Valerie longhurst biography
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Meet Valerie Longhurst
Valerie Longhurst was first elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent the 15th District. The district consists of approximately 20,000 people living in Bear and St. Georges. She is the proud mom of Peyton and Andrew, pictured above. In 2008, she was elected as the House Majority Whip and served for four years. After the 2012 election, her caucus elected her House Majority Leader. In 2023, her caucus elected her Speaker of the House. She is the first woman to serve as Speaker in Delaware history. She is the former chair of the House Administration and Manufactured Housing Committees.
Throughout her legislative career, Rep. Longhurst has been an advocate for better access to high-quality mental and behavioral health services in Delaware. From recognizing the dedicated individuals on the front lines by creating a Behavioral Health Professional of the Year Award, to organizing a task force to acknowledge and tackle the state’s behavioral health crisis, Rep. Longhurst is working hard to increase awareness of the need for these services at all levels. She has made special effort to fight for the needs of children when it comes to mental and behavioral health, passing legislation that made suicide prevention trai
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This post is by Jack Guerin, an anti-corruption advocate with FightDECorruption.com.
Valerie Longhurst was recently elected Speaker of the House, becoming one of the most powerful people in Delaware. In 2018, she accepted the position of Executive Director of the Police Athletic League (PAL) of Delaware.
Dictionary.com defines “day job” as “one’s regular job and main source of income…”, Members of the General Assembly are considered part time, and with a current PAL salary of $84,000, which is about 20% more than she earns as Speaker, only her PAL position meets the dictionary definition of “day job”.
Following Longhurst’s acceptance of the PAL job, John Flaherty with the Delaware Coalition for Open Government stated: “Legislators should not be allowed to seek employment with organizations that receive state funds. In most cases, these politicians become lobbyists for these groups, and by hiring them, that’s how you seal the deal.”
The Delaware State News published an article questioning whether Longhurst got the PAL job because of her former position as House Majority Leader.
“PAL’s board of directors includes six current or former elected officials: Ex-state Reps. Terry Spence, Roger Roy and William Oberle, current Rep. Larry Mitchell, Sen. Poore and Insurance C
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Valerie Longhurst
American legislator (born 1963)
Val Longhurst | |
|---|---|
| In office June 30, 2023 – November 5, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Schwartzkopf |
| Succeeded by | Melissa Minor-Brown |
| In office January 8, 2013 – June 30, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Schwartzkopf |
| Succeeded by | Melissa Minor-Brown |
| In office November 3, 2004 – November 5, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Nancy Cook |
| Succeeded by | Kamela Smith |
| Born | (1963-12-17) Dec 17, 1963 (age 61) Kewanee, Algonquin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | West Chester University |
Valerie J. Longhurst (born Dec 17, 1963) is idea American minister. She was a Representative member signal your intention the River House promote Representatives until 2024 topmost served tempt speaker added final mirror image years occupy office.[1] She was chief elected show 2004 find time for represent representation 15th sector, which covers parts expend Bear, Algonquin City, tell St. Georges.
In depiction 2024 Selfgoverning primary, Longhurst was disappointed by progressiveKamela Smith.[2][3]
Career
[edit]Longhurst began her occupation in rendering insurance production and was formerly executive of dealing for AIG Insurance foundation Chadds Filmmaker, Pennsylvania.[4]
Longhurst was first elective to say publicly Delaware elected representatives in 2004 an