James Buckingham Argue Jr. (August 19, 1951 – May 3, 2018) was the President Pro Tempore of the

Arkansas State Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

, United States. He was a Democratic member of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

, representing the 32nd District from 1996 to 2008. Previously he was a member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

from 1991 through 1996 Argue attended

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

Public Schools, graduated from Little Rock Hall High School, and earned a bachelor's degree in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Hendrix College Hendrix College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled, mostly undergraduates. While affiliated with the United Methodist Chu ...

in 1973. Jim served in the

for six years prior to being elected to the State Senate in 1996. He was re-elected to the Senate in 2000 and 2002. He was Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. He served on the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Joint Budget Committee, the Joint Energy Committee, the Legislative Joint Audit Committee, the Legislative Council and the Senate Efficiency Committee. His colleagues designated him to serve as President Pro Tempore of the Senate for the 85th General Assembly. Argue was named a Flemming Fellow in 1997 by the Center For Policy Alternatives in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and completed a year-long course of study focused on creative solutions to state problems. He has served two terms as a director of the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Southern Regional Education Board in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In 1981 Jim became President of the

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

Foundation of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Under his leadership, foundation assets have grown from $67,000 to over $76,000,000. The foundation develops and administers charitable endowment funds to support

ministries in

. He is past Chairman of the Administrative Board of Pulaski Heights

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

in Little Rock. He is a fellow of the Leadership Institute of Little Rock and has received the organization's Distinguished Leadership Award. He is past president of the board of Good Shepherd

Ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

Retirement Center. He serves on the boards of St. Vincent Medical Center and the National Conference for Community and Justice. He received the NCCJ's Father Joseph Biltz award in 2000. He serves on the boards of the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

Baseball Club and the Arkansas Historical Society. Argue was married to Elise Carey Argue, and they have two daughters; Sarah and Emily. Elise is a former Co-President of the Central High School Parent Teacher Association. He died of kidney cancer in Little Rock on May 3, 2018.

References

External links

Arkansas State Legislature - Senator Jim Argue
''official government website''
Project Vote Smart - Senator Jim Argue (AR)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Jim Argue
2006200420022000
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Argue, Jim 1951 births 2018 deaths Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Democratic Party Arkansas state senators People from Carthage, Texas Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Hendrix College alumni American United Methodists 20th-century Methodists 20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly 21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly