Here’s why, she says:

     First - Track Record: Barend has a passion for economic development, particularly in rural communities. Moreover, she has a deep sense of mission and a track record for getting things done.

     In 1996, before she was 20, Barend initiated and organized a grass-roots campaign to redesignate Route 17 to Interstate 86.

     Once a vital industrial corridor ribboning along New York’s Southern Tier into Pennsylvania, Route 17 had been eclipsed 40 years before by the construction and opening of the NYS Thruway. In 1956, when substantial Federal funding was regularly allocated for interstate highway projects, Route 17, which had been bypassed as an interstate, was ineligible.

     Spearheading the I-86 Campaign, Barend first garnered support from both parties at all levels of local government.

     Then, galvanizing civic, business and community leaders into forming a strong coalition to lobby for the necessary legislation to create I-86, she sought and won the support of both New York U.S. senators, eight of New York’s U.S. congressional representatives, and countless local officials.

     The bill to create Interstate 86 was drafted by Barend and introduced in the U.S. Senate in 1997 by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Included in his remarks was recognition and praise for the efforts and achievement of “Samara Barend ... of the Southern Tier.”

     By 1999, Congress passed the Senate bill converting Route 17 to Interstate 86 as part of a Transportation Reauthorization mandate.

     To this date, Barend continues to be active with the coalition and its lobbying efforts for funding to repair and expand I-86 and many other integral highways throughout New York State.

     Second - issues: Barend is a dynamic presence with the seasoned experience, intellect, education and integrity to serve the people of the 29th Congressional District, effectively and wholeheartedly.

     The late Senator Moynihan said of her: “Samara is an exceptionally motivated young woman with an ability to master complex legislative issues and accomplish things far beyond what her years would suggest.”

     Barend understands the issues and problems of today, whether job loss and high unemployment, unfair trade practices, the pressures on small businesses, the healthcare crisis affecting every age range, escalating property taxes and the family dollars that no longer stretch, the students and teachers left behind from the crucial shortfalls of promised funding for educational systems, the increasing expenses of higher education, and more.

     Third - Experience and Education: Barend is the founder/executive director of Minds of Steel, a non-profit organization that promotes physical fitness in addressing mental illness, especially in children. She has worked as a journalist and city planner, community activist and organizer, and has held various directorships and in-the-field positions in the political arena.

     In 2000, Barend worked in 56 New York counties as the Statewide Neighborhood Program director in particular Democratic campaigns. From 2000 to 2001, she served as Upstate director for the New York Democratic State Committee, and since 1999, has been communications director for the New York Democratic Rural Conference.

     In 2004, Barend completed a master’s degree program in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 1999 she received a magna cum laude degree in public policy and management from the University of Pennsylvania.

     Awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship from the Federal Highway Administration to study how the Southern Tier can create an industrial corridor along Interstate 86, Barend was also honored as a USA Today Academic All-American and was awarded an honorable mention in Empire Report Magazine’s “Top 20 New Yorkers.”