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 (109.gif" target="_blank">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 blank">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. http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/index.php/Edolphus_%22Ed%22_Towns
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. vol29/29_29/29_29green.html" target="_blank">http://brooklynpapers.com/html/issues/_vol29/29_29/29_29green.html 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. hackshaw/kevin_powell_to_withdraw_from_10th_congressional_race.html" target="_blank">http://www.r8ny.com/blog/rock_hackshaw/kevin_powell_to_withdraw_from_10th_congressional_race.html 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.
