BY MILES LAYTON
EDENTON — John Spruill paid a visit to Chowan County to announce his candidacy for state House for District 1 on Friday on the courthouse steps. A short video of that annoucement appears within this story.
A Republican seeking to win the primary in 2026, Spruill was introduced to the crowd by Bob Kirby, chairman of the county commission, also vice chairman of the county’s Republicans and chairman of the Albemarle Commission.
“John’s a dear friend and it is my distinct pleasure and privilege to welcome him and all of you to this event today,” he said.
A Washington County Commissioner with a background in business and farming, Spruill shared a campaign theme about public service – how answering the call to serve in Raleigh is like getting that call for help at 1 a.m. as fire chief for the Roper Volunteer Fire Department.
“For nearly 30 years I’ve served in the Roper Volunteer Fire Department. It’s a life of service, not for recognition, and definitely not for pay. But it is because when that pager goes off, when those tones drop, you have to go. Whether it’s in the middle of the night or whether you’re sharing a holiday meal with a family or deep in the night as we did last night at 1 a.m., you have to go because you know that someone’s world is suddenly turned upside down,” he said.
Spruill continued, “When someone is in trouble, maybe they had a wreck. maybe their house is going up in smoke, or maybe even their life is hanging in the balance, that instinct to serve, to show up, to help people through their possible worst day is something that I will carry in my heart always. Right now, I hear those tones dropping again. And this time, it’s for Eastern North Carolina.”
Sprull touched on many themes – for more information about his campaign, see our story from the kickoff of his campaign Thursday in Plymouth.
For now, because the Albemarle Observer places a heavy emphasis on our farming community, my ears perked up when Spruill started talking about farming, agriculture.
“I believe in big dreams and removing the red tape and the roadblocks that keep our people from achieving those dreams. I also know firsthand the value of farming,” he said. “It’s not just a career, but a way of life. I grew up working alongside my grandfather on our family farm until the day he retired. After that, I continued to work on a larger farming operation in our community.”
Reflecting on those days in the field, Spruill said. “Those years taught me the value of hard work, long days, and early mornings, and the deep satisfaction that comes from watching the season’s labor turn into a season of harvest. It instilled in me the respect for the land, for the people who work here, and for the rural conditions that make Eastern North Carolina. Here, farming isn’t just an occupation, it is the backbone of our economy, the heart of culture and the soul of our rural community. Our farmers feed our families, empower our local farmers, and care for the land with unmatched dedication.”
Spruill then said what’s on many farmers’ minds – how red tape, bureaucracy, and the government unfairly tips the scale against family farms — reminds me of the song “Rain on the Scarecrow” by John Mellencamp.
“But today, more and more generational family farms are being pushed out, not by weather or competition, but by red tape and overregulation from environmental restrictions that ignore common sense, to tax burdens that penalize family inheritance. Government has made it harder, not easier, for young people to stay on the farm. We need to reverse that trend here in Eastern North Carolina. That means eliminating burdensome regulations that hurt family farms without delivering real environmental impacts that help us. We need to ensure a fair tax policy so that land stays in the hands of the family farms, not in the hands of developers or the government.”
Spruill said he will pursue policies that spur agricultural innovation, policies aimed at preserving family farms for another generation.
“We need to support ag innovation and increase access to capital so our next generation of family farmers can afford to keep farming. We also need to stand up to federal overreach that places out-of-touch bureaucracy ahead of farmers. Our farmers are not asking for handouts, they’re asking for a fair shot, a chance to make a living, to build and pass down what they’ve worked so hard to build over their generation and to continue to feed this great state in this country. I will stand with a farmer every single time.”
