- Tommy F. Robinson
Tommy Franklin Robinson (born
March 7 ,1942 ) is apolitician from the state ofArkansas .Robinson was born in Little Rock and graduated from
University of Arkansas at Little Rock . He served in theUnited States Navy from1959 to1963 . Robinson had a career in law enforcement, rising to the position of Pulaski Countysheriff .Robinson was elected to the
United States House of Representatives in1984 as a Democrat. He defeated the Republican Judy Petty, a member of theArkansas House of Representatives and a former aide to the late ArkansasGovernor Winthrop Rockefeller . Petty ran as aRonald W. Reagan Republican but lost to Robinson even though Reagan won her district. She had also been defeated a decade earlier in the same district by the legendary Democrat Wilbur Daigh Mills of Kensett, former chairman of theHouse Ways and Means Committee . While in congress, Robinson once told a group of Arkansas school administrators, "you can't buy me, but you sure can rent me," alluding to his efforts to retire his substantial campaign debt he incurred during the 1984 campaign against Petty.On
July 28 ,1989 , Robinson left the Democratic party and joined the GOP. Robinson ran for Governor of Arkansas in1990 but he lost in theprimary election to the favorite of thebusiness establishment,Sheffield Nelson . Soon after he left the House, it was revealed that Robinson bounced 996 checks in 16 months. He ran again for the U.S. House2002 but lost to the Democratic incumbent,Marion Berry .As
sheriff , Robinson is alleged to have used torture to extract arape andmurder confession fromBarry Lee Fairchild . Fairchild was executed in1995 even though his blood type did not match that of theseminal fluid found in the victim.In 1992, during the
house banking scandal , Robinson was found to have bounced 996 checks from the US House bank, some of which were over 16 months overdue.USRepSuccessionBox
state=Arkansas
district=2
before=Ed Bethune
after=Ray Thornton
years=January 3 ,1985 -January 3 ,1991 External links
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