Towns Won't Run for Reelection

Towns said in a statement Monday that he had made the decision after months of family discussion and despite his confidence he would win if he decided to run to not run for reelection.

Towns is the former chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which was in the news Monday for its hearing on the GSA Las Vegas trip expenditures.

Towns is familiar to broadcasters for his support of safeguards for repacked TV stations after the reverse incentive auctions as well as a major role in hearings on Arbitron's Portable People Meters. His concern in both cases was preservation of diverse programming.

He also pushed for free broadband service and backed the Comcast/NBCU deal signing on to a Republican-heavy letter that argued it would spur jobs and investment.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.