"Formerly Reticent, a Brooklyn Democrat Finds a Voice as a Leader in the Senate ,"

By JEREMY W. PETERS - The New York Times

ALBANY — Around the State Senate, John L. Sampson is known as one of the least garrulous members of a highly garrulous body. So when his colleagues elected him co-leader of the Senate Democrats last month, it came as little surprise to Mr. Sampson’s father that his son did not immediately call to gloat.
“People called me and said, ‘Congratulations, Sampson! Your son is up front,’ ” Mr. Sampson’s father, Clement, said, adding that he had heard the news from several other people before his son finally told him. “He’s not a boastful guy. He always liked to be behind, not up front.”