Andalusia attorney Tom Albritton was named executive director of the Alabama Ethics Commission Tuesday.

Albritton said he was exhausted by the process, but elated over the opportunity, and also anxious to get started.

Commission members voted after conducting public interviews of the two semi-finalists for the post in a selection process that began in September, and concluded with public interviews yesterday.

In his interview, Albritton said he had enjoyed his years practicing law, but is interested in moving more toward public service.

“The important thing about this work is it is what supports public faith in government, and I can think of few things that are more important,” he said late Tuesday. “I want to be a part of that process, for sure.”

He will begin his fulltime work in Montgomery as soon as he is confirmed by the Senate. The 2015 legislative session begins next week.

“As excited as I am, it also means I will be leaving the clients I have grown to really appreciate,” he said. “In the last 23 years, they and this community have been wonderful to me and my family. I am grateful for opportunity.

“I am excited for the new opportunity and challenge, and the hard part is leaving my clients because I do value them,” he said.

Albritton replaces Jim Sumner who retired Oct. 1, 2014, after 17 years at the helm. Former Cumberland Law School Dean John Carroll served as interim director. There were 27 applicants for the post, and Ethics Commission members interviewed six of them.

A graduate of Andalusia High School, Albritton earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alabama in 1989, and a juris doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1992.

He has served as president of the local bar, and as president of the Young Lawyers’ Section of the state bar. At present, he serves as one of 74 members of the Alabama Board of Bar Commissioners.

He is a Rotarian and a past president of the Andalusia Rotary Club.

He is a member of the current class of Leadership Alabama, and is vice president of the Andalusia City Schools Foundation.

At present, he serves as the county attorney; as municipal attorney for the City of Opp, as an assistant district attorney; as prosecutor for the Town of Red Level; and as municipal judge in River Falls.

Albritton is the last in a long line of family members to practice law as a member of the Albrittons firm, which was established in Andalusia in 1887 by Edgar T. Albritton. It is the oldest firm in continuous existence in the state.

Two former firm members, Robert B. Albritton and W. Harold Albritton III, have served as president of the Alabama State Bar. W. Harold Albritton, Tom Albritton’s father, went on to become a federal judge in the Middle District of Alabama, serving from 1991-2004.

“That’s a real hard thing,” Tom Albritton said of leaving the firm that has housed his family for so long. “But you don’t live in the past.

“Daily, I am thankful for people who have entrusted their work to me,” he said. “I’d like to publicly thank them for the faith they’ve had in me over the past 23 years.”

He and his wife, Amanda, have two children, Hunter and James.