Co-op News
From Youth Tour to Public Office
Sam Long Jr. wanted to get into politics back in 2001, when he went on the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour and was a Youth Leadership Council representative.
Sam Long Jr. and Sheila Sheppard were part of the Youth Tour in 2001. (Photo By: A&N Electric Co-op)
Fast forward eight years and Long, 26, is making his mark. He scored a decisive victory over an incumbent to win a seat on the Northampton County, Va., Board of Supervisors. Long took 64 percent of the vote in the Nov. 3 election.
He promised a return to “common sense and Eastern Shore values,” which he defined as “hard work, personal responsibility and respect for others.”
Long’s victory came days after he started a new job as an emergency crew worker at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. He also is active in civic groups.
“From the first moment I met Sam, I was so impressed with his character and his thirst for knowledge in D.C.,” said Patsy N. Goard, staff assistant-engineering, and Youth Tour coordinator at A&N Electric Cooperative, Tasley, Va. “I made the comment in 2001, ‘Keep an eye out for this young man; he’s going places.’ I am so extremely proud of him.”