John Arch Gurkin (September 17, 1888 – December 25, 1976) was an American electrical contractor and politician who served on the Norfolk, Virginia city council.

Born in the coastal plain region of North Carolina, he moved to Norfolk at the age of 16 to enter the electrical business, establishing his own successful firm two years later.

Gurkin and Wilson garnered the support of former Congressman Joseph T. Deal and were elected by respective margins of 1,768 and 1,828 out of 8,723 votes cast.

He was interred in the family mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery, alongside his wife, who preceded him in death approximately four years earlier.

[10] The family home at 707 Baldwin Avenue in Norfolk's North Ghent neighborhood, which Gurkin built in 1920 and lived in until his death, still stands today.