From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ed Towns
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Charles Schumer
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	July 21, 1934 (1934-07-21) (age 73) 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 State 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, teaching orientation and mobility to blind students. 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 his political 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 Democratic primary challenges from 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 to 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 2006. [3] As in past elections, Towns easily defeated his Republican and Conservative party opponents in the 2006 general election, receiving 92% of the vote. He is married to the former Gwendolyn Forbes and they reside in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn. 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.

He was severely criticized by India for requesting the White House "declare India a terrorist state" because of "the pattern of Indian terrorism against its minorities." This allegation was based on information provided by militant Sikh separatists,specifically the so-called "Council of Khalistan" headed by Gurmit Singh Aulakh, after a massacre of about 50 Sikhs at Chattisinghpora in Kashmir, which was perpetrated by the Islamic Fundamentalist terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba. Some Sikhs have blamed the massacre on fundamentalist Hindus. Towns also published a "list of attacks on Christians" trying to bolster his views. The White House dismissed the allegation saying there is absolutely "no credible evidence" of any government involvement in the massacre.[4]

• U.S. Representative Edolphus Towns official House site
• Ed Towns at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission - Edolphus Towns campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues - Ed Towns issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Edolphus Towns campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Edolphus 'Ed' Towns (NY) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Ed Towns profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Ed Towns voting record
• Ed Towns for Congress official campaign site
• Charles Barron: "We Beat Towns, Clinton, Sharpton!" September 13, 2006

v • d • e Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus
Diggs • Stokes • Rangel • Burke • Mitchell • Collins • Fauntroy • Dixon • Leland • Dymally • Dellums • Towns • Mfume • Payne • Waters • Clyburn • Johnson • Cummings • Watt • Kilpatrick