David Lawrence Armstrong (August 6, 1941 – June 15, 2017) was an American politician. He served as the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1999 to 2003. He was the city's last mayor before its merger with Jefferson County to form Louisville Metro.

Early life and education

Armstrong was born in Hope, Arkansas. He was raised in Madison, Indiana. He attended Hanover College, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, before graduating from

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

in 1966. He earned a J.D. from the University of Louisville school of law in 1969.

Early career

Following graduation Armstrong worked in the public and private sector, including a term as a

family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

judge and election as Jefferson County's Commonwealth's Attorney, the local felony

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

. In 1983 Armstrong was elected Attorney General of Kentucky. He ran unsuccessfully for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1987, losing in the Democratic primary to

Brereton C. Jones Brereton Chandler Jones (born June 27, 1939) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1987 to 1991, he served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kentucky and from 1991 to 1995, he was the state's 58th governor. He now ...

Mayor of Louisville

Prior to becoming mayor, he had served as Jefferson County Judge/Executive from 1989 until 1999. The city of Louisville was merged with Jefferson County near the end of his term; Armstrong was a supporter of the ballot measure that brought about the merger. His term had several successes, most notably his support for the revitalization of Downtown Louisville. Some of the projects he championed were expansions of the medical district, a $111-million Marriott hotel, Fourth Street Live! and Louisville Glassworks. The

Louisville Extreme Park The David Armstrong Extreme Park, formerly called the Louisville Extreme Park, is a 40,000 square foot (3,700 m²) public skatepark located near downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States, in the Butchertown neighborhood. It opened on April ...

, renamed in his honor in 2015, was one of his signature accomplishments as Mayor. Armstrong's term as mayor was marked by several controversies. Several NBA teams at least considered a move to Louisville during his term, but nothing materialized. Armstrong was criticized for not exploring the possibility of a downtown arena for such a team, although Armstrong rebutted that he shouldn't have been singlehandedly expected to lure a franchise to Louisville. Nevertheless, some, including members of the city's NBA pursuit team, blamed Armstrong for a lack of leadership on the issue. In 2000, Armstrong fired Police Chief Gene Sherrard, after Sherrard, without the mayor's knowledge, had approved valor awards for two officers involved in a deadly shooting with racial overtones. The officers had been cleared of charges in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old, Desmond Rudolph. The firing won praise from the African American community, but enraged police officers and supporters, leading to a march on Louisville City Hall. Armstrong did not run to be the first mayor of Metro Louisville, where he would have been a heavy underdog to Jerry Abramson. In early 2007 Armstrong stated that he was considering a campaign for Governor of Kentucky, though he eventually chose not to run. Armstrong died on June 15, 2017.

References

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FRANCIS X. CLINES, "Protesting by Angry Police Leaves Louisville Unsettled", ''NY Times'', Section A, Page 12

Former Mayor of Louisville David L. Armstrong's video interview on MoxieTalk with Kirt Jacobs
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, David L. 1941 births 2017 deaths County judges in Kentucky Hanover College alumni Kentucky Attorneys General Kentucky Commonwealth's Attorneys Kentucky Democrats Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky Murray State University alumni People from Hope, Arkansas People from Madison, Indiana University of Louisville School of Law alumni