Joe Armstrong
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Joe E. Armstrong (b. November 30, 1956) is a former Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 15 from 1988 to September 12, 2016. He resigned before he could be ousted from the state House during the special session that began on September 12.[1]
Armstrong was convicted of filing a false tax return on August 8, 2016. He was sentenced on January 25, 2017, to three years probation.[2][3] His conviction disqualified him from running for public office. He was replaced on the 2016 general election ballot by Rick Staples.
While in office, Armstrong served as minority leader pro tempore from 2014 to 2015.[4]
Biography
Armstrong earned his B.S. in business administration from the University of Tennessee in 1981. He has worked as an insurance manager and district manager. Armstrong served as the Vice-Chair of the Knox County Commission from 1982 to 1988 and as its Commissioner from 1986 to 1988.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Armstrong served on the following committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Armstrong served on the following committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Armstrong served on these committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
| • Health & Human Resources |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Armstrong served on these committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Calendar and Rules |
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
| • Health & Human Resources, Chair |
| • Health Equity, Chair |
| • TennCare Oversight |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 4, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 7, 2016. Incumbent Joe Armstrong (D) was removed from the general election ballot after his conviction on August 8, 2016, of filing a false tax return. He was replaced on the ballot by Rick Staples.
Rick Staples defeated Pete Drew in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 15 general election.[5][6]
| Tennessee House of Representatives, District 15 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Rick Staples |
65.04% | 9,242 | |
| Independent | Pete Drew | 34.96% | 4,968 | |
| Total Votes | 14,210 | |||
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Joe Armstrong ran unopposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 15 Democratic primary.[7][8]
| Tennessee House of Representatives, District 15 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Joe Armstrong Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014. Incumbent Joe Armstrong was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Pete Drew ran as an independent candidate. Armstrong defeated Drew in the general election.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph "Joe" Armstrong Incumbent |
76% | 5,464 | |
| Independent | Pete Drew | 24% | 1,726 | |
| Total Votes | 7,190 | |||
2012
Armstrong won re-election in the 2012 election for Tennessee House of Representatives, District 15. Armstrong ran unopposed in the August 2 primary election and defeated Calvin Cassady (G) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Armstrong Incumbent |
82.2% | 11,505 | |
| Green | Calvin Cassady | 17.8% | 2,488 | |
| Total Votes | 13,993 | |||
2010
Armstrong was re-elected to the 15th District seat in 2010. He faced no opposition in the general election on November 2, 2010. He was unopposed in the August 5 primary.[13][14]
| Tennessee House of Representatives, District 15 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Joe Armstrong (D)
|
5,153 | |||
2008
On Nov. 4, 2008, Armstrong won re-election to the 15th District Seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives, defeating opponent Rachel Ray (R).[15]
| Tennessee House of Representatives, District 15 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Joe Armstrong (D)
|
12,852 | |||
| Rachel Ray (R) | 5,187 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Tennessee scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2016
In 2016, the 109th Tennessee General Assembly, second year, was in session from January 12 through April 22
- Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee: 2015-2016 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on fiscal legislation.
- Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce: 2016 Scorecard
- Legislators are scored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce on "issues in the chamber’s four key policy baskets: Business-friendly environment, workforce development, quality of life and regional efforts to encourage economic prosperity."[16]
- Tennessee Conservation Voters: 2016 Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes related to conservation and environmental issues.
- Tennessee National Federation of Independent Business: 2016 voting record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- The American Conservative Union: 2016 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the 109th Tennessee General Assembly, first year, was in session from January 13 through April 22.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the 108th Tennessee General Assembly, second year, was in session from January 14 to April 18.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2013, the 108th Tennessee General Assembly, first year, was in session from January 8 to April 19.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2012, the 107th Tennessee General Assembly, second year, was in session from January 10 through May 1.
|
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2011, the 107th Tennessee General Assembly, first year, was in session from January 11 to May 21.
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Noteworthy events
Charged with tax fraud
On June 16, 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Armstrong on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of tax evasion and one count of filing a false federal income tax return.[18] According to the indictment, Armstrong purchased a large quantity of cigarette tax-stamps at 20 cents per pack in 2007, and then sold them for a large profit after the state legislature voted in 2008 to increase cigarette tax stamps to 62 cents per pack.[2] Armstrong was a member of the state House Finance Ways and Means Committee that advanced the bill to the legislature that raised the tax rate.[2] The indictment said that Armstrong took out a loan in June 2007 for $250,000 to buy 42 rolls of the stamps.[2] Armstrong failed to report more than $318,000 in income from the alleged scheme in 2008.[2][19] The trial began on August 2, 2016.[20]
On August 8, 2016, Armstrong was found guilty of filing a false tax return. The jury found him not guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion. He was sentenced on January 25, 2017, to three years probation, six months of house arrest, and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service. He must also pay $99,943 in restitution to the IRS and a $40,000 fine.[2][21]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Armstrong and his wife, LaTonia, have four children. They currently live in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Joe + Armstrong + Tennessee + House of Representatives"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Tennessee State Legislature
- Tennessee House of Representatives
- Tennessee House of Representatives Committees
- Tennessee Joint Committees
- Tennessee state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- State Surge - Legislative and voting track record
- Campaign Contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ Knoxville News Sentinel, "State Rep. Joe Armstrong quits office in wake of federal conviction," accessed September 9, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Wate.com, "Former State Rep. Joe Armstrong sentenced," accessed January 25, 2017 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "wate" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ WBIR, "Former state Rep. Joe Armstrong sentencing pushed to January," accessed December 1, 2016
- ↑ knoxnews.com, "Armstrong quietly quits House Democratic Caucus leadership post," accessed March 21, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Election 2016," accessed November 11, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2016 general election results - Tennessee House of Representatives," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Candidate Petitions Filed as of April 8, 2016 Noon Qualifying Deadline," accessed April 11, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "August 4, 2016 Unofficial Election Results," accessed August 4, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "August 7, 2014 Election Results," accessed September 11, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Petitions Filed for State Senate and State House of Representatives," accessed April 5, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2012 List of Candidates," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Department of State, "Election Results," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2010 Primary Election Official Results," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2010 Tennessee General election results," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2008 Tennessee General election results," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Bar Association, "Nashville Chamber Releases 2015 Legislative Scorecard," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Tennessee Bar Association, "Nashville Chamber Releases 2015 Legislative Scorecard," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ 7thspace.com, "FBI: Tennessee State Representative Joe Armstrong Indicted for Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Tax Evasion, and Filing a False Tax Return," accessed July 17, 2015
- ↑ wbir.com, "Trial for Joe Armstrong set to begin in February," accessed August 25, 2015
- ↑ wbir.com, "Delay granted in Joe Armstrong trial," accessed February 26, 2016
- ↑ WBIR, "State Rep. Joe Armstrong found guilty of filing a false tax form," accessed August 8, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Tennessee House of Representatives District 15 1989–2016 |
Succeeded by Rick Staples (D) |
