Armes, James K.

House Member

Rep. Armes, James K. (D)
District# 30, Leesville

Contact Information

District Office
Legislative Assistant : Nanette Swisher
Email Armes, James K.
Phone: (337)238-7004
Fax: (337)238-7007
Address: 2255 University Pkwy.
Leesville, LA 71446
Map
Capitol House Switch Band: (225) 342-6945
Capitol House Fax: (225)342-8336

Profile

- District #: House District 1
- Party: Democrat
- Caucus Membership: Democratic Caucus
  Louisiana Rural Caucus
- Occupation: Landscape contractor
- Education: McNeese State University, B.S., Botany and Horticulture, 1974
- Spouse: Carolyn
- Year Elected: 2007
- Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2016
- 2007 Election
  The race to succeed the term-limited Rep. John Smith drew three candidates: James Armes, a Vernon Parish School Board member; businessman Overton Burns; and Jack Causey, the chief executive officer of Leesville Rehabilitation Hospital. Armes led in the primary and went on to defeat Causey in the November runoff.

District Profile

Registered Voters by Parish: Beauregard 37.6%, Vernon 62.4%
Municipalities/Communities Represented: DeRidder, Leesville, New Llano,
- Louisiana Map
- District Map
- Metro Map
Economic: District 30 is made up of central portions of Vernon Parish and the northern edge of Beauregard including the city of DeRidder. It is mostly rural and its heavily timbered landscape has fueled a traditionally strong wood industry. Residents here hold jobs as loggers or in mills, which include Boise Southern.
The strength of the timber industry helped offset – albeit slightly – the financial repercussions experienced in the district when the U.S. Department of Defense downsized Fort Polk. Although soldiers remain the region, their numbers are only a fraction of the base’s population during its heyday. Residents who depended on the base for civilian jobs and the retail trade moved away in droves during the 1990s and the district has yet to regain those numbers.
Efforts to promote Toledo Bend as getaway for the outdoors enthusiasts have brought in some tourism dollars to the area.

Social: The district is populated by middle- and working-class families, many of whom make a living in the timber industry. Protestantism is a major influence here and the black community remains small, centered in a few neighborhoods in Leesville and New Llano.

Political: The Republican Party has made significant gains in recent years in the district, once a hotbed of populist activity. Conservative Democrats also do well here.

Biography

- James Armes, a member of the Vernon Parish School Board, succeeds John R. Smith as representative for House District 30. Smith served five terms in the House and gained a reputation as a fiscally conservative Democrat who championed budgetary reforms and the rights of small business owners. Such conservative values run deep in Smith’s family; his son-in-law is former U.S. Rep. Chris John, who while in Congress was a member of the Blue Dog Democrats, a collection of moderate congressmen.
- Armes, also a Democrat, displayed a similar penchant for conservatism during his run for the House. It was a politically expedient move in this district, known to support candidates who display fiscal and social restraint. Armes endorsed the Blueprint Louisiana reform agenda during his campaign.
- Armes has proven there’s no issue he isn’t willing to delve into. He has passed legislation allowing for certain members of the Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System to re-enter the workforce and once lobbied his colleagues to remove the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission’s oversight of hunting regulations. On the horizon, he is interested in protecting the tradition of deer hunting with the aid of dogs in the Kisatchie National Forest.