Oswego County's: Guide To Government

David R. Townsend

David R. Townsend has served the 115th Assembly District in the New York State Assembly since 1991. The 115th Assembly District is located in Central New York.

Assemblyman Townsend resides in the Village of Sylvan Beach. He has a daughter, Kimberly Thomas, a son David Town-send III, a granddaughter Lauren Thomas, a grandson Kyle Tho-mas, and a granddaughter Katlynn Marie Townsend. Assembly-man Townsend previously served the people through law enforcement. In 1966, he was appointed to the Rome Police De-partment and in the following year he graduated from the State Police Academy and was appointed to the New York State Police. On January 1, 1979 he was appointed to the Oneida County Sher-iff s Department, a position in which he served until his election to the Assembly.

As a member of the Sheriffs Department, he served as an undercover narcotics officer, and in 1987 was assigned to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force in Syracuse, New York. During this period, he also served as pres-ident of the Oneida County Deputy Sheriffs Benevolent Association and as president of the New York State Deputy's Association.

Assemblyman Townsend is currently the Chair of Joint Conference Committee. Assembly. Townsend currently serves on the Assembly Committees on Codes; Corporations, Authorities and Commissions; Labor; Housing; and Governmental Employees. He is the ranking Minority Member on the Codes Committee. Previous committee assignments include Ranking Minority Member on the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Committee and Ranking Minority Member on the Labor Committee; membership on the Correction, Local Governments and Racing and Wagering Committees.

The NYS Association of Convenience Stores honored Mr. Townsend by giving him the Tax Fairness Tiger Award in January 2009. Mr. Townsend was the recipient of the Federal Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award in October, 1992 for his work in conservation, which included sponsorship of bills on recycling. Assemblyman Townsend has been honored by: The NY Farm Bureau's Circle of Friends (since 1991); NY Wing Civil Air Patrol's Legislative Officer of the Year (2006); Oneida Lake Association's Conservationist of the Year (2006); NYS Snowmobile Association's Senator William Sears Appreciation Award (2002) and Metropolitan Police Conference's Assemblyman of the Year (1995).

Since being elected, Mr. Townsend has sponsored the Summer Reading Challenge to encourage youngsters to read during the summer months. He also very active in local Schools' Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) programs. Working with the Town of Verona Beach and the Village of Sylvan Beach, Assemblyman Townsend hosted the Canal Clean Sweep of Verona Beach to remove debris and make the beach safer for summer enjoyment. As a life-long motorcyclist, Mr. Townsend has advocated motorcycle safety awareness. Assemblyman Townsend is a member of the National Rifle Association. He is also a member of several snowmobile clubs and chambers of commerce in the 115th Assembly District.

Assemblyman Townsend is a long-standing advocate of tax equity and fairness concerning Indian Nations casinos and sales. 115th Assembly District geographically encompasses parts of Oneida and Oswego Counties

Standing Committee Assignments 2009: Codes (Ranking Minority); Corporations; Government Employees; Housing; Labor.

VOTE in 2008 General Election David R. Townsend, Jr. Rep, 29, 677; IND 1,960, WOR 3,706 Daniel LeClair, CON. 4,710