Don Spurlin (Albertville developer and candidate)

Don Spurlin is an Albertville, Alabama, builder and developer who founded Don Spurlin Construction. He ran for mayor of Albertville in 2008 and for the Alabama State Senate in 2010, finishing second both times.^[1][2] He was 51 when he announced his mayoral campaign in June 2008, and he told the Sand Mountain Reporter that he graduated from high school in Albertville in 1975.^[3][4]

Business

When he entered the 2008 mayor's race, Spurlin owned Don Spurlin Construction Inc., was a partner in Henderson and Spurlin Real Estate, and owned the Microtel hotel in Albertville.^[3] He announced the hotel in 2005 as president of Albertville Hospitality LLC, and his construction company built it; it opened in 2006.^[5][6] The real-estate partnership with Greg Henderson ended in early 2011 after ten years. Spurlin kept a firm called Spurlin and Company Inc. to concentrate on commercial real estate alongside the construction company.^[7] See Spurlin & Company Real Estate Group.

In 2010 Spurlin owned the Alabama 75 North site chosen for a proposed family entertainment center in Albertville. His company was to build it, and he described himself as about a 5 percent partner in the investment group behind it.^[8] In April 2011 he resigned from the city's Commercial Development Authority, saying he did not want any conflict of interest, or the appearance of one, because of his role in the project.^[9]

Civic and industry roles

In 2008 Spurlin sat on the Albertville Planning Commission and the Airport Board.^[3] In 2010 he said he had chaired the board of Albertville Regional Airport and had served as president of a statewide association.^[10] According to the Reporter's account of his Hall of Fame induction, he joined the Marshall County Home Builders Association in the early 1980s and served several terms as its president. He was president of the statewide Home Builders Association of Alabama (HBAA) in 2004, and in October 2019 the HBAA inducted him into the Alabama Building Industry Hall of Fame.^[11][12] The Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board lists him as its vice chairman.^[13]

2008 mayoral race

Spurlin called the 2008 mayoral campaign his first run for public office.^[3] He qualified with former police chief Randy Amos, council member Jeannie Courington and Russell O. Kilpatrick.^[14] Amos won on August 26 without a runoff, and Spurlin finished second, more than 1,000 votes behind.^[1] The Reporter later put Amos's margin at 1,096 votes.^[15] A night or two before the vote, negative phone calls were made against Amos. In a letter to the editor, Spurlin said he had nothing to do with the calls and thought they might have cost him votes.^[16] The city council then refused to certify Amos because he had filed a campaign-finance form late. The Reporter noted that Spurlin's own latest forms were stamped one day after the deadline, although he and a notary had signed his amended report on the deadline day.^[17] Council president Lindsey Lyons eventually became mayor.^[15]

2010 State Senate campaign

In June 2009 Spurlin, a Republican, announced a campaign for Alabama Senate District 9, which covered all of Marshall County and parts of Madison and Blount counties. The seat was held by Democrat Hinton Mitchem, then in his eighth term.^[18][19] Spurlin's early platform stressed economic development and ethics reform, including subpoena power for the State Ethics Commission and a ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers.^[18] Mitchem later chose not to run, and the Secretary of State certified four Republicans for the June 1, 2010, primary: Tony Cochran, Clay Scofield, Spurlin and John E. Wilson.^[4][20] Spurlin's campaign centered on illegal immigration and jobs. He said he had the endorsement of Kris Kobach, whom he called a co-author of Arizona's immigration laws.^[10] His 45-day pre-primary report showed the largest itemized contributions in the field, including $25,000 from the Alabama Builders Political Action Committee and $5,000 from the Alabama Realtors PAC, along with $25,000 of his own money.^[21]

Ballotpedia records the primary result as Scofield 6,532, Spurlin 5,656, Cochran 4,238 and Wilson 3,927. Scofield won the July 13 runoff 10,571 to 9,956.^[22][19] In the primary he outpolled Scofield in the Madison County part of the district, although Wilson carried it, and in the runoff he won Madison County with 60 percent. He lost Marshall and Blount counties both times.^[23][2] Before the runoff, his campaign manager apologized for an angry e-mail sent to Cochran after Cochran endorsed Scofield. Spurlin said the e-mail had gone out without his knowledge, and he apologized too.^[24] On the night of the runoff Spurlin said he would think "very, very hard" before running again, and in September 2010 he announced he would vote for Scofield.^[2][25]

Identification

This is the Don Spurlin who founded Don Spurlin Construction. The Reporter's 2008 announcement names the mayoral candidate as the company's owner.^[3] Its 2010 Senate coverage calls the candidate the Albertville developer who was runner-up in the 2008 mayor's race.^[4][2] His 2010 statement that he had led a statewide association as president is consistent with his 2004 HBAA presidency.^[10][11]