Hitchin' A Ride With David Nowlin

David Nowlin is a busy man. So busy in fact, that the only way LIVE! could catch up with him was to hop in his truck and ride along with him on the job. Nowlin is not just running for mayor, he runs his own business as well. Climate Right Construction provides many services and has been in business in San Angelo since Nowlin moved here over 10 years ago.

“When I came to San Angelo I started a window business,” Nowlin said, “I came here to do real estate and I still do that too. The window business wasn’t really generating enough business to keep me busy all of the time, and people wanted me to do other things to their homes, so I just started doing everything.”

When Nowlin was growing up in the Arlington area, he worked with his father as a painter.

“When I got up in my 20s I started my own business," he explained. "Then I started doing more than painting... Like doing custom finish out on custom homes, so we were doing the trim work, the wood trim and everything."

As he maneuvered his vehicle through traffic, he talked about his breakfast that morning with a small group of San Angelo police officers. “I was a little late to city council after that, but I feel good about what we discussed,” he said. “I got the endorsement from the firefighters, so I am hoping maybe the police will do the same. Either way I'll support them.”

Nowlin was already serving a role in local civic boards before his mayoral campaign, and was looking to take it to the next level.

“I’ve thought about higher level civic service for a while,” he said. “When I first came here, I served on the Comprehensive Planning Committee, then I went to the Planning Commission. Councilman Johnny Silvas appointed me to three consecutive terms to the Zoning Board of Adjustments, which I am the chairman this term, and during that time I thought I’d like to serve at a higher capacity. I didn’t know what or when, but I just came out of that sand transfer depot deal, and my term is almost over, three years is about all you can serve on the ZBA, so I thought, there’s nobody running against [Mayor Dwain] Morrison, no one else stepped up, and I think that San Angelo deserves a choice.”

The conversation turned to the affordable housing controversy, and the outcry heard from constituents on the topic.

 “I’m not just going to do what I think is right, I’ll do whatever the people want, short of making me sin,’ he said thoughtfully. “If it’s the people wanting something one way, whether I think it’s a smart move or not, I’m going to vote the way they want it. If people turn out in force and are saying no we don’t want this, then I will vote against it. The people put you there to do their bidding, which is what you are supposed to do. If you can’t step into a leadership role and be humble, you are not a good leader.”

Nowlin’s Climate Right Construction project today was in Bentwood at a two-story home situated on the golf course. As he approached the house, the owner was occupied with a garage door repairman. As Nowlin waited, he said the resident's call was about replacing windows, so he immediately started looking them over on the side of the house where the broken garage door was raised ajar.

“There’s stucco, we will have to repair that,” he thought out loud. Soon, the homeowner approached him. After a brief exchange, he began counting the windows. Forty-seven windows later, the homeowner had found other projects inside the home that maybe Nowlin could do as well.

It was a large home built in 1979, with an interesting maze-like layout. It was clear that spring repairs were not just taking place outside, but inside as well. The sound of music and people working somewhere in an upstairs room could be heard. There were pieces of furniture, paintings and other random household items stuffed under the stairwell. The room off the entry way had just been refloored, and stood bare. It was clear this homeowner was serious about renovations, and was somewhat living in a construction zone.

The trim in the front room and entry way area, along with a fresh coat of paint, not to mention replacing the kick plates on the front door, refinishing the door upstairs, resealing tile floor, and even steam-cleaning a chandelier were just some of the things that were added to the list that started relatively small, and quickly grew into a sprawling list of to-do’s.   

Nowlin listened to every concern and answered every question the client had. He was patient and took the time to explain the difference in mid-range vinyl windows, double pane and wood windows. In the end, Nowlin walked away with another job. He smiled as he stuck a campaign sign in the front yard, too.

Running his businesses successfully and professionally is at the top of Nowlin’s priority list, as it his family's livelihood.  He said the most important thing to him in running his business is taking care of his employees.

“I empower my employees to do it themselves; I tell them I don’t want them to be dependent on me,” he said. “I’m not like most contractors where I own the truck and tools, and all [employees] do is go out and work for an hourly wage, and everything else belongs to me. No, I want them to own their own truck. The trucks that my guys drive, with the Climate Right Construction logo on the side of it, are theirs. They own the truck. I pay them enough money to buy a new half-ton pickup and I add that onto their hourly pay. When you work for me, I buy your gas, and pay commercial insurance for your truck, so it’s just like a free truck that I’m giving you, but I don’t own the truck, you own it,” he said matter-of-factly. “I also pay for half of their tools, not because I want the tools, I don’t, that’s for them to keep, and I just offset the cost to help out in the beginning.”

Nowlin explained that he believes by helping his employees out, it has only made his company stronger.

“I take in these guys, and not every one of them is a success story, but a lot of them are,” he said. “The first thing I ask them is where are you at in your life right now, be honest. If you have any issues like your credit not being good, you don’t have a truck, you don’t have all your tools, your skill level is not there to draw top salary, then we are going to help you,” he said.  “My goal is to help you better your life. It’s not about how much you or I can make, it’s about your life, because if you can better your life, then I don’t have to worry about anything, my company will be okay and you will prosper.”

He says that he wants to inject that same type of thinking into the city council, spreading it citywide.

“The mayor only has influence, he doesn’t have power. If you don’t know how to use your influence, and can’t be a leader and utilize that influence, it’s no good,” he said. “That’s my thinking, a positive influence goes a long way.”

As Nowlin continued with his day, he made a couple dozen different stops around town to different job sites, dropping off materials, and inspecting work along the way. After nine hours of that, he returned to the campaign trail and visited more neighborhoods, talking to constituents and pushing more “Nowlin for Mayor” signs into supporter’s front yards. It seems his work never stops.

The David Nowlin motto in life:  “Business before pleasure, prayer before business.”