James Armes

Background

Armes was the son of James Armes, Junior. (1916-1992) and Verna Louise Armes (1920-1971).

Education

He graduated in 1974 with a degree in Botany and Horticulture from McNeese State University in Lake Charles.

Career

First elected in 2007, he ran for his third term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 24, 2015. He owns Greenhaven Nursery & Landscaping. The name of Armes"s current wife is unavailable.

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.

30. In the primary held on October 20, 2007, Armes, with 3,971 votes (485 percent), led two Republican candidates, Jackie M. "Jack" Causey (born June 1950) and Overton Brown Burns, Junior. (born c 1955), both of Leesville.

Causey polled 3,122 votes (382 percent), and Burns trailed with 1,091 (133 percent), respectively. Together Causey and Burns had a primary majority.In the lower-turnout general election on November 17, Armes prevailed over Causey, 3,124 votes (5245 percent) to 2,832 (4755 percent).

Armes polled 3,874 votes (545 percent) to Lord"s 1,995 (281 percent) and Causey"s 1,238 (174 percent).

He serves on these committee: (1) Appropriations, (2) Natural Resources and Environment, (3) Joint Legislative Budget, and (4) Military and Veterans Affairs. 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. 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.

Achievements

• 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 Number. 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.

Membership

Representative Armes is a member of the Louisiana Rural Caucus and the Democratic Caucus.