Ed Towns

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ed Towns

United States Representative from New York's 10th district
In office 1983 - present
Preceded by	Charles Schumer
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	July 21, 1934 Chadbourn, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Gwen Forbes
Religion	Baptist

Edolphus "Ed" Towns (born July 21, 1934) is an American politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 10th District of New York (map) based in Brooklyn, and including such communities such as Fort Greene, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Cypress Hills, East New York, and Canarsie. A Democrat, he has served in the House since 1983.

Towns was born in Chadbourn, North Carolina and earned his bachelor's degree from North Carolina A & T University and a master's degree in social work from Adelphi University.

Rep. Towns' varied professional background includes work as an administrator at Beth Israel Medical Center, a professor at New York's Medgar Evers College and Fordham University and a public school teacher. He is also a veteran of the United States Army and an ordained Baptist minister.

In the House, Towns serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Towns received a "C" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues.

Towns is responsible for sponsoring, co-sponsoring or enacting several pieces of federal legislation, including the "Student Right To Know Act," which mandated the reporting of the rate of graduation among student athletes, creating the Telecommunications Development Fund, which provides capital for minority business initiatives, and the development of a federal program for poison control centers. [1]

He has put particular emphasis on arguing in behalf of underserved Brooklyn communities, and has won recognition from several organizations for his efforts. The National Audubon Society has honored him for his efforts in fighting to secure federal funds for the restoration of Prospect Park, and Towns fought to have EPA testing in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks include neighborhoods outside of the borough of Manhattan.

Recently Towns has been targeted by various Democratic Party constituencies, including factions led by a bitter rival, Al Sharpton, and national and local labor unions, who resent his support for passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which passed the House of Representatives by a razor-thin margin.

In 2006, Towns faced Charles Barron-a controversial member of the New York City Council and staunch Sharpton ally-and Roger Green, a former member of the New York State Assembly, who has been convicted of stealing $3,000 in taxpayer dollars. [2] He would go on two defeat both candidates by a plurality margin in the Democratic primary.

Kevin Powell, a Hip hop activist, journalist, writer, and former cast member on the MTV Reality TV show The Real World, who was planning on challenging Towns decided to withdraw from the race in July of 2006. [3]

He is married to the former Gwendolyn Forbes and they reside in the Cypress Hills. They have two children, Darryl Towns (who serves in the New York State Assembly) and Deidra, five grandchildren; and serve as surrogate parents to his nephews Jason and Jereme.

Preceded by James H. Scheuer	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th congressional district 1983–1993	Succeeded by Major R. Owens
Preceded by Charles Schumer	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 10th congressional district 1993–	Succeeded by Incumbent