| Tommy Gene Armstrong | |
|---|---|
| Louisiana State Representative from District 4 (Caddo Parish) | |
| In office February 27, 1991 – 1992 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert P. "Bobby" Waddell |
| Succeeded by | C.O. Simpkins |
| President, Caddo Parish Commission | |
| In office 1987–1989 |
|
| Preceded by | Roy M. Hopkins |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd E. Lenard |
| Member, Caddo Parish Commission from District 11 | |
| In office 1984 – 1991 |
|
| Preceded by | New position |
| Succeeded by | Ginger Armstrong |
| Member, Caddo Parish Police Jury from Ward 19 | |
| In office 1976 – 1984 |
|
| Succeeded by | Position ended |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 19, 1941 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Kathryn Mulina Armstrong, aka Ginger Armstrong |
| Children | Three children, including: Genevieve Armstrong (born 1970) |
| Residence | Shreveport Caddo Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Alma mater | Northwestern State University |
| Occupation | Real estate developer |
| Though he served for fifteen years on the Caddo Parish Commission and its predecessor, the police jury, and a one-year term in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Armstrong in 1991 lost his bid for state senator by 754 votes to a fellow Republican, Ron Bean. | |
Tommy Gene Armstrong (born February 19, 1941) is a businessman from Shreveport, Louisiana, who served as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1991-1992. He filled the unexpired term of the Democrat, Robert P. "Bobby" Waddell, who resigned to become a state district court judge.[1] Armstrong was elected to the House from District 4 on February 23, 1991, with 50.5 percent of the vote over two Democratic opponents, Forrest A. Davis and Stephen B. Carter.[2]
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When Armstrong won the District 4 House seat, the lines were under the 1980 census. He did not pursue a full term in 1991 because, under the 1990 census, District 4 became majority African American and heavily Democratic. Instead, Armstrong contested the Louisiana State Senate District 38 seat vacated by the three-term Democratic incumbent, Richard G. Neeson, also of Shreveport. Armstrong's principal rival was Ron Bean, a more liberal Republican who had narrowly lost to Neeson in the 1987 election and had once been a pilot for U.S. President Richard M. Nixon. Armstrong led in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 19, 1991, with 13,354 votes (40 percent). Bean trailed with 8,866 votes (26 percent). Ken Wright, another Republican candidate, trailed with 6,088 votes (18 percent). Democrat Bobby Bruce Shofner (born 1948) finished last with 5,494 votes (15 percent).[3] In the general election, popularly termed the runoff in Louisiana, Bean narrowly defeated Armstrong, 20,474 (51 percent) to 19,720 (49 percent).[4] Bean held the District 38 Senate seat until retiring because of health problems in 2004.
Armstrong is known for his opposition to gambling. In 1996, he joined several Baptist ministers in appearing before the Caddo Parish Commission, on which he had previously served as a member and president, to oppose video poker at a truck stop near Keithville, where Armstrong then resided. Armstrong cited a number of publications which link corruption to the licensing of video-poker installations. He opposed a request from Carl J. King and wife to build the video poker outlet within a forbidden B-2 zone. Such a permit would, he told commissioners, constitute "spot zoning. The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the commission's decision to deny the needed permit to the Kings.[5]
Prior to his legislative year, Armstrong had held the District 11 seat on the 12-member Caddo Parish Commission, the parish governing board, since the formation of the commission on December 10, 1984. From 1987-1989, Armstrong was the commission president.[6] He was succeeded in the presidential slot by Lloyd E. Lenard, another Republican member. The Caddo Parish Commission was formerly the 20-member Caddo Police Jury, on which Armstrong also served from Ward 19 from 1976-1984.[6] In his last election to the commission in 1987, Armstrong prevailed with 4,883 votes (59.5 percent), having won outright over a fellow Republican and a Democratic candidate.[7]
When Armstrong resigned from the Caddo Parish Commission on February 27, 1991, to become state representative, the commissioners named his wife, the former Kathryn Mulina, known as Ginger Armstrong (born ca. 1940), to fill the remaining months of the term.[6] Ginger Armstrong is an elected Republican member of the Caddo Parish School Board.[8]
In 1988, Armstrong, as a resident of Keithville, was an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention held in New Orleans to nominate the Bush/Quayle ticket.[9]
In 1995, Armstrong ran again for the House in District 7, which includes parts of south Caddo and northern De Soto parishes. Armstrong polled 5,477 votes (45.3 percent) and was forced into a general election contest with the Democrat Beverly G. Bruce of Mansfield, who received 5,559 (46 percent). A third candidate, Lance Britton, also of Mansfield, held the remaining 1,061 votes (8.8 percent).[10] In the general election, Bruce prevailed, 7,027 (53 percent) to Armstrong's 6,235 (47 percent).[11]
Armstrong and his wife own and operate Armstrong Properties of Louisiana. He is a 1967 graduate of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. In 2001, Armstrong was listed in the NSU alumni magazine as an employee of the Department of Risk Management for the Caddo Parish School Board. Mrs. Armstrong, a 1962 NSU graduate, retired from public school teaching in 1998.[12] The Armstrongs reside at 9800 Chase Way in Shreveport. Their three children include a daughter, Genevieve Armstrong (born 1970), and a son, Thomas Marcus Armstrong (born ca. 1978).[13]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert P. "Bobby" Waddell |
Louisiana State Representative from District 4 (Caddo Parish)
Tommy Gene Armstrong |
Succeeded by C.O. Simpkins |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Roy M. Hopkins |
President of the Caddo Parish Commission
Tommy Gene Armstrong |
Succeeded by Lloyd E. Lenard |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by New position |
Member of the Caddo Parish Commission, District 11
Tommy Gene Armstrong |
Succeeded by Ginger Armstrong |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Missing |
Member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury from Ward 19
Tommy Gene Armstrong |
Succeeded by Position ended |