{{short description|American politician from North Carolina}} {{BLP sources|date=October 2010}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = Senator | image = Austin Allran.jpg | name = Austin Allran | office = Member of the Catawba County Commission | predecessor = Dan A. Hunsucker | successor = | term_start = December 2020 | term_end = | office1 = Member of the North Carolina Senate | predecessor1 = Cass Ballenger | successor1 = Andy Wells | constituency1 = 26th district (1987–2003) <br/> 44th district (2003–2005) <br/> 42nd district (2005–2015) | term_start1 = January 1, 1987 | term_end1 = January 1, 2015 | office2 = Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives | predecessor2 = Carl William Rullman | successor2 = Walter Stine Isenhower | constituency2 = 37th district (1981–1983) <br/> 45th district (1983–1987) | term_start2 = January 1, 1981 | term_end2 = January 1, 1987 | party = Republican | birth_name = Austin Murphy Allran | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|12|13}} | birth_place = Hickory, North Carolina, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = Duke University (BA)<br>Southern Methodist University (JD)<br>North Carolina State University (MA) | spouse = | occupation = lawyer }}
'''Austin Murphy Allran''' (born December 13, 1951) is a former Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's forty-second Senate district, including constituents in Iredell and Catawba counties. He currently serves in a local capacity as a Catawba County Commissioner (December 2020 – present).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/republicans-beatty-allran-win-seats-on-board-of-commissioners-i-want-to-see-us-get/article_a3eb416e-1e47-11eb-9b30-af3b2ca6e146.html|title=Republicans Beatty, Allran win seats on board of commissioners; "I want to see us get back to normal," Allran said|first=Virginia|last=Annable|website=HDR | Hickory Daily Record}}</ref> An attorney from Hickory, North Carolina, Allran served for twelve terms in the state Senate. He was Vice-Chairman of the Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources Committee and the Judiciary II (Criminal) Committee. He was also a member of four other committees - Education/Higher Education, Finance, Health Care, and Ways and Means.
Allran was born in Hickory, North Carolina. He graduated from Hickory High School in 1970 and then earned degrees in English and history from Duke University. Allran attended law school at Southern Methodist University, earning his degree in 1978.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/northcarolinaman20012002nort|title=North Carolina manual [serial]|publisher=[Raleigh] : North Carolina Historical Commission|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He married Judy Mosbach on September 27, 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/northcarolinaman20032004nort|title=North Carolina manual [serial]|publisher=[Raleigh] : North Carolina Historical Commission|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> They have two children, Elizabeth and Catherine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/5890/austin-allran|title = The Voter's Self Defense System}}</ref> In 1981, Allran was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives and in 1986 to the North Carolina Senate. He served as Republican minority whip during the 1995–1996 session. In March 2005, Allran called for the game of Solitaire to be erased from the Microsoft Windows computers of state employees in his North Carolina constituency, claiming that such a move would save millions of dollars and improve productivity due to the working time lost while state employees play the game.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/business/2005-03-18-nc-solitaire-legislation_x.htm|title=USATODAY.com - Is that a spreadsheet on your screen or solitaire?|website=usatoday30.usatoday.com}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{s-start}} {{s-par|us-nc-hs}} {{s-bef|before=Carl William Rullman}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives <br/> from the 37th district|years=1981–1983|alongside=Julius Reid Poovey}} {{s-aft|after=James Erwin Lambeth Jr. <br/> John Wesley Varner <br/> Betsy Lane Cochrane}} |- {{s-bef|before=Jeff Hailen Enloe Jr.}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives <br/> from the 45th district|years=1983–1987|alongside=Julius Reid Poovey, Doris Rogers Huffman}} {{s-aft|after=Walter Stine Isenhower}} |- {{s-par|us-nc-sen}} {{s-bef|before=Cass Ballenger}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the North Carolina Senate <br/> from the 26th district|years=1987–2003}} {{s-aft|after=Phil Berger}} |- {{s-bef|before=''Constituency established''}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the North Carolina Senate <br/> from the 44th district|years=2003–2005}} {{s-aft|after=Jim Jacumin}} |- {{s-bef|before=James Forrester}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the North Carolina Senate <br/> from the 42nd district|years=2005–2015}} {{s-aft|after=Andy Wells}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allran, Austin M.}} Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:People from Hickory, North Carolina Category:Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Category:Republican Party North Carolina state senators Category:Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Category:21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly