(Harrisburg, PA) – Jondavid “JD” Longo, Mayor of Slippery Rock borough and Chairman of the Pennsylvania chapter of the America First Policy Institute will be a speaker at the 2026 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference. A Marine Corps veteran, Mayor Longo served as a surrogate for President Donald Trump and was a member of the 2024 Electoral College.
The 2026 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference will be held April 9-11, 2026 at the Penn Harris Convention Center in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The featured dinner speaker will be Newsmax founder/CEO Chris Ruddy. Washington Examiner columnist and Fox News contributor Joe Concha will be the luncheon speaker. Additional speakers, and panel topics will be announced over the coming weeks.
The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is the premiere gathering of public policy conservatives each year in the Keystone State. It is the largest and longest-running of the state-based conservative conferences regularly attracting a long list of conservative elected officials, scholars, journalists, and activists for three days of speeches, panel presentations, workshops, and networking.
Registration for the 2026 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is NOW OPEN at www.paleadershipconference.org. (Please note the Early Bird discount rate is built into the registration fee so there is no need to enter a discount code as it will be automatically applied. The PLC web site also includes a brief video tutorial to help you navigate the registration system.)
This year’s Pennsylvania Leadership Conference will provide attendees with an expanded menu of workshop sessions on Thursday and a new welcome reception on Thursday evening.
Workshop sessions include: From Community to the Capitol: Recruiting the Right Leaders; Stop Shapiro’s Tax Hikes; Getting Stuff Right: Protecting Life, Families & Religious Liberty; Are Your Ready to Run: Questions to Ask Yourself Before Running for Office; Show Me the Money: Putting the Fun in Fundraising; Faith & Politics: Appealing to Conservatives of Faith; Social Media: Battling the Keyboard Warriors; Public Speaking: Overcoming the World’s # 1 Fear; Capturing the Youth Vote: Engaging a New Generation: Citizens Alliance: Advancing State-Based Policies Grounded in Liberty; Powering Pennsylvania: Energy Policy, Prices and Jobs; Roadmap to an America First Immigration System: Election Integrity & Litigation: Inside and Outside the Commonwealth; Pennsylvania’s Shifting Coalitions; A History of the Republican Party.
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Jondavid “JD” Longo, Mayor of Slippery Rock Borough, Pennsylvania, since 2018, is a distinguished public servant, educator, and Marine Corps veteran. An Infantry Rifleman from 2008 to 2014, he served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terror, earning the Combat Action Award. As a college educator, JD taught courses in the disciplines of Political Science, Economics, History, and Education.
As Executive Director of New Castle’s Citywide Development Corporation, Chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Pennsylvania Chapter, and a member of the America First Mayors’ Council, he drives economic and policy initiatives throughout the region.
In 2024, he served as a surrogate for President Trump and was a member of the Pennsylvania Electoral College, casting one of President Trump’s 19 electoral votes in Pennsylvania.
A first-generation Italian American, Mayor Longo is deeply connected to his heritage, which inspires his pursuit of U.S.-Italy collaboration as a 2025 National Italian American Foundation DiLella Fellow. Mayor Longo holds a Master of Public Administration & Policy from American University, a Master of Education in Secondary Education, Social Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Slippery Rock University. Recognized with City & State PA 40 Under 40 and 3 PSAB Mayor of the Year nominations, his leadership shines.