Veteran “Guyanese” Congressman Ed Towns announces retirement

TIMES INT'L

By North American Correspondent 

U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-Brooklyn), whose district is in the heart of a large Afro and Indo-Guyanese community, announced over the weekend that he would retire from Congress by year end. His resignation leaves open the possibility of another Guyanese seeking to fill the vacant seat.

Just last month, Congressman Towns was in the race for re-election of the eight district he has represented for almost 30 years. His district has been re-drawn this year, as required by law under the 2010 census, adding tens of thousands of Indo-Guyanese in the greater Richmond Hill neighbourhood.

Towns had faced a Primary contest against N.Y. State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) and N.Y City Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn).

In a statement released on Monday, Towns said: “After months of long family discussions, I have decided not to seek re-election for my seat in the United States House of Representatives”.

Towns has represented a district based in East New York and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn since 1983. He has often been a target in Democratic primaries, especially after his controversial endorsement of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 1997.

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