By Henry Luzzatto
Joey Sampson resigned as Goshen mayor last month after just over a year in office. His predecessor, Justin Thompson, will serve as interim mayor until elections are held in November.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“I was putting more into it than I was getting out of it.”[/pullquote]
Sampson said the decision to resign was motivated by personal reasons.
“I was putting more into it than I was getting out of it,” Sampson said. Sampson said that he felt he was not getting the support he needed by the town government and the community. “I was being asked to do everything,” Sampson said.
Sampson officially resigned on Feb. 16, and at an emergency meeting one week later, the Goshen Town Council accepted his resignation and appointed Thompson.
Thompson had served as mayor of Goshen for four years and ran unopposed in the 2014 mayoral election. However, a write-in campaign resulted in Sampson being chosen as the new mayor, though he did not officially run or campaign. He won the election by a vote of 44 to 31.
“When he was elected he came in with a lot of energy and new ideas,” Rockbridge Supervisor Buster Lewis said.
Sampson said that he did not research the job and had no expectations about the position when he accepted the position.
“I was not involved in local politics,” Sampson said. “I had never even been to a town council meeting.”
Sampson said that he questioned his decision to accept the role of mayor from the beginning of his term in January 2015. However, after being in the position for just over a year, he decided that the job was demanding too much of his time.
“I’m retired and I value my personal time,” Sampson said.
Though Sampson resigned as mayor, he still wants to help improve the town and put Goshen on the map. The town has a population of about 400 people, according to the town’s website. Sampson said he will be part of a community committee to help improve Goshen.
The Goshen Town Council contacted Thompson with the proposal after Sampson resigned.
“I told them I would entertain the idea,” Thompson said.
Thompson said he has been involved in city politics for about eight years. He first served on the town council, and then as vice mayor, before being elected mayor in 2010.
Goshen will hold an election in November to determine the new mayor. Thompson says he has not yet decided whether he will run again.