Joey Sampson Named To Goshen Council Seat

Goshen Town Council has appointed Joey Sampson to fill an open Council seat left by the resignation of Debbie Bowden last month.

Sampson, a 60-year resident of Goshen, has a history of service to the town. In the 1980s, he served on the town’s planning commission and in 2015 he was elected mayor as a write-in candidate. He served in that office for 13 months before resigning for personal reasons. He is also a retired member of the military and the Virginia Department of Corrections.

Sampson told The News-Gazette in an email that he submitted his name for consideration for the open Council seat at the behest of several town residents who “encouraged” him to “consider returning to council.” He said that there are no particular issues he hopes to be able to address as a member of the Council, but that he hopes to “provide insight and decisions for the betterment of the town as a whole.”

Sampson’s seat is one of two Council seats that will come up for election next year. At this time, Sampson says he has not decided if he will run in that election and is focusing on completing the remainder of the term he has been appointed to.