Ones to Watch: NY Congressman Faces Heated House RaceActivist, councilman, and assemblyman challenge 24-year reignBy Madison J. GrayMay 3, 2006 -- In Brooklyn’s 10th Congressional district, it’s the MTV generation vs. the establishment. And for good measure, you can throw a city councilman and a state assemblyman into the mix.The district, which includes a diverse array of neighborhoods-- including Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Heights, downtown Brooklyn, East New York, and Brownsville--has been the exclusive property of incumbent Rep. Edolphus Towns since he won the seat in 1983. But now Towns is facing activist Kevin Powell, 40, who believes, along with two other candidates, that the 71-year-old representative should be unseated because of an increasingly conservative voting record and poor attendance. Towns’ most recent successes in the community he represents include obtaining $153 million to build a federal courthouse and finding a $350,000 grant to help fund sickle-cell anemia research. Still, in Towns’ district, which is 63% African American, total unemployment among people age 16 and older is more than 45% and the poverty rate is 29%. Brooklyn residents accounts for as many as 30% of New York City's diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS, according to the Brooklyn Lives Project. In addition, communities in the district need more services for the elderly and smaller class sizes. Powell, who has not held political office before, is best known as a former staff writer for Vibe magazine and cast member of the first installment of MTV’s long-running reality show The Real World, which puts seven young adults in a house and tapes their lives. He says he is frustrated with the challenges Brooklyn faces and wants to introduce solutions focusing on education, fair housing, and affordable healthcare.“It is about … helping people on a consistent basis, or putting individuals and networks in place to help the community. Mr. Towns has failed miserably in that regard, so badly, in fact, that many folks don't even know who the Congressman is for the 10th Congressional district,” says Powell, who in March joined the BLACK ENTERPRISE Board of Economists to discuss the lost potential of African American males.