Jay Townsend is a husband, father, and small businessman whose disgust with the course of our nation and decline of New York led him to enter the race for the United States Senate against Chuck Schumer.
The eldest of five children raised on an Indiana farm, he has lived in New York for nearly 30 years; residing upstate as a Cornell University graduate student, in New York City as a young entrepreneur, before settling in the Hudson Valley when he formed The Townsend Group, a market research and consulting firm that provides advertising and consulting services to companies and public figures.
While pursuing a Master's Degree at
Cornell University, Townsend was one of 10 graduate students awarded a
fellowship by the NY State Senate. Assigned to the staff of the Senate Finance
Committee, he helped formulate political strategies to deal with New York
City's fiscal crisis. At age 23, he was hired to serve as a legislative aide to
a United States Senator.
After completing his graduate education at Purdue University, Townsend was
hired as an analyst in a New York City market research firm. At age 32, he
became a partner, supervising the work of 13 employees in a company with
clients in several states. In 1993, he formed The Townsend Group, Inc, located
in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY. He has thrice won national awards for his innovative
advertising campaigns.
Long active in the Cornwall community as a volunteer and civic leader, Townsend is the former Senior Warden of St. John's Episcopal Church, where he spearheaded the most successful capital campaign in church history, helped lead community outreach efforts to aid the underserved, staff area soup kitchens, send supplies to wounded soldiers at Landstuhl, Germany, and provide assistance to impoverished children in South Africa.
Mr. Townsend has lectured on politics and public policy at the United States
Military Academy, the Marketing Research Association, the Marist Institute for
Public Opinion, and numerous colleges and universities. He has been a frequent guest
and commentator on FOX News.
Townsend earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from Purdue University in 1976 and 1982. He resides with his wife, Rebecca, and their sons in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY.