Montgomery County sentinel., 1938-03-17
Wilson L. Townsend
Is Candidate For
County Judgeship
Will Oppose Stedman Prescott:
Started Out With ]. Dawson
Williams

Wilson w. Townsend, county at.
torney, has announced his candidacy
for associate judge of the Sixth Judi
cial District, subject to the Republi.
can primaries. He will oppose Sted.
man Prescott, Democratic organiza-
tion candidate.
Mr.. Townsend was born in the Dis
trict of Columbia on October 19, 1890.
and moved to Kensington with his
parents in May, 1894. He has resided
continuously at Kensington since
1894. After attending the public
schools of Montgomery County and
Central High School of Washington,
D. c., he was graduated from the
George Washington University, with
the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Mr.. Townsend was admitted to the
Bar Of Maryland on February 9, 1916,
and Immediately commenced the prac.
tice of his profession, being initially
associated with the late Senator J.
Dawson Williams. During his twenty
two years Of practice at the Mont
gomery County Bar, he has been cor
poration counsel of the Town of Ken
sington since 1919, and is also corr
poration counsel for the Town Of
Somerset. He will be remembered as
the attorney for the citizens commit
tees of Takoma Park and Kensington
in the litigation over the increase of
front-foot benefits charges by the
Washington Suburban Sanitary Com
mission in 1926 and 1927. This litiga-
tiCn was successful in the Courts, but
the results were nullified by the ac-
tion of the legislature in reimposing
the inyalidated assessments. Mr..
Townsend is also a member of the
bar of the District Court of the
United States for the District of Col
umbia, the District Court of the
United States for the District of
Maryland, and the Supreme Court of
the United States, and has been en-
gagged in practice before these Courts.
He is a member of the American Bar
Association, the Maryland Bar Asso-
citation and the District of Columbia
Bar Association.
After the entrance of the United
States into the World War, Mr..
Townsend enlisted in May, 1917, and
was commissioned Second Lieuten-
ant of Infantry in August, 1917, and
subsequently was promoted to First
and later to Captain Of
Infantry; he was honorably dis
in January, 1919, as Assis-
tant Intelligence Officer of the 18th
Division. He now holds commission
as Major, Military Intelligence Re-
serve. He is a charter member, and
Past Commander, of Arnold Wilburn
Post of the American Legion at Ken
sington, past president of the Mont
gomery County Council, American Le-
gion, and served one term as Depart
ment Judge Advocate for the Depart
ment of Maryland.
Mr.. Towsend has been active in po-
litical affairs in Montgomery County
for twenty-five years, in the Repub-
lican Party, and served from 1923 to
1888 as Secretary Treasurer Of the
Republican State Central Committee
for Montgomery County. He has never
been candidate for public Office nor
has he ever held any appointive office
under the County or State govern
ment. He has been an active partici-
pant in civic and church affairs, is
chairman of the Board Of Trustees Of
the Presbyterian Church Of Kensing-
ton, a member of the Kensington Ma
sonic Lodge, and the Kappa Alpha
Fraternity.
Mr.. Townsend was married in jan
uary, 1920 to Miss Virginia r. Will
son, daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. j.
Frank Wilson Of Kensington, and has
two children, now attending the pub
lie schools of Montgomery County.