Kil Townsend

News Obituary Article

Kil Townsend, 89; was a legislator and advocate advocated many Ga. causes

By NANCY BADERTSCHER, GWEN CARMINATI

In 27 years as a legislator from Fulton County, the late Kil Townsend championed causes from a state lottery to the consolidation of some of Georgia's 159 counties.

Townsend, who died March 23 at age 89, also fought to improve state government by forcing reforms in the prison and pension systems.

He was the state's longest-serving Republican legislator when he retired in 1992.

He remained loyal to the party that he helped to reinvent nationally in the 1940s and still found time to pursue other interests as a lawyer, developer, corporate CEO and author.

KIL TOWNSEND

> Born: Oct. 6, 1918, in Garden City, N.Y., as Kiliaen V.R. Townsend.

> Interesting fact: Direct descendant of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, one of the founders and major investors in the Dutch West India Company in 1621.

> Quote: "There's never a more dangerous time than when the Legislature is in session."

"He cared about what his constituents thought about him and never cared what other legislators thought about him."

retired state Sen. MIKE EGAN, (R-Atlanta)

"Kil was a passionate Republican who was revered and admired by both sides of the aisle. He made a lasting contribution to the Republican Party and the state of Georgia."

U.S. Sen. JOHNNY ISAKSON (R-Ga.)

Other achievements

> Started working as a lawyer in Atlanta in 1946.

> Was president and director of Atlanta Motor Lodges Inc., which he formed from Howard Johnson's Northeast and Northwest.

> Built the Howard Johnson's South near the Capitol, which at the time was the city's biggest motel complex.

> In 1973, developed Townsend Place, the first 24-hour gated community of luxury townhouses in Georgia.

> Wrote two books, "The Boarding School Guide" and "The College Comparison Guide."

Political career

> Republicans were just getting back on their feet nationally in 1947, and Townsend was there helping as the party's secretary and later in several GOP presidential races.

> Was one of only six white state House members to vote in favor of seating Julian Bond, the first black to be elected state representative since Reconstruction.

> As a House member, introduced the first impeachment bill in 100 years, seeking the removal of two Pardons and Parole Board members, who later resigned.

> Plan to reform the state's out-of-control pension systems won bipartisan support, but push to reduce the number of counties went nowhere.

> Introduced bills calling for a state lottery and an end to the sales tax on food, measures that later passed when sponsored by Democrats in the Democrat-controlled chamber.

© 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution