David Townsend was a member of the New York State Assembly, for the 115th district first elected in 1990.

Districts 1-3 are at-large districts, elected by the voters of the entire school district.

Terms of office are normally two years, with half of the membership of each district elected every other year.

Voters in fourteen districts elected new representatives: the 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 15th, 21st, 26th, 29th, 35th, 36th, 41st, 47th, 51st, and 52nd.

Voters in this district elected four different congressmen in four successive elections in the 1970's.

In 1833, a fourth seat was apportioned to the district, also elected district-wide at-large on the same general ticket.

However, this turned out not to be the case as three districts elected Democrats over their Republican challengers, two of them incumbents.

From 1809 to 1823, two seats were apportioned to the 15th district, elected at-large on a general ticket.

From 1833 to 1843, two seats were apportioned to the 17th district, elected at-large on a general ticket.

The Chicago Tribune editorialized in 1995 that the multi-member districts elected with cumulative voting produced better legislators.