Time has sped up for Joe Sampson following his April 8 election to the Avalon City Council. He slowed down just long enough to meet me at Lloyd’s for a cup of coffee
With a great deal of verve, he discusses his motivation for running and the core issues at the heart of his platform.
Time has sped up for Joe Sampson following his April 8 election to the Avalon City Council. He slowed down just long enough to meet me at Lloyd’s for a cup of coffee
With a great deal of verve, he discusses his motivation for running and the core issues at the heart of his platform.
The working class in Avalon is caught in a maelstrom of profit driven, self-interested larger companies. The day-to-day welfare of the people who serve this community is under represented. People who float from job to job when the season rolls in, and frequently find them out of work when the season rolls out. This working class element is essential to the economy of the city, but lacks representation. Sampson believes that Avalon is living in an oppressive state. As an independent business owner, and a member of the working class, Sampson was the ideal person to act as liaison between the city, and the people.
Community service is an extension of patriotism, which is value that was instilled in Sampson from an early age, nearly all of his elder male relatives fought in foreign wars, and this since of duty and sacrifice left impression on him. His term on the city council is an opportunity to serve and fight for the community and the people that he loves.
Following his win, he shook some hands, got some pats on the back and than immediately got to work. The first issue concerning the residents and a central issue to his platform was the water crisis facing Avalon. Not just the quantity, but also the quality of the water is foremost on Joe Sampson’s mind during our interview.
The proposal to build a floating pier is a second issue that Joe is concerned about. While he supports cruise ships, he wants to communicate with another community that has built a floating pier. What are the logistics of the pier? As it stands now, shore boats bring in small groups of people. What repercussions would be to a tidal of people getting off multiple boats all at the same time? We can adjust but we need to think about the logistics of it. On the leeward side of the island the ocean can turn violent within 15 minutes. If the pier is not anchored correctly it could block entrance to harbor our pier wash up on the beach the big concern for residents.
According to Joe Sampson, a new era of working class representation begins now.
Natalie Graham is a resident of Avalon, a writer and photographer.
