Bob Armstrong (politician)

Bob Armstrong was the son of the late Robert C. Armstrong and the former Louise Landis. He married the former Linda Lee Aaker, a lobbyist also from Austin.[3]

He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas and his LL.B. from the University of Texas School of Law, both in his native Austin. While at UT, Armstrong was a member of the service organization known as the Texas Cowboys. He served during the Korean War as an ensign in the United States Navy.

On November 9, 1963, Armstrong won a special election to the Texas House of Representatives for a part of Travis County, including the capital city of Austin. The vacancy was created by the resignation of fellow Democrat Jack Ritter. Coincidentally, Armstrong was to have been sworn into office on November 22, 1963, the day of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas. Instead, his swearing-in was delayed until the following day. He remained a representative until January 1971. In his last two terms, he also represented neighboring Burnet County.[2]

In 1970, Armstrong was elected the Commissioner of the General Land Office to succeed long-term incumbent Jerry Sadler. He was Land Commissioner for twelve years until 1983.[4] While Land Commissioner he became interested in acquiring the Big Bend Ranch for the State. He was finally able to achieve this in 1988 as a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.

In the spring of 1982, Armstrong ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against Texas Railroad Commissioner Buddy Temple and then Attorney General Mark White and lost, having finished third in the primary. As the party nominee, White then unseated Republican Governor Bill Clements in the 1982 general election. In 1985, Governor White appointed Armstrong, his former intraparty opponent, to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.[5]

President Clinton nominated Armstrong to serve in the Department of the Interior. After he left that position in 1998, Armstrong remained active in the environmental community and sought greater funding for Texas parks and wildlife. He was a board member of the non-profit law firm, Trustees for Alaska.[1]

Subsequent Republican land commissioner Jerry E. Patterson said of Armstrong: "He was just a good guy. Just an extremely pleasant smiling guy even if he disagreed with your point of view. ... He was a lover of Texas."[1]

Armstrong appeared in January 2015 at the swearing in of current land commissioner George P. Bush, along with earlier commissioners Patterson, David Dewhurst, and Garry Mauro. The Texas Senate adjourned in Armstrong's honor on March 1, 2015.[1] He is interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Armstrong holds a distinction in that he has a dip named after him. Matt's El Rancho restaurant in Austin named a concoction of queso, guacamole, taco meat, and other ingredients "Bob Armstrong dip."[5]
On June 28, 2019, El Rancho filed a lawsuit against Horseshoe Hill Cafe, (headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas) citing trademark infringement ~ when Hill Cafe put Bob Armstrong dip on their menu.[6]