James Armes

James Kimbrell Armes, III (born April 5, 1951),^[1][2] is a landscape contractor from Leesville, Louisiana, who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 30 in Beauregard and Vernon parishes in the western portion of his state. First elected in 2007, he ran for his third term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 24, 2015.^[3][4]

Background

Armes was the son of James Armes, Jr. (1916-1992)^[5] and Verna Louise Armes (1920-1971).^[6]

He graduated in 1974 with a degree in Botany and Horticulture from McNeese State University in Lake Charles. He owns Greenhaven Nursery & Landscaping.^[7][8]

Armes and his former wife, Anne Leonora Tucker Armes, since Anne Chapman, the wife of Perry Chapman, have three children, James Kimbrell "Beau" Armes, IV, Kristen Lea Armes, and Jeffrey Kemp Armes (born March 1986).^[9] The name of Armes's current wife is unavailable.

Political career

According to his Facebook page, Armes has previously served on the Vernon Parish School Board, the Leesville City Council (at-large seat), and the Vernon Parish Police Jury, the equivalent to the county commission in other state.^[2][10]

Armes won the District 30 House seat vacated by the Democrat (and later Republican) John R. Smith of Leesville, who was instead elected to the Louisiana State Senate in the seat also numbered No. 30. In the primary held on October 20, 2007, Armes, with 3,971 votes (48.5 percent), led two Republican candidates, Jackie M. "Jack" Causey (born June 1950) and Overton Brown Burns, Jr. (born c. 1955), both of Leesville. Causey polled 3,122 votes (38.2 percent), and Burns trailed with 1,091 (13.3 percent), respectively. Together Causey and Burns had a primary majority.^[11]In the lower-turnout general election on November 17, Armes prevailed over Causey, 3,124 votes (52.45 percent) to 2,832 (47.55 percent).^[12]

Armes won his second term by a more comfortable margin in the primary election held on October 22, 2011, when he defeated Causey once again and still another Republican, physician Gregory Lord (born August 1954) of Leesville. Armes polled 3,874 votes (54.5 percent) to Lord's 1,995 (28.1 percent) and Causey's 1,238 (17.4 percent).^[13]

Representative Armes is a member of the Louisiana Rural Caucus and the Democratic Caucus. He serves on these committee: (1) Appropriations, (2) Natural Resources and Environment, (3) Joint Legislative Budget, and (4) Military and Veterans Affairs.^[3]

Armes's legislative ratings have ranged from 24 to 67 percent from the conservative Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. In 2012, he was rated 57 percent by the National Federation of Independent Business. From 2012 to 2014, the conservative Louisiana Family Forum scored him 43 percent, 86 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Since 2008, he has been rated all but one year as 100 percent by Louisiana Right to Life.^[14]

In 2014, Armes co-sponsored the requirement that abortion providers have hospital admitting privileges near their clinics, but he did not vote on final passage of the bill, which was approved, 88-5. He voted in 2013 for surrogacy contracts. In 2014, he did not vote on the extension of the time for implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. In 2013, Armes voted to reduce penalties for the possession of marijuana and opposed lifetime concealed carry gun permits. However, he supported concealed carry in restaurants which serve alcoholic beverages and opposed making information about permit holders a matter of public record. In 2012, he voted to prohibit the use of telephones while driving. He voted to reduce the number of hours that polling locations remain open. Louisiana has traditionally had 14-hour polling days. He opposed the requirement for drug testing of welfare recipients.^[14]

References