was defeated by fellow Republican Charles Perry, 53 to 30 percent, who still holds the seat.^[20]

With Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer of Texas's 19th congressional district choosing to retire in 2016, Arrington decided to run for his seat. Glen Robertson led a nine-candidate field in the primary election held on March 1 with 27,791 (26.7 percent) of the ballots cast, followed by Arrington's 26,980 (26 percent). In third place was Michael Bob Starr, the former commander of Dyess Air Force Base who led handily in Abilene and finished with 22,256 votes (21.4 percent). Laredo surgeon Donald R. May finished fourth with 9,592 votes (9.2 percent).^[21][22]

In the runoff election held on May 24, 2016, Arrington defeated Robertson, 25,214 (53.7 percent) to 21,769 (46.3 percent) to become the Republican nominee.^[23] He faced Democratic opponent in the congressional general election on November 8, 2016. However, the 19th is one of the most Republican districts in the nation, and any Democratic challenger would have faced nearly impossible odds in any case. The 19th has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+26, making it the third-most Republican district and the 12th-most Republican district in the nation. When Arrington takes office on January 3, 2017, he will become only the fifth person to represent this district since its creation in 1935.

Awards and honors

Arrington was the recipient of the 2003 Distinguished Public Service Award as part of the 22nd annual Center for Public Service Symposium in Lubbock, Texas.^[24]

References

External links