Edolphus "Ed" Towns Jr. (born July 21, 1934) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2013. A Democrat from New York, Towns was Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from 2009 to 2011. During his 30 years in Congress, Towns represented districts based in Brooklyn: first , from 1983 to 1993, and then the from 1993 to 2013. On April 16, 2012, Towns announced he would be retiring at the end of his 15th term. Early life, education, and early career Towns was born in Chadbourn, North Carolina, the son of Versie (née Brown) and Edolphus Towns. He graduated from West Side High School, Chadbourn, North Carolina in 1952. He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from North Carolina A&T State University in 1956 and a master's degree in social work from Adelphi University in 1973. Towns is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. Towns was 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. In 1956, he joined the United States Army as a private and received basic combat training at Fort Hood, Texas with the 4th Armored Division. He served until 1958. He was also an ordained Baptist minister. In 1970, he ran for New York Assembly District 38, and was defeated in the Democratic primary by John Mullally, 75%–25%. In 1972, he ran in District 40 and was defeated in the Democratic primary by Edward Griffith, who won the primary with a plurality of 37%. U.S. House of Representatives Elections After redistricting, Towns ran for the open seat in the Brooklyn-based New York's 11th congressional district. Towns won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 48%, and won the general election with 84% of the vote. He never won a general election campaign with less than 85% of the vote. He has won the Democratic primary with at least 60% of the vote all but three times (1998, 2000, and 2006). From 1996 to 1998, Towns was in a rivalry with Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Clarence Norman. In addition, he has received criticism for endorsing Republican Rudy Giuliani for Mayor of New York City in 1997. He was challenged in the 1998 primaries by Barry D. Ford, a 35-year-old lawyer with the firm